"Girls" Out On a Swarming Adventure
"I've been in policing for almost 35 years and you think you've seen it all.""Anyone who isn't shocked with hearing something like this has clearly just thrown in the towel and just said that anything is possible in this world. ""Eight young girls and most under the age of 16. If this isn't alarming and shocking to everyone, then we're all in trouble quite frankly.""[All eight suspects had] played a role [in Lee’s death].""I won't say what each one individually did, but all eight were together and participating in this event, which is disturbing."Detective Sgt. Terry Browne, Toronto Police Service Homicide Squad
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Toronto Police Service |
"Hearing something like that and the people who were involved, it’s just something that’s completely beyond my understanding.""I get people coming in with all kinds of injuries from being beat up by complete strangers. This isn’t something that’s new, it’s ongoing, but I see it more and more.""I think there’s just so much hatred and dehumanization of people who are unhoused."Diana Chan McNally, harm reduction case manager, All Saints Toronto
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In Toronto, in December 2022, 59-year-old Kenneth Lee was the victim of a swarming. He was with a female companion at the time a group of teens approached them with the intention of taking a bottle of liquor away from the woman, homeless like Mr. Lee. As things became violently physical, Mr. Lee attempted to protect his companion. Which is when the vicious venom of the group of teens turned on him with a vengeance, resulting in the man's death.
At the time, police contended that the teens, from homes across the Greater Toronto Area, had proposed an outing after meeting on social media.
Of the eight young girls involved in the homicidal altercation at a parkette, three had had previous interactions with police and five others were unknown to police; their identities cannot be revealed, due to their minor age, in accordance with Canadian law. The girls are just now being tried in a court of law; the wheels of justice turn slowly in Canada with courts quite simply understaffed and unable to keep up with the cases awaiting trial.
Two of the girls involved in the fatal swarming are on trial for second-degree murder. Both have pleaded guilty to manslaughter. One of the girls held to have fatally stabbed Ken Lee is awaiting an end-of-May verdict. Her lawyers for the defence contend it was not she who delivered the blow causing Mr. Lee's death; they argue it is not possible to know of a certainty based on available evidence, exactly who it was who stabbed Lee, or at what point during the violent altercation that took place that fateful day in Toronto.
Footage of the fatal swarming had been captured on security video, serving as a central piece of trial evidence. In the video, the girl on trial this past Friday -- 16 at the time in that downtown Toronto parkette in December 2022 -- was seen throwing a traffic cone at Lee, and then using another traffic cone to bludgeon him as he attempted to defend himself against the group's onslaught.
When paramedics arrived at the scene soon after the attack, one of the paramedics testified later that he did not immediately realize that Lee had been stabbed, until he collapsed. An autopsy found that death occurred from shock as a result of blood loss after the man was stabbed in his heart. A smaller stab wound and a range of bruises and other injuries were also identified. Taken to St. Michael's Hospital in the early hours of December 18, 2022, Kenneth Lee died on the operating table.
Eight girls were eventually arrested, all between the ages of 13 and 16, and charged with second-degree murder. Six of the girls pleaded guilty to lesser charges -- four to manslaughter, one to assault, and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm. The girl now awaiting a late-May verdict attempted to plead guilty to manslaughter but her plea was rejected by the Crown.
As for the girl who faced a judge on Friday, who had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February, the Crown and defence are asking the court for a sentence of 15 months of probation.
"Ken was a kind soul. He would help anyone in need, whether a close friend or just an acquaintance. Last fall, he was experiencing some bad luck and he left home determined to get his life back on track.""We ensured that he knew we were always here for him and were waiting for him to return home. He wanted to resolve his issues independently, and we understood and respected his wishes.""Ken died a hero. Our family is currently in the process of planning funeral arrangements and will provide more information once the details have been confirmed."Helen Shum, relative of the victim, January 2023
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Ken Lee, centre, seen here with his family, was stabbed to death during a swarming in downtown Toronto on Dec. 18, 2022. Photo by Handout / |
Labels: Homeless Victims, Psychotic Teen Girls' Gang, Stranger Attacks, Toronto
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