mandel: girls accused in swarming murder yawn and snicker in juvenile court
seven of eight girls charged with the murder of a homeless man appeared in court to hear the crown's case ahead of their bail hearings
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some of the girls smirked; some of them yawned. some looked tense; some looked like this was all an amusing lark. but none of them looked ashamed.
on a day of yet another seemingly random murder downtown, seven of the eight teens charged in last month’s shocking swarming and fatal stabbing of ken lee — a man who had struggled with homelessness — once again appeared in juvenile court.
all dressed in either grey or black sweatsuits from their detention centre, the teens filled the prisoner’s box and the bench alongside it. in a more normal situation, these girls could be lined up in a gym class awaiting the start of a volleyball game.
but this is not a normal situation.
instead, they are all accused murderers charged with the chilling death of a stranger; seven young teens with an equal number of special constables in the hot courtroom keeping a careful eye on them all, along with their lawyers, scattered relatives and assorted media, including a reporter from the new york times.
crown sarah de filippis presented an overview of the prosecution’s case ahead of the girls’ separate bail hearings that are to follow next week and into february. all of the evidence is covered by a routine publication ban.
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one of the eight accused was released on bail last month — the reasons for her release are also covered by a pub ban.
one youth of eight teenage girls accused in a dec. 18 murder, who cannot be identified, stands before justice maria sirivar on a monitor with her lawyer daisy bygrave as bail conditions are set for her release on thursday, dec. 29, 2022. the other 7 youths made separate appearances via zoom in youth court on jarvis st.
sketch by pam davies
none of the girls can be identified under the youth criminal justice act.
toronto police allege three 13-year-olds, three 14-year-olds and two 16-year-olds swarmed and stabbed the 59-year-old man at a parkette near york st. and university ave. just after midnight on dec. 18.
lee later died in hospital.
police have said they believe the teens congregated after meeting on social media and are from homes across the gta.
the charges against them haven’t been tested in court
their latest appearance came a day after the victim’s family put out a strong statement criticizing the youth law that allows for bail and a publication ban on their identities.
“how is the act protecting the public if we don’t know who these perpetrators are and why they are released on bail?” wrote lee’s brother-in-law eric shum.
it’s easy to understand the family’s pain and fury. a man they loved has been taken in such a cruel, heartless fashion.
“just note that ken was a kind soul with a heart of gold,” the family wrote in the statement. “he was not in the system due to alcohol or drug abuse. he was a man with pride who had fallen and wanted to learn to stand up on his own knowing that he always had his family behind him.”
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according to the gofundme organized by helen shum, her brother died a hero.
“although the circumstances are not fully understood, we were told he was protecting his friend that was being attacked by these girls,” she wrote on the platform that raised $60,000 toward funeral and legal expenses.
there are many legitimate and pressing questions to be asked, about rising youth crime, about an allegedly violent mob of girls so emboldened and so heartless that, according to police, they could allegedly take a man’s life with such horrifying ambivalence.
but looking at those girls as they sat in the courtroom friday, you can’t ignore the fact that they’re still just children, baby-faced kids accused of a horrible crime, but kids nonetheless. we can’t afford to let outrage overwhelm the fact that they are youth.
if they are found to have committed the crimes they are accused of, then there’s still time to save them — and still time to save us from them.
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