Teen receives four years in custody for fatal stabbing of Halifax high school student

A Halifax-area youth has been sentenced for fatally stabbing a high school student last year.

HALIFAX — A Halifax-area boy with a deeply troubled past was sentenced Monday to four years in custody and three years of community supervision for fatally stabbing a high school student during a planned group attack last year.

The 16-year-old accused, who was 14 at the time of the killing, received the maximum sentence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, based on a joint recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers.

“No child should have to bear the trials and distress that you did as a young boy,” Nova Scotia youth court Judge Bronwyn Duffy told the boy, whose identity is protected from publication because of his age.

“Just because you cannot change your own past, nor can you reverse what you brought upon (the victim) and his family, this is not a reason to wallow in that space and stop trying.”

Duffy reduced the boy’s in-custody sentence by 12 months, partly because the teen had already served more than 19 months in detention. But she didn’t cut his sentence by a full 19 months because she said he needed extra time in custody to respond to intensive, mandatory rehabilitative treatment.

In January, the accused pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Ahmad Maher Al Marrach, a well-liked Grade 10 student who arrived in Canada with his parents and six siblings in 2016 after escaping the war in Syria.

Court heard that on April 22, 2024, the accused and three other teens -- whose identities are also subject to a publication ban -- met at a downtown Halifax shopping mall, where the accused stole a large kitchen knife from a discount store.

The group then took a bus to a parkade near the Halifax Shopping Centre in the city’s west end, where one of the teens -- a 17-year-old boy -- had agreed via text messages with Al Marrach to have a “one-on-one” fight with no weapons, according to an agreed statement of facts,

“All four were armed with knives when they arrived at the bus terminal and walked to parkade,” the statement says. Al Marrach did not have a weapon.

Almost immediately after the one-on-one fight started, the three other teens joined in attacking Al Marrach. But it was the 14-year-old who pulled the stolen knife from his clothing and stabbed Al Marrach in the chest. The accused was arrested two days later.

“(He) participated in a group assault and delivered a fatal stab wound to (Al Marrach), acting intentionally and with the knowledge that it was likely to cause his death,” Duffy said.

“During the fight, (Al Marrach) was outnumbered for the whole of it, and (the accused) at no time made the decision to retreat.”

During the sentencing hearing, the killer wore a light grey suit, white shirt and black tie as he looked directly at the judge and barely moved. The judge noted that the young offender’s life had been marked by physical and emotional abuse, as well as parental neglect. She said that at one point, the boy had resorted to stealing to feed his siblings.

“This crushing lack of opportunities throughout his life does nothing to excuse or justify the crime,” Duffy said. “But they do inform his degree of moral responsibility and contribute to his current position.”

The judge cited a report from an expert who concluded the boy’s treatment in custody will be “complicated and require the involvement of professionals with significant expertise in the treatment of high-risk violent and criminally diverse youth.”

The judge, however, also said the offender has acknowledged responsibility for his actions, showed remorse and apologized to Al Marrach’s family.

As for Al Marrach’s closest relatives, Duffy said they continue to “bear the agony of his absence.”

The judge cited several victim impact statements, including one from Al Marrach’s sister.

“(She) spoke of the lack of joy in her life after her brother’s passing,” Duffy said. “She sees him in her dreams and still cannot believe what has happened to their family.”

As for Al Marrach’s mother, Duffy described her statement to the court as a “torturous account.”

“She describes, `living in a body without a soul,’ of being incapable of coming to terms with his death and carrying on a normal life,” the judge said. “She lives with the guilt of not having been there at the time to protect him (and) wishes she could lose her memory.”

Duffy then read an excerpt from the mother’s statement: “My beloved has died and with him the safety of my heart. How I wish I could see him one last time, even for a single moment, to bring back the colour of life.”

In July of this year, the 17-year-old boy who the Crown says was responsible for organizing the brawl was convicted of manslaughter by a judge. His sentencing hearing will be held next month. Like the three other accused, he was originally charged with second-degree murder.

In August, an 18-year-old boy was sentenced to 10 months in a youth detention centre and 17 months of community supervision for his role in Al Marrach’s death. He was 17 at the time of the killing. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October 2024, as did a girl who was 14 at the time of the crime.

The girl, who told court she was in a relationship with the killer, was sentenced in April to three months in a youth detention centre and two years of supervision in the community.

• Family of teen who was fatally stabbed in Halifax says they are broken without him
• One of four youth charged in Halifax teen’s death sentenced to 27 months
• Teen pleads guilty to second-degree murder in Halifax mall stabbing

By Michael MacDonald

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2025.