Letters sent to radio host written by another suspect, defence argues at Candace Derksen retrial
Mark Grant's lawyer says letters from 1987 suggest writer had link to case
The twine Candace Derksen's body was bound with was tied with six unsophisticated knots and wrapped 10 times around the teen's wrists and ankles, according to testimony from a knot expert at Day 4 of Mark Grant's retrial for Candace's killing.
"It looked like a natural-fibre twine, two-strand, braided," Robert Chisnall told court Thursday.
The knot specialist was the first witness to take the stand Thursday in the retrial for Mark Grant, accused of killing the 13-year-old girl in 1984.
Chisnall was asked by police in 1985 to observe the twine — a key piece of evidence relating to Grant's 2007 arrest for the killing.
Chisnall "felt" and studied the twine for several hours without wearing gloves, a mask or a hair net, he confirmed during the defence's cross-examination.
The use of DNA as a forensic tool was still relatively new in 1985, and it will be a major discussion point as Grant's defence builds its case pointing to another possible killer.
Items sent for new DNA analysis
John Burchill, a major crimes analyst with the Winnipeg Police Service, also testified Thursday.
Before cold-case units existed, Burchill told the court he developed an interest in unsolved homicides and began personally looking into Candace Derksen's killing in 1999, he said.
"If I was able to uncover something to engage [the homicide investigators] that was the sole focus," Burchill said.
The RCMP agreed to retest the twine, a pair of gloves, nail scrapings and pieces of chewed gum found at the scene, along with Candace's hair, jacket, jeans and a lip swab.
When results from two pieces of chewed gum came back, the analysis could only deduce the DNA belonged to two different males. No DNA was obtained from the twine, Burchill testified. And there was nothing of forensic significance found on the gloves, jacket, jeans or lip swab.
During cross-examination, Grant's lawyer, Saul Simmonds, questioned whether Burchill had a suspect in mind when he requested the items be retested.
"I didn't have a suspect at all," Burchill told the court.
Simmonds also raised the issue of how the evidence was stored over the years prior to retesting. Burchill testified he picked up the twine in a cardboard box that was unsealed.
"You don't know how many people would have handled it," Simmonds said. Burchill agreed.
Defence suggests letters written by possible suspect
Court entered a voir dire, a preliminary hearing relating to new evidence, later in the morning.
The defence read from photocopies of letters from 1987 addressed to Peter Warren, who was then a radio host at the local media outlet CJOB. In one letter, Simmonds said the writer linked themselves to the Derksen case.
"I almost made love to her but lost my desire," one line in a letter read. "I have much anger inside me. I don't know why."
Burchill testified the general public was not made aware of the fact that no sexual contact was made with Candace — it was a detail strategically held back by police in case a suspect come forward.
Simmonds read other lines Burchill noted in the letter at the time.
Parts of the letter said "Steal the life of anybody," and "For I have already acted."
The defence is suggesting the letters were written by another possible suspect.
Burchill testified the letter was later sent for fingerprinting.
Simmonds went on to ask Burchill if Terry Arnold, the prime suspect in the 1981 killing of Barbara Stoppel, was ever considered as a suspect in Candace's killing.
"There were a number of other people looked at as suspects, to which you had access to [their] DNA whether for inclusion or exclusion," Simmonds said.
Burchill said he could not recall if Arnold was in Winnipeg at the time of Candace's murder or was a person of interest.
Twine chopped up for DNA testing
The last person to take the witness stand Thursday was retired RCMP scientist Tod Christianson, who re-analyzed DNA on the exhibits Burchill requested be retested.
Christianson described the protective clothing, gloves and procedures taken to avoid contamination of evidence at the lab.
He told the court he asked for police permission before "chopping" the twine into seven pieces and placing them in vials to send for DNA testing in Ottawa, in 2001.
"I had no idea what to focus on," Christianson said of the twine, adding all parts had to be analyzed because it was unclear where the suspect may have touched it.
The defence asked Christianson if handling an object "too much" or mixing it with someone else's DNA later would compromise his ability to analyze it.
Christianson said it depends on how much DNA is mixed.
Different questions, similar testimony
Wilma Derksen, Candace's mother, sat in the second row Thursday, taking notes.
The book she authored after the first trial, This Mortal Coil, was open in her lap, and she said she is following along the testimony and correcting items in her book.
"There are few things I got wrong," she said, adding the witness testimony is similar but the lines of questioning this time around are different.
A jury found Grant guilty of second-degree murder in 2011. Two years later, a Manitoba Court of Appeal judge ordered a retrial because evidence about a possible "third-party suspect" was withheld from jurors during the first trial.
The judge-only retrial began on Monday. Brent Davidson and Michael Himmelman are acting for the Crown and Saul Simmonds is representing Grant.
On Thursday, the court also expects to hear from RCMP scientists Tod Christianson and Pamela Dixon.
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