Article contentThe case will return to court July 31 for an update on the search for another lawyer, and to hopefully set a date for a breach hearing.Article contentIn the meantime, the girl will remain in custody at the youth centre, along with the co-accused. The four teens are not allowed to have any contact with one another, so staff at the facility have to keep them apart.Article contentAhmad, who was a student at Citadel High School, was pronounced deceased shortly after he was transported to the Halifax Infirmary with a stab wound to his chest.Article contentFour teens were arrested over the next week and a half and charged with second-degree murder.Article contentThe girl was the first of the accused to plead guilty.Article contentA 17-year-old Halifax boy also pleaded guilty in October to the lesser offence of manslaughter. Heerema has heard evidence and submissions at his sentencing hearing and will give his decision Aug. 1.Article contentArticle contentThe Lower Sackville boy, the actual stabber, pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder as charged. The conviction carries an automatic penalty of four years in custody and three years of supervision in the community.Article contentHis sentencing hearing got underway Friday in youth court in front of Judge Bronwyn Duffy and will continue Sept. 12.Article contentThe fourth accused was a 17-year-old Dartmouth boy who agreed to fight Ahmad one-on-one in the mall parkade but arranged to have his two male friends jump in within seconds. He went to trial on the murder charge before the Crown indicated during closing arguments in April that it was seeking a conviction for manslaughter.Article contentJudge Elizabeth Buckle delivered the verdict Tuesday, finding the teen guilty of manslaughter. His sentencing is set for a full week in October.Article content Police investigate a stabbing in a parking garage at Halifax Shopping Centre on April 22, 2024, that claimed the life of 16-year-old Ahmad Maher Al Marrach. Four youths were arrested over the next nine days and charged with second-degree murder. Photo by Tim KrochakArticle contentThe Crown gave notice early on that it could seek adult sentences if the youths were convicted. It agreed not to pursue that option for the three teens who pleaded guilty, but an adult sentence is still on the table for the Dartmouth boy.Article contentArticle contentThe Crown will decide whether to apply for an adult sentence after it receives psychological and psychiatric reports on the teen that were ordered by the court.Article contentThe maximum penalty for manslaughter is three years for a youth but life in prison for an adult. During a sentencing in Nova Scotia Supreme Court last week, a judge said the range for manslaughter in this province is generally four to 10 years.Article contentThe altercation in the parkade was captured by surveillance cameras and on video recorded on the girl’s cellphone.Article contentThe girl yelled at Ahmad at various points during the assault and knocked him to the ground and kicked him in the head after he placed her boyfriend in a headlock. She also suggested stealing Ahmad’s sneakers before trying to take his backpack.Article contentShe was knocked down or fell when Ahmad tried to prevent her from taking his backpack. Seconds later, her boyfriend stabbed Ahmad.
Girl involved in Halifax parkade killing finds herself in a jam after allegedly breaching conditions, losing lawyer
