Trial for man accused of murder pushed back again

*Editor’s Note: The victim’s name has been removed from this story due to a publication ban.

The trial for the man charged with first-degree murder of a Burnaby teen has been delayed once again. 

Ibrahim Ali’s trial has been pushed for a fifth time, after previously being scheduled to begin this month.

In an emailed statement to Burnaby Beacon, Dan McLaughlin, spokesperson for the BC Prosecution Service confirmed that “the trial before the jury of this matter will not commence on January 16,” and that “pre-trial applications are continuing.”

Originally, Ali’s trial was scheduled to begin in 2020 but jury selection was cancelled and then postponed to September 2021.

It was then pushed to January 2022 to accommodate pre-trial applications and then delayed again to September 2022, and then once more to January 2023.

In a previous statement emailed to the Beacon in September 2022, McLaughlin stated that the delay to January 2023 was needed for “various pre-trial applications,” which are used to clarify any legal or factual concerns before the trial begins or to speed up the trial itself.

He added that the outcome of the pre-trial applications would impact the length of the trial.

The murder is known as one of Burnaby’s most high-profile cases.

The 13-year-old Moscrop Secondary School student was found dead in Central Park in the early hours of July 19, 2017, after being reported missing by her parents the day before. Authorities labelled her death was labelled as a “random attack.”

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) took over the case, identifying over 2,000 persons of interest before arresting Ali in 2018. He was charged with first-degree murder.

McLaughlin said a new date for jury selection and trial has not been determined yet.

With files from Srushti Gangdev

[activecampaign form=35 css=1