The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the body of a 13-year-old girl found dead in a Burnaby, B.C., park says he can't be certain she was killed there. Media wait outside B.C. Supreme Court, in Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the body of a 13-year-old girl found dead in a Burnaby, B.C., park says he can’t be certain she was killed there.
Dr. Jason Morin told the British Columbia Supreme Court jury under cross-examination that the teen, who cannot be identified under the terms of a publication ban, had many relatively minor injuries on her head and knees.
Ben Lynskey, Ibrahim Ali’s defence lawyer, questioned Morin about the nature of injuries found on places other than her genitals, including scrapes on her knees, as well as dirt found on her skin.
Morin told the court he’s confident the teen died of strangulation after Lynskey questioned him about the “limitations” of his opinions given he did not examine the body at the scene she was found.
Ali last month pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
Crown attorney Isobel Keeley said in an opening statement that the court would hear evidence showing the murder was random, but DNA results would prove Ali sexually assaulted the girl.
She said the evidence would show the girl was passing through a neighbourhood park when she was dragged off a pathway into the forest by Ali, sexually assaulted and strangled.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23,2023.
