Teen pleads guilty to second-degree murder in Halifax mall stabbing case
Accused had been scheduled to go on trial beginning Feb. 23
One of the four teenagers accused of killing Ahmad Al Marrach last spring outside a Halifax shopping mall has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The accused, who was 14 at the time of the attack, had been scheduled to go on trial starting Feb. 23. But in a surprise development, he appeared in Nova Scotia youth court on Friday morning and changed his plea to guilty.
Al Marrach was 16 when he was stabbed in a parking garage at the Halifax Shopping Centre on April 22, 2024. He died later in hospital.
Two of the accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter and are in the midst of a lengthy sentencing process. The third is partway through a trial on a charge of second-degree murder. The identities of all four are protected by a publication ban.
Evidence from the two prior guilty pleas and the ongoing trial had pointed to the fourth teen as being the one who actually stabbed Al Marrach.
As part of a plea agreement, the Crown will no longer seek an adult sentence for the accused. His sentencing is set for June 9.
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