A sentencing hearing is scheduled today for a teen girl who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a deadly group attack on a homeless Toronto man.
The girl entered a surprise plea in February as she and another teen were being tried for second-degree murder in the death of Kenneth Lee.
The trial continued for her co-accused, who prosecutors allege fatally stabbed Lee during the attack, and a verdict is expected in her case at the end of May.
Defence lawyers for that girl maintain she did not deliver the blow that caused Lee’s death, arguing it’s impossible to tell based on the evidence who stabbed Lee or when.
The teen whose sentencing hearing is planned today was 16 at the time of the incident, which took place in a downtown Toronto parkette in December 2022.
The swarming was captured on security video, and the footage served as a central piece of evidence at trial.
In it, the girl can be seen throwing a traffic cone at Lee, then hitting him with one as he tries to defend himself against the group.
An autopsy found that Lee, 59, died from shock due to blood loss after he was stabbed in the heart, court has heard. He also had a smaller stab wound that did not contribute to his death, as well as a range of bruises and other injuries, court heard.
One of the paramedics who arrived at the scene shortly after the attack testified neither they nor Lee realized he had been stabbed until after he collapsed.
Lee died on the operating table at St. Michael’s hospital in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2022, court heard.
Police arrested eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 in the hours after the incident and charged them with second-degree murder.
In total, six have pleaded guilty to lesser charges – four to manslaughter, one to assault and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.
The girl awaiting a verdict tried to plead guilty to manslaughter but her plea was rejected by the Crown.
A trial is scheduled to start next week for the eighth girl.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2025.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
