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

152 affordable homes being built for seniors in Delta

Located at 1054 - 54A St., KinVillage Apartments will have 145 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom homes. All units will be adaptable or accessible, allowing the suites to be easily and inexpensively modified to meet residents’ needs as they age.

152 affordable homes being built for seniors in Delta

China leaves Canada off list of countries approved for group tours

China has lifted a pandemic ban on group tours to several countries, including the United States and Australia, but tourists are still be barred from group visits to Canada. The change announced by China's culture and tourism ministry last week allows Chinese and online travel agencies to book group tours and packages for Chinese tourists in 70 more countries all over the world.

China leaves Canada off list of countries approved for group tours

Winds, heat and lightning trigger concern as two British Columbia wildfires surge

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has issued an evacuation order for the area southwest of Keremeos affected by two wildfires that have been burning for several weeks. Thirteen properties have been ordered evacuated along the Ashnola River and in the Snowy Protected area of Cathedral Provincial Park, including Cathedral Lakes Lodge.

Winds, heat and lightning trigger concern as two British Columbia wildfires surge

Housing crisis: Feds stick by immigration plan, rethink international student flows

Academics, commerical banks and policy thinkers have all been warning the federal government that the pace of population growth, facilitated by immigration, is making the housing crisis worse. Canada is also experiencing a boom in the number of temporary residents who are coming to the country, which includes international students and temporary foreign workers.

Housing crisis: Feds stick by immigration plan, rethink international student flows

Fall in housing starts: CMHC

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports the annual pace of urban starts was down 11 per cent, the rate of multi-unit urban starts fell 12 per cent and the pace of single-detached urban starts dropped four per cent.

Fall in housing starts: CMHC

Kids overdosing is a public health emergency, Canadian pediatricians say

A new survey says an alarming number of kids age 12 and older have been treated for drug overdoses in Canada. The Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program says stimulants are the most commonly reported cause of severe or life-threatening overdoses, followed by sedatives and opioids.