Every Thursday, us first year CreComm’s gather into the Auditorium to listen to a guest speaker or two.
Last week we had the privilege of hearing from Mike McIntyre, author of Journey for Justice: How ‘Project Angel’ Cracked the Candace Derksen Case and justice reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press, alongside Wilma Derksen, author of Have You Seen Candace? and mother of Candace Derksen.
It was a day we were all anticipating. Having read Journey for Justice as part of our Journalism class, I was excited and nervous to see Mike and Wilma, since the Candace Derksen story was one that was very touching, tragic, and interesting.
I have to say, I couldn’t put the book down. I think I read it in four days, during any chance I could get. The way Mike begins the book with the story of Mark Edward Grant being filmed for a documentary that would never make it to air, as he was arrested just days after the documentary was filmed.
I wasn’t even born when this horrible event occurred, and I vaguely remember the resurfacing of the case in 2007, but reading this story and recognizing many of the locations and references really made me feel attached.
For those of you who have never heard of the Candace Derksen case, Candace was 13 when she went missing one day on her walk home from the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate in East Kildonan, on Nov. 30, 1984. Her body was discovered frozen in a tool shed near the Nairn Avenue overpass on Jan. 17, 1985.
It wasn’t until 26 years later that Mark Edward Grant was convicted of the second-degree murder and received a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 25 years.
Towards the end of Journey for Justice, Mike includes multiple reports filed on Mark Edward Grant. I found the reports to be repetitive, but at the same time I felt they were important to include. It made Mark Edward Grant’s patterns more apparent, and emphasized his instabilities while off his medication.
As a journalist, I saw Journey for Justice not only a story, but a chronicle of events that made the story what it was. There are many ways to tell a story, but it was really interesting to see Mike McIntyre include a variety of pieces, some of which were news stories, and other pieces from Wilma Derksen that were very personal.
In the book it was easy to see that the use of the media was what helped connect so many people to the Candace Derksen story. And just like any other non-fiction story, it was based on facts.
It was shocking to see just how positive the Derksen’s were during such a dark and horrible time in their lives. It was apparent that their support group, along with their faith and love for their family was what kept them going.
I really didn’t know what to expect during the time Mike and Wilma spent with us, but it was very nice to see the two of them talking to each other like old friends.
Mike began talking about his career in true crime journalism, and how important it is to him as a journalist to be respectful to the families of victims.
I was most nervous to hear from Wilma, but she was glowing and positive. She told us about her time in our shoes as a Creative Communications student, and how great it felt to be back and sharing some of her CreComm memories.
And when she spoke of Candace she seemed joyful, it was truly refreshing.
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