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One year later: Still no suspects in killing of 13-year-old B.C. girl

Marrisa Shen was killed in Burnaby’s Central Park on July 18, 2017
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Marrisa Shen, 13, was killed in Burnaby’s Central Park in July 2017. (Police handout)

A full year after a 13-year-old girl was killed in a Burnaby park, homicide investigators say they still have no suspects.

Marrisa Shen’s body was found in the southeastern corner of Central Park at 1:10 a.m. on July 18, 2017.

Standing in front of reporters in Central Park on Wednesday, Cpl. Frank Jang with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said investigators have followed up on more than 200 tips, spoken to 600 people and reviewed more than 1,000 hours of video, but Shen’s “random” slaying remains unsolved.

Jang provided no new information, but read out a statement from the Shen family.

“Marrisa was only 13 years old when her life was taken. It is difficult to express in words the pain of losing her in this terrible way,” Jang read.

“We were supposed to see her grow up but instead, we have been deprived of the joy of having her in our lives.”

Shen loved to travel, her family said in the statement, and had been planning to visit friends and family in China, “but those plans never came to pass.”

READ MORE: Police release new footage, launch website in hunt for 13-year-old’s killer

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Jang stressed the importance of not compromising the investigation, saying more would be revealed when police were ready to recommend charges.

He declined to say if Shen was sexually assaulted when she was killed.

He said Wednesday’s news conference was being held to refocus the public’s attention on the case.

“Every time we come before the public… we see a huge spike in the number of calls into the IHIT tipline,” Jang said. “We hope there are people out there who saw something. We’re hoping that people will come forward.”

Jang said that investigators had no evidence that Shen’s murder was linked to any other crimes in the area, including the assault of an elderly man Sunday.

What happened the night of July 18

Previously released video and tips have determined Shen left her home at about 6 p.m. on July 17, the day before she was killed.

She was last seen walking west on the south side of Central Boulevard and crossing McKay Avenue at 7:38 p.m. that night.

She was reported missing at 11:30 p.m. Police found her body in the park not long after.


@katslepian

katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

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