Girl found dead in Burnaby park had ’blunt force’ injuries: sexual assault expert

A sexual assault expert testifying at the B.C. Supreme Court trial of a man accused of killing a 13-year-old girl six years ago says she believes the girl’s injuries were “highly indicative of blunt force trauma.”

Dr. Tracy Pickett, a doctor specializing in emergency and clinical forensic medicine, says it is unlikely those injuries, to the girl’s vagina, came from a small object such as a tampon, and is more consistent with penial penetration.

She told the jury she was not at the autopsy and didn’t see the body in person, but formed her expert opinion from photos and pathologist notes, including descriptions of the injuries in the autopsy report.

She says injuries to the rectum and anus are also consistent with “completed penetration.”

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