VIDEO SHEDS NEW LIGHT
Police say Burnaby teen spent an hour and a half alone at a Tim Hortons before she was found slain in Central Park six months ago
Marrisa Shen walked into Tim Hortons on Central Boulevard near McKay Avenue in Burnaby’s busy Metrotown area at 6:09 p.m. on July 18.
She was wearing typical teenage garb — black T-shirt, denim shorts, black runners, ear phones — and held the door open for a man in a reflective vest leaving the coffee shop.
The 13-year-old stayed at the Tim Hortons for an hour and a half. She was seen heading for the exit at 7:37 p.m., carefully sorting her trash into the proper receptacles before reaching for the door handle.
“This video is the last known time we believe Marrisa was seen,” said Cpl. Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team at a news conference Thursday at RCMP headquarters in Surrey.
Police say Shen did not speak with anyone while she was at the coffee shop. She was last seen a minute after she left, at 7:38 p.m., walking westbound on Central Boulevard in the direction of Central Park.
Her family called Burnaby Mounties just after 11:30 p.m. that night when she didn’t arrive at home.
At 1:10 a.m., her body was found in the southeast side of the park, a short walk away from the Tim Hortons. Police believe the attack was random.
Six months after Shen was reported missing, with no arrests made or charges laid, IHIT released a video on the website marrisashen.org where the public can access information and updates on the case, which police described as a “priority investigation” in B.C.
“Marrisa was a 13-year-old teenager just about to enter high school just prior to her tragic death,” said Jang. “We are all invested in this case.”
Investigators continue to conduct door-to-door canvasses around the busy commercial and residential Metrotown and Central Park area, he said. Police have identified more than 1,000 people for “further followup,” received over 200 tips and collected over 1,000 hours of video footage from 60 locations.
One of the videos, which has been released previously, shows Shen leaving her apartment building at 6:02 p.m. on July 18. She had on the same clothes she was wearing when she entered Tim Hortons seven minutes later.
Jang said police had the Tim Hortons video “for a while,” but said he could not go into specifics about the investigation.
IHIT had previously said they had identified 90 persons of interest. On Thursday, Jang declined to say how many such persons remain, saying the number could change.
Investigators have been in contact with Shen’s family. They are doing well, said Jang, given their tragic loss. “Our collective hearts at IHIT go out to the family of Marrisa Shen.”
Anyone with information is asked to call IHIT at 1-877-551-4448 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.