National

IHIT officer testifies to executing DNA warrant of man accused in B.C. murder trial

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Oct, 2023 04:31 PM

A Mountie with British Columbia's integrated homicide team testified she was the officer who served a warrant to obtain DNA from the man accused of killing a 13-year-old girl in a Metro Vancouver park six years ago.

Sgt-Maj. Heather Lew told a B.C. Supreme Court murder trial that she collected a few drops of blood from Ibrahim Ali's finger on Sept. 9, 2018, two days after his arrest and almost 14 months after the girl's body was found.

Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of the teen.

The body of the girl, who can't be named because of a publication ban, was found in Burnaby Central Park early on July 19, 2017, just hours after her mother reported her missing.

Crown witness and RCMP forensic biologist Christine Crossman testified last month that police obtained a DNA sample from Ali from a discarded cigarette in August 2018 and matched it to an unknown male's genetic material found on the girl's body.

The match led police to obtain a warrant to formally get a sample from Ali, which Crossman said also matched DNA from the girl's body.

Lew also told the court under direct examination Wednesday that she was a corporal on the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team when the girl was found dead and she attended the crime scene in the park the day the body was found.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Vancouver council approves zoning to allow multiplex units in most neighbourhoods

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says the city has taken a "huge step" toward "housing attainability" by approving multiplex units in single-family neighbourhoods, but critics of the plan argue the step is little more than a shuffle. Councillors unanimously endorsed a motion Thursday night that creates a single residential zone across most of the city, clearing the way for what supporters call "missing middle" housing.

Vancouver council approves zoning to allow multiplex units in most neighbourhoods

No illicit drugs in parks

The B-C government's drug decriminalization policy has changed to make it illegal to possess illicit drugs near playgrounds, water parks and skate parks. The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions says the change is intended to keep drugs and drug users away from what it calls "child-focused spaces," adding to the existing list of excluded spaces that includes schools and childcare facilities.

No illicit drugs in parks

B.C. to end state of emergency as wildfire risk winds down

The British Columbia government says it is ending the state of emergency imposed last month when thousands of residents were chased out of their homes by wildfires. The government says in a statement the wildfire risk is diminishing in much of the province as temperatures cool, allowing most residents to return home.

B.C. to end state of emergency as wildfire risk winds down

DNA match in Ibrahim Ali murder case as exact as identical twins, B.C. court is told

An RCMP expert testifying at Ibrahim Ali's murder trial told the court she has never seen a DNA match as close as the one between the suspect and samples found on his alleged victim — except for DNA matches between identical twins. Forensic biologist Christine Crossman said police investigators were very thorough in their collection and testing of genetic samples from the body of the 13-year-old girl, whose identity is protected by a publication ban.

DNA match in Ibrahim Ali murder case as exact as identical twins, B.C. court is told

Ex-B.C. police chief to investigate release of suspect before Chinatown stabbing

Former Abbotsford police chief Bob Rich has been appointed to look into the release of a man from British Columbia's psychiatric hospital before the man allegedly stabbed three people in Vancouver's Chinatown. Premier David Eby said Thursday that he has read the BC Review Board report on the accused and wants Rich to determine how the man could have been released, despite being a "really significant danger to the public."

Ex-B.C. police chief to investigate release of suspect before Chinatown stabbing

Federal government will remove GST on new rental housing builds, senior source says

A senior government source says Ottawa is planning to remove the G-S-T on construction of new rental apartment buildings. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to make the announcement today as he wraps up a three-day Liberal caucus retreat in London, Ontario.