TORONTO - Prosecutors allege a teen girl accused in the death of a homeless Toronto man can be seen holding a sharp object in surveillance footage of the incident.
Court has heard Kenneth Lee died in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2022 after he was beaten and stabbed at a downtown Toronto parkette.
Eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 were arrested and charged shortly after his death. Two of them are currently on trial and have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
The younger girl, who was 14 at the time of the incident, tried to plead guilty through her lawyer to the lesser charge of manslaughter as the trial began Monday, but that plea was rejected by the Crown.
The incident was captured on security video. In the footage, a group swarms Lee moments after crossing paths with him, with some appearing to punch, kick and swing bags or other objects at him as the fight peters out and erupts again in various areas of the parkette.
The detective leading the investigation testified Tuesday that at one point, the youngest of the two girls on trial is seen holding an object in her right hand as she approaches Lee in the melee.