TORONTO — The Crown and defence are asking the court to hand down a sentence of 15 months of probation to 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.
Prosecutor Sarah De Filippis said in her sentencing submissions on Friday that although the attack on Lee was "incomprehensible," the girl was not as involved as others in the group who have also pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The teen was 16 at the time of the incident, which took place in a downtown Toronto parkette in December 2022 and allegedly involved eight girls. The fatal 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.
"She is the least physically involved in the attack on Mr. Lee," De Filippis said.
She told the court that the sentence should take into account the lengthy period of time the girl has spent in custody and other mitigating factors, as well as include conditions such as that the girl have no contact with her co-accused.
The girl's defence lawyer, Ayderus Alawi, agreed with the Crown's submission.
He said his client wants to catch up on her schooling and improve her prospects in life, and she has the support of her parents.
Superior Court Justice Philip Campbell said he will deliver the sentence on May 16, and has asked that the girl read submitted victim impact statements from Lee's family members in the meantime.
After the girl entered her plea in February, the trial continued for her co-accused, who prosecutors allege fatally stabbed Lee during the attack.
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. A verdict is expected at the end of May.
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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2025.
Sonja Puzic and Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
