Teen girls' murder trial watches video of alleged fatal swarming of Toronto man

The murder trial of two teen girls charged in an alleged group attack on a homeless man is set to begin today in Toronto. Kenneth Lee is shown in a Toronto Police Service handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Toronto Police Service

Surveillance video that shows a group violently swarming a homeless man moments after crossing paths with him in a downtown Toronto parkette was played in court Monday as the trial of two teens accused in his death began.

In the footage, some in the group appear to punch or swing at Kenneth Lee, while at least one person seems to jump on the man as he’s pressed against a concrete barrier.

An agreed statement of fact read in court Monday said the two girls on trial can be identified in the video. Both are wearing grey sweatpants, a black puffer coat and dark shoes; one of them also wears a pink hoodie.

The two teens are among eight girls charged in the alleged fatal attack on Lee, a 59-year-old man who was living in the city’s shelter system.

Prosecutors allege the youngest of the pair — who was on the verge of turning 15 at the time of the incident — inflicted the fatal blow.

Both girls pleaded not guilty Monday to second-degree murder. The younger girl pleaded guilty through her lawyer to the lesser charge of manslaughter, but the plea was rejected by the prosecution.

The trial is proceeding on a charge of second-degree murder for each girl and is being heard by a judge alone.

Court heard Lee died on the operating table at St. Michael’s Hospital on Dec. 18, 2022, after he was beaten and stabbed at a parkette near Toronto’s Union Station.

The security video, which has no sound, shows Lee and a friend arriving at the parkette and putting their belongings on a curved concrete barrier. A group that includes the two accused stands nearby, separated from them by another retaining wall.

Lee walks away out of sight of the camera, leaving a tote bag and other belongings behind, while his friend stays put. Four girls approach Lee’s friend, and three of them follow when she, too, leaves the parkette.

About a minute later, the friend and the girls return to the parkette. The friend goes back to the barrier where she and Lee had left their belongings, while the girls rejoin their group.

The friend takes her bag and walks toward an elevator that goes down to Union Station. She’s approached by some of the girls in the group.

Meanwhile, Lee re-emerges and walks back toward the centre of the parkette, looking toward his friend. His friend turns back toward him and the pair head to the concrete barrier.

A handful of girls approach them and within moments of the encounter, they swarm and attack Lee, the security video shows.

The Crown is expected to go through the parkette video in detail on Tuesday, and show additional footage from other locations over the next several days.

Eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 were arrested in the hours that followed the incident.

The case splintered last year after three of the girls pleaded guilty to manslaughter and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm. Those four have all been sentenced to probation of various lengths with no further time in custody.

The trial that began Monday in Ontario Superior Court is expected to last two weeks or more.

A jury trial is scheduled in May for the remaining two girls, one for second-degree murder and the other for manslaughter.

None of the teens can be identified because they were underage at the time of the alleged swarming.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2025.