STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.

B.C. teen sustained head injuries before death, pathologist tells murder trial

May 16, 2023 | 2:18 PM

VANCOUVER — A forensic pathologist testifying in the trial of a man accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl in Burnaby, B.C., says the victim sustained “blunt force” scalp and head injuries before she died.

Dr. Jason Morin, who conducted the autopsy, told the British Columbia Supreme Court jury that the girl died after being strangled, which caused the bursting of blood vessels from under her chin to the top of her face, and in her eyes.

He previously told the court that the four-hour procedure, in conjunction with a subsequent neuropathology report, showed there had been a lack of blood supply to the teen’s brain.

He also testified that sperm was found in her body.

The body of the girl, who cannot be identified under the terms of a publication ban, was found in Burnaby’s Central Park in July 2017, just hours after her mother had reported her missing.

Ibrahim Ali last month pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the trial.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2023.

The Canadian Press