A Vancouver man is now facing serious charges after a disturbing incident in the Downtown Eastside earlier this month. Police responded to a residential building near East Hastings and Columbia Street on January 8th, following a report of a sexual assault against a woman in her 60s.
The suspect, identified as 62-year-old Mark Edward Grant, has been taken into custody and charged with unlawful confinement, sexual assault with a weapon, assault with a weapon, and uttering threats. Investigators moved swiftly following the initial report, leading to Grant’s arrest and the laying of these significant charges.
This case evokes a chilling echo from the past. Grant was previously at the center of a decades-long legal battle surrounding the 1984 disappearance and murder of 13-year-old Candace Derksen in Winnipeg.
Derksen vanished on her way home from school on November 30th, 1984. Her body was discovered six weeks later, frozen and bound in a shed near her home. The cause of death was determined to be hypothermia, with no immediate signs of struggle or sexual assault.
DNA evidence linked Grant to the case in 2007, leading to his arrest and a second-degree murder charge. He was initially found guilty in 2011, spending ten years incarcerated for the horrific crime.
However, the conviction was overturned on appeal. Crucially, jurors had not been informed about an alternate suspect – another schoolgirl found tied up in Winnipeg while Grant was already in custody on unrelated charges. This omission proved pivotal.
A subsequent trial in 2017 resulted in Grant’s acquittal. The judge cited significant issues with the DNA testing and deemed a key witness unreliable, casting doubt on the evidence presented.
Following his release, Grant launched a lawsuit against the Manitoba government, seeking $8.5 million for wrongful conviction. He maintains his innocence in the Derksen case, a claim that continues to fuel debate and controversy.
Grant is currently awaiting a bail hearing in Vancouver, with a scheduled court appearance on January 28th. This new set of charges brings renewed scrutiny to a man whose past is marked by tragedy and legal complexities.
