A teen lady accused of fatally stabbing a homeless man throughout a chaotic and violent swarming in downtown Toronto might have meant to harm him, however she didn’t intend to kill him, her defence lawyer argued Thursday.
Defence lawyer Boris Bytensky argued the lady, who was 14 on the time, wasn’t the one who delivered the lethal blow and had no extra of an intent to kill than a number of different ladies concerned within the assault, together with 5 who’ve pleaded responsible to lesser fees.
“Many others have resolved (their instances) on the premise of an acknowledgement that they didn’t have the intent to kill and so (the lady)’s intent is admittedly no totally different than theirs,” he instructed the courtroom on the ultimate day of closing submissions.
Prosecutors have alleged the lady — considered one of eight teenagers charged within the case — stabbed Lee with a knife or small scissors through the assault at a parkette, which was captured on safety video.
They’ve argued she intentionally positioned herself through the melee to strike Lee within the areas of his important organs and would have identified he was more likely to die from these accidents, giving her the intent for homicide.
No knife was recovered within the investigation, however the lady was discovered with two pairs of practically similar nail scissors when she was arrested, courtroom has heard.
The teenager has pleaded not responsible to second-degree homicide and the Crown has rejected her try and plead responsible to manslaughter.
The defence maintains the lady didn’t have a knife at any level that evening, and that it’s unimaginable to inform from the video who stabbed Lee and when through the swarming, which performed out in three waves over roughly three minutes and 20 seconds.
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If the teenager did wield the nail scissors through the assault, that’s not sufficient to seek out past an inexpensive doubt that she meant to kill, Bytensky argued Thursday, describing the blades as simply over three centimetres lengthy with a barely rounded tip.
“I might anticipate that any person would possibly assume that they’re extra more likely to kill any person by kicking and punching them than they may just by wielding this,” he stated.
Bytensky famous one of many different ladies will be seen hitting Lee within the head with vise grips, which he referred to as a “far more apparent weapon.”
Courtroom has heard Lee himself didn’t seem to know he had been stabbed on the time and didn’t point out any such harm to paramedics who arrived on the scene after the women took off. One of many paramedics testified they didn’t notice the character of his accidents till after he collapsed and was loaded onto the ambulance.
The 59-year-old died on the working desk within the early hours of Dec. 18, 2022, courtroom has heard.
An post-mortem discovered Lee died from hemorrhagic shock after he was stabbed within the coronary heart, courtroom has heard. He additionally had a smaller stab wound close to his armpit that didn’t contribute to his dying, in addition to greater than a dozen bruises and different accidents, in response to the forensic pathologist who examined his physique.
Dr. Magdaleni Bellis instructed the courtroom it was unlikely that the scissors discovered with the lady would have induced the wound that killed Lee, as a result of the blades appeared too quick. The scissors may have induced the opposite, smaller stab wound, she stated.
The Crown has argued that the lady had alternatives to get rid of a knife after the kids left the parkette, noting there are durations the place the group wasn’t recorded by safety cameras.
Two of the opposite ladies had been seen on video earlier within the evening holding not less than one knife because the group made its means downtown.
One of many lady’s pals who didn’t include them and was not charged within the case testified they had been half of a bigger group that had been ingesting and smoking marijuana at Yorkdale Mall earlier within the night.
Eight ladies between the ages of 13 and 16 had been arrested and charged with second-degree homicide within the hours after Lee’s dying.
4 of them pleaded responsible final yr — three to manslaughter and one to assault with a weapon and assault inflicting bodily hurt.
One other lady who was initially a part of the trial now underway pleaded responsible to manslaughter in February after the Crown stated it had reassessed the energy of the proof for second-degree homicide in her case.
A verdict is predicted on this case on Might 30.
The 2 remaining teenagers are scheduled to face trial subsequent month, one on a cost of second-degree homicide and the opposite on a cost of manslaughter.
Not one of the accused will be recognized as a result of they had been minors on the time of the incident.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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