“It was this b—-h,” one of the girls said, pointing to another teen girl corralled in the lobby of the Hospital for Sick Children.
The exchange, captured by pc28¹ÙÍøpolice officer’s body-worn cameras, would lead to the arrest of eight teenage girls, charged with the second-degree murder of Kenneth Lee.
On Monday, a fourth girl — who was 14 at the time and 16 on Monday — pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The girl, yawning throughout her appearance, stood to enter her plea after Ontario Court Justice David Rose explained the consequences to her.
She was accused by another girl of stabbing Lee, 59, in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, 2022, according to an agreed statement of facts read by the Crown. But the statement said she was not in fact the stabber, nor did she possess any weapons at the time of the attack or upon arrest.
All eight girls, aged 13 to 16, faced the same charge.
So far, three have pleaded guilty to manslaughter and one to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.
Their sentencing hearings, including the girl who pleaded guilty Monday, are being held throughout the summer with decisions scheduled to be rendered in the fall.
The four remaining girls are headed to a jury trial at the Superior Court of Justice. That trial has not yet been scheduled.
Four other girls are expected to plead guilty and three are headed for a jury trial at Superior Court.Â
Four other girls are expected to plead guilty and three are headed for a jury trial at Superior Court.Â
The girl found guilty by Rose on Monday was involved both in the attack on Lee and earlier incidents on the subway, according to the agreed statement of facts.
She was not friends with any of the other seven girls, the statement said, but instead a friend of friends.
During the three minute and 20 second attack on Lee in a parkette near University Avenue and Front Street, the girl was said to have spat at, yelled at, grabbed at and pushed Lee.
“When Mr. Lee was on the ground, (the girl) stomped on him twice,” the agreed statement of facts, read by Crown attorney Mary Humphrey, said.
Lee, previous agreed statements of facts outlined, was experiencing homelessness at the time and visiting a friend outside the temporary shelter at the Strathcona hotel. He was trying to defend his female friend, who the girls were harassing. He was stabbed twice, one blow puncturing his heart. He died at St. Michael’s Hospital after a bystander flagged down an ambulance.
The girls were found at Sick Kids, the court earlier heard from other agreed statements, after one of the girls, who had a knife, accidentally stabbed a boy they were with while play fighting near Union Station. He was transported to the children’s hospital and the girls followed behind.
Police arrived soon after Lee was confirmed dead and all of the girls were detained.
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