WARNING: This story contains graphic details about a stabbing death.
Two Nova Scotia teens have been convicted of manslaughter in the stabbing death of a third teen last April in Halifax.
Ahmad Al Marrach was stabbed in a parking garage at the Halifax Shopping Centre. He died later in hospital.
Four teenagers, three boys and one girl, were charged with second-degree murder.
On Friday morning, agreed statements of fact were read into the record at Nova Scotia Youth Court to support the manslaughter convictions against two of them. Those statements lay out what happened early on the evening of Monday, April 22.
According to the statements, the four accused met at another Halifax shopping centre, where one of those who is still facing a murder charge got a large kitchen knife from a dollar store.
The group then boarded a city bus to the Halifax Shopping Centre. Their movements around the mall were captured on security video and on the girl’s cellphone.
One of the four accused was to fight Al Marrach because of a dispute over a girl. According to messages exchanged on social media, the fight was supposed to be one-on-one for a few seconds before all three were to join in.
Video extracted from the girl’s cellphone shows the skirmish quickly becomes a three-on-one attack.
During a lull in the fighting, the girl can be heard saying “those are nice shoes,” referring to Al Marrach’s sneakers. She then says “get his shoes.” at which point one of the attackers lunges at Al Marrach and the fight resumes.
Al Marrach has one of his attackers pinned on the ground at one point, prompting the girl to scream “get the f–k off my man.” The statement says she then joins in the assault by kicking Al Marrach in the head.
Surveillance video shows the girl running toward Al Marrach’s backpack, which he’d left on the ground. He is running after her. She falls, then one of the attackers raises a large knife over his head and plunges it into Al Marrach’s chest. He and the girl then run away.
The youth identified in the statement as the one who stabbed Al Marrach is not one of the two who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He’s scheduled to go on trial for murder, starting in February.
The two statements read into the record on Friday make clear that neither of the two who have pleaded guilty did the stabbing. Nor did they know what another of the accused was going to do.
The two are scheduled to be sentenced on separate dates in March.
Defence lawyers have indicated they will be seeking Intensive Rehabilitation Custody and Supervision (IRCS) sentences that are tailored to accused with serious mental health needs. Crown prosecutor Terry Nickerson said the sentencing for both accused will be “vigorously contested.”
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