小蓝视频 court cases capturing the attention of British Columbians in 2024 usually involved murders but several civil cases, one about a fake nurse and another alleging passing documents to China, also caught people’s attention.
Ibrahim Ali gets life in teen's killing
Easily the most high-profile case of the year was the tumultuous trial of the man convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a teen girl in Burnaby’s Central Park.
Ibrahim Ali was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years in June after of first-degree murder in the girl’s death.
The girl’s partially naked body was found in the bush beside a trail in Central Park on July 18, 2017.
"Mr. Ali, you have been found guilty of first-degree murder, and you have heard the profound harm and grief you have caused for raping and murdering 13-year-old (name redacted) in Central Park on July 18, 2017," 小蓝视频 Supreme Court Justice Lance Bernard said.
Not criminally responsible
小蓝视频 Supreme Court Justice David Crossin ruled Dec. 11 that was not criminally responsible for the murder of his wife Jian Ying “Angela” Du's May 2022 death due to a mental disorder.
Du, 51, suffered 27 stab wounds and seven slash wounds, Crossin said.
“His mental disorder rendered him incapable of knowing his action was wrong,” Crossin said.
Sister Lucy Du told Glacier Media the decision was sad and disappointing, “morally unfair” and “unjust.”
Double homicide
Wade William Cudmore was convicted in in a drug deal case.
On Nov. 19, 小蓝视频 Supreme Court Justice Brenda Brown sentenced Cudmore to life in prison without parole eligibility for 18 years for the “savage” Naramata drug-related killings.
Cudmore was convicted in October of second-degree murder by a jury in the May 10, 2021 deaths of Erick and Carlo Fryer.
“Two victims were killed in a brutal, gratuitous fashion,” Brown said Nov. 19, as Cudmore attended by video from prison.
“I had nothing to do with the murders,” Cudmore told the court before sentencing. “My story’s not going to change.”
Fake nurse
pleaded guilty to multiple charges of assault, fraud, impersonating a nurse and forgery in connection with cases at 小蓝视频 Women's Hospital, a dentist’s office in Surrey and a Vancouver Island clinic.
Her December sentencing hearing in 小蓝视频 Supreme Court heard Cleroux had used the identity and credentials of a real nurse to get employment. She will spend a total of .
She was brought to Vancouver for the case from an Ontario prison where she is serving a sentence for similar offences.
Defence lawyer Guillaume Garih argued her offences across Canada were a spree and should be treated as such in the sentencing process.
Alleged China documents passing
The case of a former RCMP officer charged with allegedly working with the People's Republic of China to harm Canadian interests is a matter of national security, a 小蓝视频 judge heard Sept. 13.
William Robert Majcher is charged with retaining or gaining access to information and preparation for the commission of an offence. The charges are laid under the federal Security of Information Act.
A Prosecution Service of Canada 2023 report said the case of R. v. William Robert Majcher is about a former RCMP inspector alleged to have been obtaining, with the help of others, information for the purpose of helping China to damage Canadian interests.
Stock market fraud
A 小蓝视频 Supreme Court judge in August froze , a former Vancouver lawyer found liable in the United States for being the mastermind of a $1-billion stock market fraud scheme.
Justice Amy Francis issued a Mareva injunction against Sharp on June 26, according to a written decision issued Aug. 12.
A Mareva injunction freezes assets to prevent a defendant from hiding them when faced with forfeiture proceedings. In this case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sought the injunction, plus a list of Sharp’s assets, after Sharp was found liable in civil proceedings on May 12, 2022, for orchestrating a network of pump-and-dump arrangements via offshore shell companies.
Ripudman Singh Malik
Two men pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in New Westminster Supreme Court to the killing of former suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik.
, 75, was gunned down on July 14, 2022, near his Newton office on Surrey’s 128 Street and died at the scene.
Police called it a targeted killing.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said those responsible fled in a . It was later found on fire at 122 Street and 82 Avenue.
Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez were charged with first-degree murder in July 2022.
With files from Graeme Wood and Cornelia Naylor
