The Murder of Mindy Tran — Kelowna’s Infamous Unsolved Murder
A young girl was killed, and the suspect may have been wrongly accused by the police. The mishandled investigation into the case may have resulted in the case going cold.
In 1994, the disappearance and murder of Mindy Tran sent shockwaves through the town of Kelowna. When the prime suspect, Shannon Murrin, was arrested and charged with the crime, many believed justice would be served. However, as the investigation and trial progressed, disturbing questions arose about the handling of the case by law enforcement and the reliability of the evidence presented.
In 1994, Mindy Tran was just 8 years old. On August 14th, just after dinner, Mindy went outside to play with a friend. When she didn’t return hundreds of friends, family, and neighbors searched high and low for the little girl.
After days of searching with no clues or lead as to what happened to the little girl, the search was called off on August 22nd.
Six weeks later her body was found stuffed in a suitcase, after a man with a divining rod led police to a shallow grave in Mission Creek Regional park, just a kilometer from her home. Her body showed signs of strangulation, and she had been sexually assaulted.
The prime suspect was Shannon Murrin, who happened to live in the same duplex as the friend Mindy was going to see.
This case is wrought with confusion. Shannon had confessed to the crime, but only after he was beaten and hospitalized by assailants who said the RCMP convinced them to attack Shannon. They drove Shannon to where Mindy’s body was found and beat him nearly to death. He was in the hospital for 11 days following the beating and had to have a hole drilled into his head to relieve the building pressure on his brain.
