Teen girl pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of Toronto homeless man

TORONTO — A fourth teenage girl accused in the fatal stabbing of a Toronto homeless man two years ago pleaded guilty on Wednesday.

The girl, who was 14 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 59-year-old Kenneth Lee.

Police have alleged that Lee, who was living in the city’s shelter system, died after he was swarmed and stabbed by a group of eight teenage girls in December 2022.

Eight girls, all of them between the ages of 13 and 16, were arrested in the hours that followed.

The girls were charged with second-degree murder and a judge recently committed six of them to stand trial on that charge, with the other two to be tried on the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Three girls have previously pleaded guilty in the case – two to manslaughter and one to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.

All the girls who have pleaded guilty are due to appear in court over the next few months for sentencing submissions.

A hearing is scheduled next week for those heading to trial.

Police have said they believed the teens congregated after meeting on social media and are from homes across the Greater Toronto Area. They said three had previous interactions with police, while five others did not. Canadian authorities can’t identify them because they are minors.