Teen Suspect in Toronto ‘Swarming’ Attack Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter

Police have identified the Toronto man allegedly stabbed to death by a group of teenage girls as 59-year-old Ken Lee. The Canadian Press/HO-Toronto Police Service

One of eight teen girls charged in the swarming attack that left a Toronto man dead has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Police say that three 13-year-olds, three 14-year-olds, and two 16-year-olds were involved in the attack on Kenneth Lee, 59. Mr. Lee was living in a shelter at the time. He died in hospital after being swarmed and stabbed by the group in December 2022.

Six of the youth are facing second-degree murder charges while the other two have been charged with manslaughter.

The names of the accused minors cannot be published under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).

The girl who pleaded guilty on May 30 was 13 years old at the time of the attack and is now 15 years old. She has been scheduled to return to court on July 12.

It is expected one other girl will plead guilty to manslaughter. Three others are also expected to plead guilty but it’s not clear what charges they will plead guilty to, and the other three teens are expected to stand trial in Superior Court but a date has not been set.

Five of the teens have been granted bail with various conditions including not leaving home except to attend school, and limited use of the Internet.

Mr. Lee has been described as a kind, quiet man who was trying to defend a friend before he was allegedly attacked.

Mr. Lee’s family has spoken out about the need for changes to the YCJA, including his brother-in-law Eric Shum who published a letter he wrote to Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

He commended Mr. Ford on his support for bail reforms and asked that he also support changes to the YCJA.

“Why do we need to protect their privacy?” Mr. Shum wrote, regarding the accused girls. “Society needs to know who these perpetrators are; especially if they are attending school. As a parent, I would want to know if a perpetrator was in my child’s school or my child’s class.”

He also questioned why the teens were given bail on such a serious charge.

“The optics of allowing bail continue to demonstrate a weak YCJA system sending a message to young offenders that they can do anything and not be held accountable,” Mr. Shum said.

Mr. Lee’s sister, Helen Shum, said in a statement that Lee had been “experiencing some bad luck” and was trying 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,” she said.

Ms. Shum said that her brother would help anyone, a close friend or just an acquaintance.

Tara MacIsaac, Andrew Chen,  and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.