By Canadian Press

Lawyer in Ali murder trial says 13-year-old B.C. victim was not an ‘innocent’

Dec 1, 2023 | 12:53 PM

VANCOUVER — Ibrahim Ali’s lawyer says the 13-year-old girl he’s accused of murdering in a British Columbia park wasn’t the “innocent” depicted in a “rose-coloured” portrayal by the Crown at trial. 

Kevin McCullough told the B.C. Supreme Court jury in his closing arguments that the version of the girl’s lifestyle presented by the Crown is “at best, a partial picture” or “at worst, a lie.”

He says the Crown’s case rests on the belief it would have been out of character for the teen to have sex with Ali.

The body of the girl, who can’t be named because of a publication ban, was found in a Burnaby, B.C., park in July 2017, just hours after her mother reported her missing. 

McCullough says the only evidence they have against Ali is his semen, found inside the girl’s body, and the Crown has come up with a “crazy theory” where no one saw or heard anything connecting Ali to the murder. 

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Crown attorney Daniel Porte finished closing arguments yesterday saying it had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Ali dragged the girl into a wooded area of the park, sexually assaulted her, then killed her. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2023.

The Canadian Press