The Murder of Marissa Shen
Marissa Shen was a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student living in British Columbia, Canada. Marissa liked to go for evening walks around a local park with her earphones in listening to music.
On 18th July 2017, Marissa left her house at around 6 pm but failed to return home; her parents reported her missing. The police were able to use the GPS device on her mobile phone to find her body in a wooded area of a public park, the case was later announced as a homicide. There was little progress and no suspects were announced for over a year, on the one year anniversary of Marissa's death her family issued an emotional letter appealing to the public to help.
After 14 months of no news on the murder, on 7th September 2018 police announced the arrest of Ibrahim Ali. Police used a widespread DNA collecting technique, taking samples from over a thousand residents, to identify him. Ali had arrived in Canada from Syria just months before Marissa's murder.
The murder became highly political due to the refugee status of the murderer and protesters called for comprehensive screening for refugees. A spokesperson for Marissa's family stated that while Marissa's mother appreciates the attention her daughter's case has got she does not want Marissa's murder to be politicised and that "they should focus on the violence against women and children in our society, especially women of colour."
