Teen girl found guilty of manslaughter in fatal Toronto swarming apologizes in court

Sentencing submissions are expected today for the teen girl found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal swarming attack on Kenneth Lee.

TORONTO — A teen girl found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal swarming of a homeless Toronto man broke into tears Wednesday as she apologized in court for her role in the attack, saying she has learned “important lessons” in the years since the incident and is working to turn her life around.

Standing before the judge, the girl said she wanted to apologize to Kenneth Lee’s family and friends, particularly a woman who was with him that night, even though it “wouldn’t make anything better.”

If she could, she would apologize to Lee himself, she said during her sentencing hearing.

“I know nothing I say will ever change what happened, but I still want to say that I’m truly sorry and I accept full responsibility and I am making an effort to grow as a person and learn from it and I’m disappointed in the actions and decisions I made,” the girl said, choking up at times.

“I was a kid at the time, so I wasn’t considering the consequences of drinking, smoking, or participating in events that I shouldn’t have.”

The girl said she can now understand the impact of her choices and has since focused on “changing for the better.”

“I haven’t gotten in trouble again, and I know I’m on the right path now. I’ve changed my mindset and behaviour because I want a better future,” she said.

The teen was one of eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 who were arrested and charged with second-degree murder in Lee’s death.

The other seven girls pleaded guilty to lesser charges – five to manslaughter, one to assault and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.

This girl, who was 14 at the time of the attack, also tried to plead guilty to manslaughter at the start of her trial, but her plea was rejected by the Crown.

In May, Ontario Justice Philip Campbell found her not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The judge said the Crown had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the girl dealt the fatal blow to Lee, or had the state of mind required for murder during the December 2022 swarming.

Prosecutors had argued the girl was the one who delivered the fatal blow by stabbing Lee with a knife or small pair of scissors during the attack, which took place in a downtown Toronto parkette and was captured on security video.

No knife was ever recovered as part of the investigation, court heard during trial, but the girl was found with two pairs of small scissors and a pair of tweezers when she was arrested.

The girl’s defence lawyer argued she didn’t have a knife at any point that night, and that it was impossible to tell from the video who stabbed Lee or when.

The forensic pathologist who examined Lee’s body testified he died from hemorrhagic shock after he was stabbed in the heart. It’s unlikely the scissors found with the girl would have caused that wound, the pathologist said, but they could have caused a smaller, non-fatal stab wound near his armpit.

Lee 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 hospital in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2022, court has heard.

When asked about the scissors Wednesday, defence lawyers said the girl had shoplifted an eyebrow kit earlier that day and had it on her at the parkette.

It could be inferred some of the other girls had scissors as well and at some point, scissors fell onto the ground, defence lawyer Kathryn Doyle said. The girl “saw an opportunity in that moment” to pick them up and use them, but still had the ones she’d stolen on her, the lawyer argued.

While she was certainly an “active participant in a group assault,” the girl’s actions were comparable to those of several others involved in the attack, none of whom were sent back to custody as part of their sentences, Doyle argued.

The defence is asking Campbell to impose a 12-month probation sentence that would include a minimum of six months in an intensive support and supervision program.

The girl spent 240 days — nearly eight months — in custody and was the last in the group to receive bail on this charge, Doyle said.

She should receive enhanced credit for her time in custody, for a total of 20 to 24 months, in part to reflect the institutional misconduct related to the multiple strip searches she experienced while in youth facilities, Doyle argued.

The teen has made “remarkable progress” while on bail and has shown commitment to her own rehabilitation, the defence lawyer argued.

The Crown formally withdrew its application to have the girl sentenced as an adult Wednesday.

After hearing the defence’s submissions, prosecutor Sarah De Filippis said she was also revising her position on how much credit the girl should receive for time spent in custody, and would no longer be asking for the teen’s sentence to include a period in open custody.

The Crown argues the girl should receive 16 months of probation, with the first 12 under an intensive support and supervision program.

Campbell is set to hand down the sentence Friday afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025.