Teen stabbed homeless Toronto man twice during swarming, Crown tells murder trial

Crown prosecutor Mary Humphrey, left to right, defence lawyer Ayderus Alawi, Alawi's accused client, defence lawyer Boris Bytensky, defence lawyer Kathryn Doyle, Bytensky and Doyle's accused client, Justice Phillip Campbell and Toronto police Det. Rodney Benson appear in a courtroom sketch made in Toronto on Febuary 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alexandra Newbould

TORONTO — A teen girl who took part in the violent swarming of a homeless Toronto man more than two years ago was the only one in the group who could have stabbed him twice during the attack, prosecutors alleged Wednesday at her murder trial.

The girl — one of eight teens charged in the case — is seen lunging toward Kenneth Lee’s side at one point in the incident, which was captured on security video, prosecutors said as they began their final submissions in the judge-alone trial.

Later, when Lee falls forward after being cornered against a retaining wall, the girl’s right hand jabs forward “quite dramatically” and delivers the fatal blow, prosecutor Sarah De Filippis alleged.

“She is the only person in a position to deliver those stab wounds,” De Filippis told the court.

The girl was 14 when she and a group of friends encountered Lee in a downtown Toronto parkette in December 2022. She has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Another girl who was 16 at the time entered a surprise guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter on Tuesday, admitting in a statement that she was a “joint participant” in a group assault that led to Lee’s death.

The Crown alleges the younger girl stabbed Lee with a knife in the final moments of a swarming that played out in three waves of violence and lasted roughly three minutes and 20 seconds.

The defence, however, maintains the girl wasn’t the one who dealt the lethal blow, arguing it’s impossible to tell from security video who stabbed Lee or when. Even Lee himself didn’t realize he had been stabbed until later, the defence has argued.

If the court is not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the girl inflicted the fatal wound, she should still be found guilty of second-degree murder for participating in the group attack that resulted in Lee’s death, the Crown argued Wednesday.

Court has heard Lee, 59, died on the operating table at St. Michael’s Hospital on Dec. 18, 2022.

An autopsy found he died from blood loss after he was stabbed in the heart, court heard. Lee also had another, smaller stab wound near his armpit that did not contribute to his death and an assortment of bruises and other injuries, according to the forensic pathologist who examined his body.

At the time of her arrest, the girl was found with two pairs of nail scissors and some tweezers, court heard. The forensic pathologist said it was unlikely those scissors would have caused the fatal wound because the blades seemed too short. The scissors could have caused the smaller cut, she said.

Prosecutors said that while they believe the fatal wound was caused by a knife, they can’t rule out the possibility that the scissors were used instead.

No knife was recovered during the investigation but there are “brief periods” after the group leaves the parkette where the girl is not seen on security video and could have disposed of a weapon, the Crown said.

In his closing submissions, defence lawyer Boris Bytensky said the Crown has fallen “far, far short of proof beyond a reasonable doubt” for second-degree murder.

The girl didn’t have a knife at any point that night and didn’t have the intent for murder, he argued.

She had been drinking and smoking marijuana with friends at Yorkdale mall hours before going to the parkette and there’s evidence she continued to drink afterward, he said, pointing to security footage that shows the group with a bottle of Crown Royal whisky that appears increasingly empty as they make their way downtown.

“She’s demonstrating obvious signs of intoxication,” stumbling around with reduced inhibitions even in the half hour before the incident, Bytensky argued.

The defence has acknowledged the girl “might” have caused the smaller, non-fatal wound, but not the one that pierced Lee’s heart.

Eight girls were arrested in the hours that followed Lee’s death. So far, five have pleaded guilty — four to manslaughter and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

The girl currently on trial tried to plead guilty to manslaughter on the first day of trial but her plea was rejected by the Crown.

A jury trial is scheduled in May for the remaining two girls.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press