Editor’s note: This story has removed the victim’s name due to a publication ban.
The man accused of killing a Burnaby teen pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a Vancouver courtroom in a trial that began nearly six years after the teen’s death.
Ibrahim Ali entered a not-guilty plea on the first day of the trial as he faced a first-degree murder charge in connection to the death of the teen, who was only 13 years old at the time of her murder.
The girl was found murdered in Burnaby’s Central Park on the morning of July 19, 2017. At the time of her death, RCMP said the incident was a “random attack.”
By July 2018, the IHIT had received over 200 tips from the general public and spoken to nearly 1,300 residents in the area. In September 2018, Ali was charged with murder. He was arrested without incident on September 7 in Burnaby.
“IHIT and our many partners worked tirelessly for over a year to find answers and to bring justice for the random killing of 13-year-old [name removed]” said IHIT’s Donna Richardson at the time.
“This investigation called upon a great deal of resources and long hours for everyone involved.”
Richardson added that Ali’s arrest was a “culmination of a number of things and as the matter is before the courts, that evidence will evolve as the process continues.”
Richardson also noted that Ali was a Syrian national who arrived in Canada 17 months before his arrest and had lived in Burnaby as a permanent residence ever since. He was not previously known to the police, nor did he have a criminal record.
According to court records, Ali’s trial will occur at Vancouver Supreme Court.
According to the Criminal Code, murder in the first degree is described as planned or deliberate, and anyone found guilty of this charge “shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life.”
With files from Eric Zimmer