Teen girls’ murder trial hears others in their group were seen with knife that night

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This article was published 05/02/2025 (588 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – A group of teens was involved in several scuffles and confrontations as they made their way downtown in the hours leading up to the alleged swarming and stabbing of a homeless Toronto man, court heard Wednesday at the trial of two girls accused in his death. 

The two girls are among eight teens who were charged in the death of Kenneth Lee, a 59-year-old man who died after he was beaten and stabbed in a downtown Toronto parkette. Both have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Video clips from security cameras and cellphones, played in court over several days, show a large group of teens that includes the two accused hanging out at Toronto’s Yorkdale mall, on a bus, and at two subway stations the evening of Dec. 17, 2022, with conflicts erupting at several locations.

At various points, two of the other girls in the group are seen holding a knife while at Yorkdale subway station, the lead detective testified Wednesday. 

One of those girls is also seen with a bottle of Crown Royal whisky, as is one of the girls currently on trial, Det. Rodney Benson told the court.

Video from St. George subway station shows the group spill out of the train, with some appearing to chase two young men down the platform, the detective said.

The youngest of the girls on trial, who was 14 at the time, seems to argue with the men and take a swing at one of them on the stairs to the lower platforms, he said. The other accused girl, then 16, is holding a bottle of whisky and seems to get in a confrontation with a man in a blue jacket before someone pulls her away.

Another girl in the group is seen holding vise grips and at one point appears to use them to tap on the subway train’s windows.

Earlier Wednesday, court heard testimony from a man who said he was attacked by a group of teens while at St. George subway station that evening.

Prosecutors allege the two girls on trial would have known others in their group had a knife.

Court has heard no knife was recovered as part of the investigation, but the youngest of the girls on trial was found with two small scissors and a pair of tweezers when she was arrested.

Prosecutors allege that girl is the one who fatally wounded Lee, but they have yet to say when or with what.

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

Police charged eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16, and four have since pleaded guilty — three to manslaughter and one to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.

Two other girls are set to face a jury trial this May on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter, respectively. The case was split into two trials due to scheduling issues. 

None of the teens can be identified because they were minors at the time of the incident.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2025.