A man has been charged with murder, apparently in connection to the death of 13-year-old Marissa Shen of Burnaby.
Ibrahim Ali has been arrested and charged with murder for an alleged offence on July 18, 2017 – the same day Shen was killed. No other murders are known to have happened in Burnaby that day.
Ali, born in 1990, had the charge sworn against him on Saturday. His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 14.
The RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. Monday promising “significant developments” in the case.
Shen’s body was found in Central Park last July, but police have had few updates since.
Earlier this summer, on the anniversary of the teen’s death, police said no suspects had been identified, despite investigators following up on 200 tips from the general public, reviewing 1,000 hours of video and conducting more than 600 interviews.
IHIT had used the one-year anniversary to renew calls for any information from the public that might advance the investigation.
Shen was last seen at 7:38 p.m. on July 18, 2017 on the south side of Central Boulevard crossing McKay Avenue walking west.
She was reported missing four hours later, and her body was found in the early morning hours of the following day after Burnaby Mounties used GPS to track her cell phone.
Just over a week later, IHIT announced investigators believed Shen’s death was the result of a random attack.
– Cornelia Naylor, Burnaby Now
