15-year-old pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her role in April 2024 killing of 16-year-old Halifax boyPublished Apr 03, 2025 • Last updated 12 minutes ago • 6 minute readAhmad Maher Al Marrach, 16, died April 22, 2024, after he was stabbed during an altercation with four youths in a parking garage at Halifax Shopping Centre. Photo by FacebookA 15-year-old Lower Sackville girl who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her involvement in the killing of a Halifax teen has been sentenced to 27 months of intensive rehabilitative custody and supervision. The girl was one of four youths charged with second-degree murder in the April 22, 2024, death of 16-year-old Ahmad Maher Al Marrach, who was stabbed during a group assault in a parking garage at Halifax Shopping Centre. 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The girl will remain in custody at the Nova Scotia Youth Centre in Waterville for three months, followed by two years of close supervision in the community. “This was a cowardly act of senseless violence that took the life of a young person,” Heerema said in a 50-minute decision. “While (the girl) is not the person who stabbed the victim, her actions were instrumental in bringing it about. Without her involvement, it is my belief that it would not have happened.” The judge said the attack on Ahmad was “a trap” from the outset. “It was supposed to be a one-on-one fight over a girl,” he said. “(The offender) and her three friends unknowingly changed the plan on the victim. They baited him under the guise of a one-on-one fight. “The four co-accused decided to arm themselves with knives and turned it into a three-on-one ambush, with (the girl) filming the attack on her phone.” Article contentThe incident was also captured by surveillance cameras in the parkade. “I’ve watched the various videos numerous times,” Heerema said. “They display the worst of humanity. “I can say that the victim displayed much bravery and strength in fending off his attackers, (who) showed the opposite. Their actions were cowardly, cruel and callous.” Ahmad, a Grade 10 student at Citadel High School in Halifax who had six siblings, died in hospital shortly after he was stabbed in the chest by the girl’s boyfriend. That boy – a 15-year-old from Lower Sackville – pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June. A 17-year-old Halifax boy pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October. His sentencing hearing is also set for June. A 17-year-old Dartmouth boy who had agreed to fight Ahmad one-on-one went on trial in youth court in January for murder. He began testifying this week. The identities of all four teens charged in the case are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Article contentThe girl’s sentencing hearing got underway March 14 with evidence from a forensic psychologist who co-authored a risk assessment on the girl and from a provincial Justice Department social worker who oversees the development and delivery of IRCS sentences in Nova Scotia. IRCS is a type of sentence that offers federally funded, specialized therapy for young people with mental health needs who are convicted of serious violent offences. On March 26, the judge viewed videos of the incident for the first time and heard submissions from lawyers and a statement from the girl. “I am so sorry for everything I have done,” the girl told the court. “I wish I could have reversed time. I wish I could take away the pain I have caused.” She said she should have stayed home that day or paused to reflect on what she was doing and has worked hard to improve herself while in custody. “I am not the same person I was before I was brought into custody,” she said. “I am not even the same person I was last week. Article content“I made the decision to plead guilty to manslaughter because I’m taking accountability for my actions. I will keep changing and learning and continue to grow.” The judge said that while he appreciates the girl was only 14 at the time of the incident and has reduced moral culpability compared to an adult, “there’s a shocking absence of basic human decency or compassion in her and her co-accused’s actions.” Heerema said there were multiple points where it appeared the fight was over, but the girl’s actions caused it to continue. He noted that as the victim endured about 55 seconds of punches and kicks from the three boys at the start of the altercation, the girl can be heard swearing at him and egging on her friends. She then commented on Ahmad’s “nice shoes” and instructed her colleagues to take his sneakers. During the ensuing fight, she armed one of her fellow attackers with a knife that he used to keep the victim’s friends from intervening. When Ahmad managed to restrain her boyfriend, she yelled at him to “get the f— off my man,” pushed him to the ground and kicked him in the head multiple times. Article contentAfter Ahmad got back on his feet, he tried to prevent her from taking his backpack, and she fell to the ground. Then her boyfriend plunged his knife into the centre of Ahmad’s chest. The girl grabbed the victim’s backpack and ran from the scene with her boyfriend. The victim’s mother, three of his siblings and some friends were in court for Thursday’s decision. The judge thanked the family for presenting victim impact statements at a hearing in January. “Our society mourns the absolutely senseless loss you have suffered,” Heerema said. “Nothing I can do or say will fill that hole. … I know how you loved your son and your brother and how cherished he was. I know he has been missed yesterday, today and for every other tomorrow. “I’m grateful to the family members for sharing with me their profound heartache and loss. Through their courage, I came to know a little bit about (Ahmad). “I learned that he was a thoughtful and considerate son and sibling. I was told how he assisted in raising his younger family members, bathing them, dressing them, feeding them, putting them to sleep and caring for them. Article content“I heard that Ahmad had a big smile. … I learned how we would often bring his family members little gifts or presents. It was particularly difficult to hear how two days before he died, he brought his mother flowers and gave a flower to each of his siblings.” The judge said the girl’s home life was unstable at the time of the killing and she was spiralling out of control. He noted that she and her family “tend to minimalize and rationalize her involvement in this offence.” As Heerema gave examples of the girl’s mother’s attempts to blame the victim, one of Ahmad’s siblings was overcome with anger and had to be removed from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies. The young man shouted profanities at the girl on his way out. One of the assessments performed on the girl found she is a moderate to high risk to reoffend violently and needs at least 200 hours of intensive therapy. Heerema told the girl the victim’s future was taken away by his killers. “When you take a life, in some ways, you keep it,” he said. “You took it, and now it remains with you.” Article contentHe said Ahmad will miss out on many milestones in life that the girl will be able to achieve. “So what do you do with that?” Heerema said. “I’m asking you to honour that by committing to making your life better. “You will soon be given access to more treatment resources and programming than most people in our society. I hope that you dig in, you work hard, accept that you have things to learn, accept that you have things to unlearn. “I don’t think it will be easy, and there will be setbacks, and that’s OK. … I believe you can do this.” The girl will be back in front of the judge a month before the custodial portion of her sentence expires. The conditions of her community supervision will be finalized at that time. Article content
‘A cowardly act of senseless violence’: Lower Sackville girl sentenced
