A 13-year-old girl found dead in a Burnaby park six years ago spent her last Chinese New Year hanging out with her brother, playing video games and watching movies and TV shows at their mother’s Burnaby apartment, according to testimony at a murder trial in B.C. Supreme Court this week.
The young teen’s brother took the stand at the trial of Ibrahim Ali in Vancouver Tuesday.
Ali has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of the girl, whose body was found in Central Park on July 19, 2017, less than two hours after her family reported her missing.
Ali has pleaded not guilty.
The victim cannot be identified because of a publication ban.
The girl’s brother, who was 11 years older than the girl, testified he had been a teacher in Beijing, China in early 2017 but returned to Burnaby for Chinese New Year for about a month.
He stayed with his mother and sister in their apartment near Central Park, spending time with his sister, he said.
After he returned to China, his last contact with the girl was through a series of Harry Potter-themed messages on the messaging app WeChat between 7:15 and 7:23 p.m. on July 18, 2017:
Girl: “Big brother, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, which one would you pick?”
Brother: “Slytherin.”
Girl: “OK, what’s your size for clothes?”
Brother: “You don’t need to do anything for me.”
Girl: “Just answer.”
Her brother said he didn’t answer the last message until he got a phone call from his mother later that night, saying his sister was missing.
“She was frantic,” the brother told the jury.
He said he texted his sister at about 11:37 p.m. on July 18, 2017, telling her their mother was looking for her, was “really worried” and was going to call police.
Police found the girl’s body in Central Park less than two hours later.
When the brother got the news later on July 19, 2017, he said he got on the first flight to Vancouver.
The brother’s testimony is expected to continue Wednesday.
Family friend
Earlier on Tuesday, the jury heard from a family friend that the 13-year-old should have been visiting a farm in Langley the day she went missing.
Ji Ping (Colleen) Dong was back in the witness stand for cross examination Tuesday after beginning her testimony Monday afternoon.
Defence lawyer Kevin McCullough questioned her about the day the girl went missing.
The young teen’s mother had visited Dong’s farm in Langley that day, Dong said.
The plan had been for the girl to join her mother, according to Dong.
When the day arrived, however, the mother told Dong the girl hadn't wanted to go and stayed home alone, according to Dong.
"Usually (the girl) was good at listening and she would stay home; therefore, we were not concerned about her going elsewhere," Dong said.
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