WARNING: This story contains details of sexual violence.
A man charged with the first degree murder of a 13-year-old girl in Burnaby, B.C., has been found guilty by a Supreme Court jury.
Ibrahim Ali pleaded not guilty when the extensive trial began in April.
Crown prosecutors told the jury the victim, whose name is protected by a publication ban, was passing through Burnaby Central Park on July 18, 2017, when she was attacked and dragged into the woods before she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death.
Ali was arrested over a year later on Sept. 7, 2018.
The jury heard from dozens of witnesses called by Crown prosecutors, including police officers, pathologists who studied her body and brain, DNA analysts, and the victim’s friends and family.
The defence did not call any witnesses in the trial, with Ali’s lawyer telling the jury that the Crown hadn’t proved its case against Ali.
This is a developing story. There will be more to come.