‘He was loved’: Family members devastated by death of man allegedly swarmed by teens

TORONTO — Family members of a homeless Toronto man who died after police allege he was swarmed and stabbed by a group of teen girls say the thought of his last moments haunts them.

A Crown prosecutor read out victim impact statements from Kenneth Lee’s sister, brother-in-law and cousin Friday at a sentencing hearing for one of the girls accused in his death.

The girl pleaded guilty this spring to manslaughter in Lee’s death.

In total, four girls have pleaded guilty in the case – three to manslaughter and one to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.

The remaining four are set to be tried in Superior Court next year, three of them on a charge of second-degree murder and one on a charge of manslaughter.

In her statement, Lee’s sister Helen Shum says the realization she will never see her brother’s face, hear his voice, or listen to one of his “corny” jokes again is “heartwrenching.”

“He was loved,” she wrote in her statement. “Our family will never be whole again.”

Shum said she has not been able to sleep properly since her brother’s death.

Her children, too, have been deeply affected by the trauma of their uncle’s death, Shum’s statement said, describing her son and daughters as afraid and withdrawn.

Lee was a mentor to his nieces, a “shining light in their life,” she said.

“The pain and fear he must have endured haunts them every day,” the statement said.

Lee’s cousin, Angela Chopp, said she has also been “haunted” by Lee’s death. He was more like a brother than a cousin, she said, and the two of them grew up together.

What happened to Lee has caused her “immense heartache, depression and fear,” her statement said. It has had a “devastating effect on my whole family,” she added.

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 girls in December 2022.

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

None of the girls can be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2024.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press