The trial of a man accused of killing a 13-year-old girl and leaving her body in a Burnaby park nearly six years ago has been adjourned again, with proceedings slated to resume next Wednesday.
Ibrahim Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the July 2017 killing. The victim’s name is protected by a publication ban.
On Thursday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lance Bernard instructed the jury to return in one week.
Since the trial began more than two weeks ago, jurors have been present in the courtroom for approximately half an hour.
The reason they were told to stand down — and any other matters discussed in the courtroom while they are not present — cannot be reported while the high-profile trial is underway.
Early in proceedings, Bernard instructed jurors to rely only on evidence presented by the Crown and defence lawyers, and not to discuss the case with anyone, do any research on the case, or consume any media coverage of the trial.
Bernard also told the jury not to allow any unconscious biases, including that Ali is a Muslim man from the Middle East, to cloud their judgement.
The Crown has yet to deliver its opening argument, which is expected to lay out a roadmap of its prosecution strategy and its theory on what happened to the victim.
The teen was reported missing on July 18, 2017, and her body was found in Burnaby’s Central Park several hours later. She was last seen alive on security video captured in a local coffee shop.
Over the course of the investigation, investigators identified nearly 2,000 persons of interest in the case.
Police used a controversial “DNA dragnet” technique to identify a group of people of Middle Eastern descent. It’s unclear what evidence led to the murder charge.
Ali, a Syrian refugee with no criminal record, was arrested 14 months later and has remained in police custody since then.