Teen girls' murder trial hears others in their group seen with knife that night
8 teens were charged in the 2022 death of Kenneth Lee, 59
The trial of two teen girls accused in the death of a homeless Toronto man is hearing other girls in their group were seen with a knife earlier that night.
The two girls are among eight teens who were charged in the death of Kenneth Lee, a 59-year-old man who died in December 2022 after he was beaten and stabbed in a downtown Toronto parkette.
Both have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. The trial is taking place at the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto.
Court has spent several days watching video of what happened at the parkette and at other locations the group visited as they made their way downtown that evening.
Prosecutors on Wednesday showed security footage from Yorkdale subway station, where the lead detective testified two other girls in the group are seen with a knife at various points.
Court has heard no knife was recovered as part of the investigation, but one of the girls on trial was found with two small scissors and a pair of tweezers when she was arrested.
Prosecutors allege that girl — who was 14 at the time of the incident — is the one who fatally wounded Lee, but they have yet to say when or with what.
Court has heard Lee died on the operating table at St. Michael's Hospital in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2022.
Police charged eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16, and four have since pleaded guilty — three to manslaughter and one to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.
Two other girls are set to face a jury trial this May on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter, respectively. The case was split into two trials due to scheduling issues.