Number 7 in NEWS 1130’s Top 10 of 2017

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to remove the victim’s name, which is now covered by a publication ban.

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – It’s been just over six months since the limp body of a young girl was found in the brush of a popular park in the middle of the night and still no one has been held accountable.

One of the most captivating stories this year was the murder of a 13-year-old, whose remains were discovered in Burnaby’s Central Park.

Despite continued hope investigators would catch a break in the case or find that one piece of evidence to arrest someone — it has eluded them.

Soon after her death, homicide investigators released a timeline of the hours prior to her murder.

The girl was last seen, captured on surveillance footage outside the apartment building where she lived near Central Park, on July 18th at about 1 p.m. At 5 p.m. The girl sends a text from her phone — it’s unclear to whom the message was sent or what it was about. Roughly an hour later at 6:02 p.m., she is again seen on surveillance video leaving home. Investigators said it didn’t look like she was in any distress. The girl was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt — the same clothes she’s believed to have been discovered in.

At 11:30 p.m., the girl’s mother calls police to report her missing and shortly after 1 a.m., her body is found in the brush on the southeast side of the park. With the help of GPS, officers were able to track her phone, leading them to her body.

“It’s early in the investigation and an autopsy is required to determine a cause of death. Until we confirm more facts in this case, the risk to the public — if any — is unknown, but we ask that they remain vigilant,” said Integrated Homicide Investigation Team Corporal Meghan Foster at the time. “[The girl’s] death is a tragedy and her family has been left devastated.”

Roughly a week after the killing a well-attended candlelight vigil and funeral was held for the girl with police taking the unusual step of asking the public for any video from either event. At the time, IHIT was asked if there was a chance they believed the suspect was there. “We’re asking for people to provide this information because of the nature of offence and the attention that it has drawn nation-wide. We would be remiss not to ask for it.”

Foster had confirmed police were sure the girl was killed in the park and not that her body had just been dumped there, however, a cause of death has yet to be released.

Shortly after her death, police deemed the killing “random”– leaving the community restless for answers and hopeful for a quick arrest.

Today, Burnaby RCMP Superintendent Chuck McDonald understands the frustration, but continues to plead for patience.

“We understand that a crime such as this creates questions and concerns around the safety of the public and the public can be confident that we continue to work together with stakeholders, the city, various community groups on public safety initiatives and public safety is a group effort. We will work diligently with our partners on public education through our crime prevention units, enforcement initiatives and intelligence gathering to address public safety issues.”

A few months after the girl’s death the city did green light undertaking some security enhancements in and around the park including the addition of an increased number of bylaw officers, more bike patrols, and to look at installing security cameras around some entrances of the park.

McDonald, a parent himself, admits the crime has been difficult to swallow. “It hits me. I imagine it does for a lot of people too, not that some murders are worse than others, but this one was definitely a difficult one for me. I think what happened was for a lot of people, I know it happened to me, is they can see themselves in [the girl’s] parents and just the thought of losing a child.”

A month after the killing, police had identified at least 90 persons of interest in the case. They went on to say they had received hundreds of tips, had scanned thousands of hours of surveillance footage from numerous areas — but the plea for help remains.

The investigation remains active and anyone with any information is asked to call the IHIT tipline at 1.877.551.IHIT or Crime Stoppers at 1.800.222.TIPS.

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