‘It’s an exceptional case’: Criminology professor on Burnaby teen’s murder

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to remove the victim’s name, which is now covered by a publication ban.

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – A person has been charged, 14 months after a teen was found dead in Burnaby’s Central Park, but is it rare for homicide cases to have a breakthrough more than a year later? A criminology professor with Simon Fraser University says patience was a key factor in this case.

“It’s a tribute really to IHIT that they were able to sustain the energy and the commitment necessary to conclude the case as it’s concluded at the moment,” Robert Gordon says. “It requires a great deal of patience and expertise to investigate these cases.”

When dealing with homicide cases, Gordon says time is usually of the essence.

“The evidence is often times clearer and stronger and as time passes, particularly the way you’re relying upon witnesses, memories fade and information dissipates.”

But in this case, he says its likely new information emerged following a plea by her family on the teen’s one year death anniversary.

“You have lots and lots of information, bits and pieces, that slowly are drawn together to form a picture of what happened. So I suspect that they’ve been given a bit of information, some link was made or connection was made,” Gordon adds.

He says a lot of questions remain unanswered but notes it’s important to avoid filling in the blanks and wait until the trial is over.

“We must set that curiosity aside from the time being and just allow the criminal justice system to run its course and to ensure that we eventually find out exactly what happened to this girl.”

Twenty-eight-year-old Ibrahim Ali has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of the teen. He was arrested in Burnaby on Friday and remains in custody.

-With files from Denise Wong