Verdict expected for girl charged with 2nd-degree murder in fatal Toronto swarming attack

The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 30, 2025 1:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

A justice is expected to present a verdict this day for 1 of the teen girls accused successful the fatal swarming onslaught connected a stateless Toronto antheral successful 2022.

The girl, who was 14 astatine the clip of the attack, was 1 of 8 teens charged successful Kenneth Lee's death.

Her second-degree execution proceedings wrapped up successful aboriginal April aft the Crown rejected her effort to plead blameworthy to the lesser complaint of manslaughter.

Prosecutors person alleged that the miss was the 1 who inflicted Lee's fatal coiled by stabbing the 59-year-old with a weapon oregon a tiny brace of scissors during the December 2022 attack.

No weapon was ever recovered arsenic portion of the investigation, the proceedings heard, and the defence has argued the miss didn't person a weapon astatine immoderate constituent that night.

Security footage of the swarming onslaught astatine a downtown Toronto parkette was cardinal to the proceedings — but the girl's defence lawyer argued it's intolerable to archer from the video who stabbed Lee and when, noting Lee himself didn't look to announcement the wounded astatine the time.

The Crown said successful its closing submissions that astatine 2 points, the miss tin beryllium seen successful the video extending her manus successful a stabbing question that correlates with the cuts connected Lee's body.

Unlikely scissors created fatal wound: pathologist 

When she was arrested, the miss was recovered with 2 tiny pairs of scissors and immoderate tweezers, tribunal heard.

The forensic pathologist who examined Lee's assemblage testified helium died from hemorrhagic daze aft helium was stabbed successful the heart. He besides had a smaller, non-fatal stab coiled adjacent his armpit and an assortment of bruises, tribunal heard.

The pathologist testified it was improbable that the scissors recovered with the miss would person caused the coiled that killed Lee.

The Crown argued the miss had the accidental to get escaped of a weapon aft leaving the parkette successful moments that were not caught connected surveillance video.

Lee was surviving successful the city's structure strategy and was astatine the parkette adjacent Toronto's Union presumption with a person erstwhile they encountered the group. He died successful the aboriginal hours of Dec. 18, 2022, aft undergoing exigency country astatine St. Michael's Hospital, tribunal has heard.

After Lee's death, constabulary arrested 8 girls betwixt the ages of 13 and 16 successful the lawsuit and charged them with second-degree murder, but 7 of them person since pleaded blameworthy to lesser charges.

Five person pleaded blameworthy to manslaughter, 1 to battle and 1 to battle with a limb and battle causing bodily harm.