On a warm July night in 2017, 13-year-old Marrisa Shen left her Burnaby home for a quick walk to Tim Hortons. She never came back. By morning, police searching Central Park uncovered a discovery that shook the entire community.
The investigation would span years, involve one of Canada’s most unusual sting operations, and end in a trial that stunned everyone who followed it.
Works Cited
Burnaby Now. BC Court: Banking Records Probed at Ibrahim Ali Murder Trial. Burnaby Now, 2023. https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/bc-court-banking-records-probed-ibrahim-ali-murder-trial-7220437
. Accessed 12 Sept. 2025.
CBC News. “B.C. Police Secretly Took DNA from Kurdish Community in Tea Cup Sting to Help Solve Murder: Court Recordings.” CBC News, 24 Jan. 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tea-cup-sting-ibrahim-ali-investigation-1.7084214
. Accessed 12 Sept. 2025.
CBC News. “Did Cutting-Edge DNA Analysis Point Police to Marrisa Shen’s Killer?” CBC News, 6 Aug. 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/marrisa-shen-dna-analysis-1.4762891
. Accessed 12 Sept. 2025.
CBC News. “Friend of Burnaby Teen Who Was Killed Testifies at Murder Trial.” CBC News, 14 Apr. 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/marrisa-shen-friend-testifies-trial-1.6810641
. Accessed 12 Sept. 2025.
CBC News. “Man Accused of 1st-Degree Murder of Burnaby Teen Pleads Not Guilty.” CBC News, 11 Apr. 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ibrahim-ali-murder-trial-plea-1.6806783
. Accessed 12 Sept. 2025.
CBC News. “Marrisa Shen: A Timeline of Her Disappearance.” CBC News, 19 July 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/marrisa-shen-timeline-1.4747512
. Accessed 12 Sept. 2025.
Charlebois, Brieanna. “Closing Arguments to Begin in B.C. First-Degree Murder Trial of Ibrahim Ali.” The Canadian Press News, 31 Oct. 2023. https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/prairies_bc/bc/closing-arguments-to-begin-in-b-c-first-degree-murder-trial-of-ibrahim-ali/article_15503f49-990f-567d-8068-921a396738b0.html
. Accessed 12 Sept. 202
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