The man charged with first-degree murder in the 2017 death of Burnaby’s Marrisa Shen won't stand trial until at least 2022.
Ibrahim Ali, then 28 years old, was arrested and charged with murder in September 2018 – a little more than a year after the 13-year-old’s body was found in Central Park in the early morning hours of July 19.
Her family had reported her missing the previous night when she failed to return home by 11 p.m.
Ali’s trial date was originally set for September 2020, but jury selection was cancelled a month before it was schedule to begin.
A new trial date has now been set for Jan. 10, 2022, according to the B.C. Prosecution Service.
Spokesperson Dan McLaughlin told the NOW the trial has been postponed to “accommodate various pre-trial applications.”
“The current time estimate for the running of the trial is 3 - 4 months,” McLaughlin said in an email Thursday.
Shen was set to start Grade 9 at Moscrop Secondary School before she was killed.
Her classmates graduated this year.
A friend who had met Shen in Grade 8 posted an emotional tribute to the slain teen on Reddit last month, nearly four years after her death.
Shen was “more than a girl who was killed,” the post said.
She was “reckless and loud and slightly annoying,” according to the post, but also “kind, smart, caring and honest.”
“The biggest lie she every told was when she told me she would see me tomorrow,” the post said.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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