TORONTO — A paramedic who took a homeless man to hospital after an alleged group attack in downtown Toronto says she didn't immediately realize he had been stabbed.
Jennifer Ellis testified today at the trial of two teen girls who have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Kenneth Lee.
Ellis said Lee looked like he had been hit in the face when she and her partner pulled up to a parkette just after midnight on Dec. 18, 2022, but that the 59-year-old was alert and communicating well.
She said they checked Lee's back for injuries before trying to get him on a stretcher and didn't see any injuries there.
The paramedic said Lee told them he needed to have a bowel movement and stepped away to do that, but he collapsed moments later.
She said her partner was able to assess him better inside the ambulance and noticed two penetrating injuries they assumed were stab wounds.
Lee showed a "decreased level of awareness" in the time it took to get him to St. Michael's Hospital, she said.
The trial has heard Lee died on the operating table after he was beaten and stabbed.
Eight girls between the ages of 13 and 16 were arrested in the hours that followed his death.
The girls currently on trial were 14 and 16 at the time, and prosecutors allege the youngest was the one to deliver the fatal blow.
The Crown has not yet specified at what point in the incident they allege Lee was stabbed or with what, but allege the younger girl can be seen holding a sharp object at some point.
Court has watched surveillance video that shows a group violently swarm Lee almost immediately after encountering him in the parkette. Some in the group appear to kick and punch him, and swing a traffic cone at him.
Three of the eight girls arrested pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter and one to assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.
A jury trial is scheduled in May for two other girls who are charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2025.
The Canadian Press