Nova Scotia·NewSentencing continued Friday with testimony from psychology experts in the hearing for a teen boy who fatally stabbed a Halifax high school student at a parkade in the city’s west end.Boy, 16, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in JanuaryLyndsay Armstrong · The Canadian Press · Posted: Sep 12, 2025 8:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoAhmad Al Marrach, 16, died in hospital after being stabbed in a parking garage of the Halifax Shopping Centre on April 22, 2024. (Al Marrach family)Sentencing continued Friday with testimony from psychology experts in the hearing for a teen boy who fatally stabbed a Halifax high school student at a parkade in the city’s west end.The 16-year-old, whose identity is protected from publication, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January. He was one of four teens involved in the group attack against 16-year-old Ahmad Al Marrach on April 22, 2024.The accused, who was 14 at the time of the killing, has admitted to stabbing the Grade 10 student with a stolen kitchen knife.According to an agreed statement of facts, the four teens met at a downtown Halifax shopping mall where the accused stole a large kitchen knife from a discount store in anticipation of joining in a fight with Al Marrach. The four teens, who all planned to join the fight, took a bus to a parkade in the city’s west end, where the brawl began. Al Marrach died after the teenager plunged his knife into the centre of Al Marrach’s chest.A psychologist who assessed the 16-year-old and a psychologist who was consulted for the assessment appeared Friday. At the request of the defence, Judge Bronwyn Duffy has imposed a publication ban on the testimony on details about the teen’s mental health, family history and on information he provided to the witnesses in a clinical setting.A forensic social worker who authored the teen’s rehabilitative treatment plan is set to appear as a witness at the next day of the teenager’s sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 3. The Crown is also proposing that victim impact statements be read on that day.Ahmad Al Marrach was stabbed during an altercation in a parking garage at the Halifax Shopping Centre in April 2024. He died later in hospital. (David Laughlin/CBC)The 15-year-old girl who was involved in the fight and pleaded guilty to manslaughter last fall also appeared in court Friday.The girl, who was sentenced to three months in custody followed by two years of supervision in the community, was in court for having breached the terms of her conditions.She has admitted to being in contact with the 16-year-old co-accused and having been in touch with a witness despite conditions that prohibit her from speaking to either of them.The girl, who was 14 at the time of the killing, has admitted she was one of four teens who attacked Al Marrach inside a parking garage at the Halifax Shopping Centre.An 18-year-old boy the Crown says was responsible for organizing the fight has been convicted of manslaughter, and his week-long sentencing hearing starts Oct. 20.In August, another 18-year-old boy was sentenced to 10 months in a youth detention centre and 17 months of supervision in the community for his role in Al Marrach’s death.Al Marrach, who was a Grade 10 student at the time of his killing, “was a thoughtful, caring and contributing member of his family,” provincial youth court Judge Mark Heerema said on Aug. 1 during a sentencing hearing for another teen involved in the brawl.Heerema heard Al Marrach was a well-liked student at Citadel High School in Halifax. He had arrived in Canada with his parents and six siblings in 2016 after escaping the war in Syria.
Sentencing hearing resumes for teen who stabbed Halifax high school student to death
