Bank records show accused killer was in the same city on day a B.C. girl was killed

Court sketch of Ibrahim Ali.

Vancouver -

A senior investigator at Vancouver City Savings Credit Union says a bank account registered to Ibrahim Ali shows transactions in Burnaby, B.C., on July 18, 2017, the same day a 13-year-old was murdered in a city park.

Rick Mihic told Ali's first-degree murder trial in B.C. Supreme Court that there were three purchases made from Ali's account that day, including one from a Freshslice Pizza and two others from a Chevron.

However, he testified he wasn't able to tell the address of the businesses or the time the purchases happened from the records.

Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of the teen, whose name is under a publication ban.

The girl's body was found in Burnaby's Central Park early on July 19, 2017, just hours after her mother reported her missing.

Crown attorney Isobel Keeley said in her opening statement in April that the court would hear evidence showing the murder was random, but cellphone and bank records prove Ali was in Burnaby that day, while DNA results would prove he sexually assaulted the girl.

She said the evidence would show the teen was passing through the park when she was dragged off a pathway into the forest by Ali, sexually assaulted and strangled.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2023.