Man pleads not guilty to murdering 13-year-old Marrisa Shen, of Burnaby, B.C.

By The Canadian Press on April 5, 2023.

VANCOUVER – A man accused of the first-degree murder of a Burnaby, B.C., teenager six years ago repeatedly denied killing the girl as his trial started.

Ibrahim Ali pleaded not guilty and told the jury through an interpreter that he “did not kill Marrisa Shen.”

The body of the 13-year-old girl was found in Burnaby’s Central Park on July 18, 2017, just hours after her mother had reported her missing.

Police announced charges against Ali 14 months later, saying new evidence had come to their attention just weeks before his arrest.

Shen left her home around 6 p.m. the evening before she died and was last seen on security video going into a Tim Hortons restaurant a few minutes later.

Her mother called police at 11:30 that night and RCMP say the girl’s body was found in a wooded area of the park early the next morning.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2023.

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