Closing submissions resume in trial of teen girl accused of killing Kenneth Lee

Ken Lee is shown in a Toronto Police Service handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Toronto Police Service

TORONTO — None of the other teens who violently swarmed a homeless Toronto man in 2022 appeared to make any motions consistent with stabbing during the attack, prosecutors argued Wednesday at the murder trial of a teen girl they allege inflicted the fatal wound.

The swarming at a downtown Toronto parkette was captured on security footage, and at two points, the girl can be seen extending her hand in a stabbing motion that correlates with the cuts on Kenneth Lee’s body, prosecutor Sarah De Filippis argued in her closing submissions.

The girl, who was 14 at the time of the attack, is one of eight teens charged in Lee’s death. She has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and the Crown has rejected her attempt to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Prosecutors argue the girl stabbed Lee with a knife or a small pair of scissors during the December 2022 attack, which lasted about three minutes and 20 seconds before a shelter worker intervened.

No knife was ever recovered as part of the investigation, the trial heard, though security footage from earlier in the night shows two other girls holding at least one knife.

When she was arrested, the girl was found with two small pairs of scissors and some tweezers, court heard.

The forensic pathologist who examined Lee’s body testified he died from hemorrhagic shock after he was stabbed in the heart. He also had a smaller, non-fatal stab wound near his armpit and an assortment of bruises, Dr. Magdaleni Bellis told the court.

Bellis testified it was possible but unlikely that the scissors found with the girl would have caused the wound that killed Lee.

De Filippis argued Wednesday the girl had the opportunity to get rid of a knife after leaving the parkette in moments that were not caught on surveillance video, adding that the Crown does not have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what kind of weapon was used.

She alleged the girl had the intent for murder in that she meant to cause physical harm that she knew was likely to cause Lee’s death.

If the judge has any doubt about either of those elements — the intention to cause the harm or the knowledge that death was a likely result — then that would lead to a finding of guilt on manslaughter rather than second-degree murder, she said.

Lawyers for the defence have argued the girl didn’t have a knife at any point in the course of the night and didn’t have the intent for murder.

Defence lawyer Boris Bytensky argued it’s impossible to tell from the video who stabbed Lee and when, noting Lee himself didn’t seem to notice the injury at the time.

The defence maintains the girl wasn’t the one who dealt the lethal blow, and argues the Crown has fallen “far, far short of proof beyond a reasonable doubt” for second-degree murder.

Lee, 59, was living in the city’s shelter system and was at the parkette near Toronto’s Union station with a friend when they encountered the group. He died in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2022, after undergoing emergency surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital, court has heard.

Police arrested eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 in the hours that followed. All were charged with second-degree murder, but so far, five have pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Last year, four girls pleaded guilty — three to manslaughter and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

A fifth girl who was initially part of the trial now underway entered a surprise guilty plea to manslaughter in February after the Crown said it had reassessed the strength of the evidence for second-degree murder in her case.

The two remaining teens are scheduled to face trial in May, one on a charge of second-degree murder and the other on a charge of manslaughter.

The Crown began its closing submissions in this case mid-February but could not continue until this week due to scheduling issues. Submissions are expected to wrap up Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2025.