Key questions about DNA once again took centre stage at the trial of a man accused of killing a young B.C. teen six years ago.
Ibrahim Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the July 18, 2017, killing. The victim’s name is protected by a publication ban.
On Wednesday, forensic DNA analyst Jacqueline Ip testified she recalled working late on a Friday night and coming in to do weekend overtime in July 2017, on a case flagged as a priority by the RCMP.
Ip told the court she couldn’t recall if she knew at the time that the urgent request involved the young girl, who had been found dead in Burnaby’s Central Park several days earlier.
Ip testified she followed “standard operating procedures” for DNA analysis.
Under cross-examination, however, she conceded that contamination did happen involving a sample from another case. That contamination was reported through proper channels, she said.
Kevin McCullough, Ali’s lawyer, suggested Ip was under pressure and made a mistake.
The witness disagreed with that assertion, telling the jury she followed all the steps.
Ip further testified that she did not do any analysis on an exhibit which would indicate evidence of a condom.
On Tuesday, the jury heard from another forensic DNA analyst, Maria Li, who testified a defective test tube with a pin-sized hole was discovered during lab work, and was reported according to protocol.
DNA evidence is expected to play a critical role in the case, as there were no eyewitnesses to the girl’s death.
The victim was found partially undressed in a wooded area of the park shortly after midnight, just hours after she’d been reported missing.
The jury has previously heard how she was found with her pink wallet and cellphone nearby, along with a pair of headphones.
The court has also heard from the pathologist who performed her autopsy, who testified the girl died of strangulation and suffered “blunt force” injuries to her head.
The jury has also heard that semen was found inside the victim.
Crown’s theory is that Ali grabbed the girl and dragged her into the bushes, where he fatally strangled her in the course of sexually assaulting her.
Prosecutors allege the two were strangers to one another, and that the attack was random.
The defence has yet to present its theory of events.
— with files from Rumina Daya
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