Expert witness died before finishing testimony, B.C. murder trial told

The jury in a British Columbia Supreme Court murder trial has been told that an expert witness didn't finish her testimony because she is dead.

Justice Lance Bernard told the jury Tuesday at the resumption of the first-degree murder trial for Ibrahim Ali that when Dr. Tracy Pickett didn't show up to finish her cross-examination last month, the court wasn't aware that she had died.

Vancouver police have said Pickett's body was found in Vancouver's Southlands neighbourhood on Sept. 28, two days after a family member reported her missing.

Police said at the time that the 55-year-old woman's death did not appear to be the result of a crime.

Bernard asked jury members not to speculate on her death, saying they would be told what to do with the doctor's testimony after Crown and defence lawyers make submissions to the court.

Pickett testified last month that injuries to the body of the 13-year-old girl found in a Burnaby park strongly indicated that she had been sexually assaulted.

Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of the teen, whose body was found in Central Park early on July 19, 2017, just hours after her mother reported her missing.

After Bernard addressed the jury, the Crown called Gladys Paling, the manager of a Burnaby Tim Hortons restaurant.

Paling testified that CCTV footage from inside the Tim Hortons showed the teen entering the business around 6 p.m. on July 18, 2017, wearing jean shorts, a black T-shirt and wired earbuds.

She testified that the footage the jury would watch showed the girl spent about 90 minutes at the restaurant.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2023.