Girls charged in fatal ‘swarming’ attack of Kenneth Lee headed to trial
The girls were arrested in December 2022, days before Christmas, after they allegedly swarmed and stabbed Kenneth Lee in the early morning hours downtown Toronto.
Eight girls who police alleged murdered homeless man Kenneth Lee are headed to a jury trial.
Ontario Court Justice David Rose committed each of them to trial on Friday after 10 days of hearing evidence and argument at a preliminary hearing. But not all of the girls will stand trial on the second-degree murder charge laid by pc28¹ÙÍøpolice.
Six of the girls, Rose ruled, will face trial on second-degree murder and two were committed to stand trial on the lesser charge of manslaughter.
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The evidence Rose heard in a fifth floor courtroom of the new Armoury Street courthouse is covered by a publication ban that protects accused persons’ fair trial rights. Evidence heard at a preliminary hearing may differ from what may be presented to a jury where the standard for evidence is higher.
The identity of the girls is also protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act that sees rehabilitation as a central goal for young persons, even those facing the most serious charges under the Criminal Code.
The girls were arrested in December 2022, days before Christmas, after they allegedly swarmed and stabbed him in the early morning hours downtown. Lee was homeless at the time. The alleged attack took place just outside the Strathcona Hotel, operating as a temporary shelter space during an ongoing homelessness crisis compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The girls were 13, 13, 13, 14, 14, 14, 16 and 16 years old at the time.
All but one of the girls is on bail as they await trial.
Trial dates in the Superior Court of Justice have not yet been scheduled.
Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based crime reporter for the
Star. Follow her on Twitter: .
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