Police have identified the Toronto man who was allegedly stabbed to death by a group of teenage girls as 59-year-old Ken Lee. Police say Lee died in hospital after he was allegedly attacked and stabbed by a group of eight teenage girls in mid-December. Toronto Police Service/The Canadian Press
The police have established the identity of the murdered 59-year-old homeless man in downtown Toronto during an alleged attack for which eight teenage girls have been charged with murder.
Authorities released Ken Lee’s name to the public on Tuesday, three weeks after announcing his Dec. 18 death. A picture of him as a younger man was also revealed.
Investigators with the Toronto Police Service said they were withholding Mr. Lee’s name pending notification of his next of kin. Now these relatives are reeling. “They are still very traumatized by the event,” Homicide Detective Sergeant Terry Brown said in an email.
Also Tuesday, Mr. Lee was remembered at Toronto’s Homeless Memorial during a lunchtime gathering. He was named on the makeshift memorial as among at least 15 people who died on Toronto’s streets this winter.
People who spoke at the memorial, which sits outside Holy Trinity Church near the Eaton Center, said the other cases included deaths from overdoses, fires, suicide or freezing in the cold.
But they characterized Mr Lee’s death as a powerful reminder of the violence faced by people living on the margins.
“I’m not going to talk about Ken on behalf of his family,” said Diana Chan McNally, a crisis worker.
“There is such an increase in violence against people who are on the streets,” she said after the memorial. “This is the most extreme example of that.”
One week before Christmas, Mr. Lee was outside a shelter near Union Station when he got into a confrontation around midnight.
Eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 were charged with his death. Detectives said the girls came from all over the Toronto area and may have met through social media before going downtown that night.
“At this time we believe the deceased was in possession of a bottle of alcohol,” Det.-Sgt. Brown said when he announced the charges last month. “And we think that’s what they were trying to take – but we can’t say for sure.”
The eight teenagers facing charges of second-degree murder are in the early stages of their court appearances. Their identities are not being released under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.
In late December, one accused girl was released on bail. Hearings for the remaining seven are scheduled for later this winter. A publication ban has also been imposed on any discussion of evidence presented in court.
Other court-imposed restrictions block the release of information about the case to journalists. On Friday, lawyers representing The Globe and Mail and other news outlets will appear in court to push for greater access.
Last month, a resident of an inner-city shelter told The Globe she knew Mr. Lee as “Kenny.” Katie Chiappetta said she watched him begin to lose his life as he was taken away by paramedics after the attack. She described him as a father and said he may have family abroad.
The attack took place outside the Strathcona Hotel on York Street. It is one of several downtown hotels that the City of Toronto has leased to operate as a homeless shelter in recent years.
Mr Lee had once lived at the shelter, according to the police, who also said he was not local at the time of his death.
Court records filed at the old City Hall show that a man named Kenneth Lee took a bond in court this fall regarding Strathcona. In September he told a magistrate he would stay 100 meters from the hotel at all times after an unproven allegation he had a row with someone else who lived there.
The Kenneth Lee in question had no fixed address. He was 59 and would have turned 60 last week.
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