The Calgary woman who put needles and other sharp objects into food at a Calgary Co-op has launched a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the grocer.

Tatyana Granada was convicted in 2012 of four counts of mischief and four counts of trespassing after she placed pins, needles and nails in produce and food at the Oakridge Co-op in 2010. She had been barred from the store in December 2009 after she was charged with shoplifting.

Now, she is suing Co-op for $8 million in damages, alleging she “endured emotional distress and material loss” as a result of the charges brought against her.

In a handwritten statement of claim filed by Granada on May 15, she also alleges that her name was “defamed through mass media and Internet” and that her husband committed suicide in 2011 because he was not “able to bear the shame of the defamation” and protect the family’s honour.

According to the statement of claim, Granada, who is representing herself, is willing to discuss an out-of-court settlement that “could be based on a humanitarian principle without a public disclosure.”

A spokesperson for Calgary Co-op said it has not been served, and that as far as the company is concerned, the matter is closed.

Granada was freed in March on statutory release, which is mandated by law at the two-thirds mark of an offender’s sentence. She was denied parole a month earlier.

estark@calgaryherald.com

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