Overview

• Toronto police laid second-degree murder charges in the Aug. 31 death of a 62-year-old homeless man, naming a 12-year-old boy and 20-year-old Isaiah Byers, who also face robbery, assault with a weapon and aggravated assault counts.
• Deputy Chief Robert Johnson said a youth has faced murder charges in eight of the city’s 31 homicides so far this year, even as the overall homicide rate sits at a five-year low.
• Statistics Canada data show youth offences rose 19% in 2022 and a further 13% in 2023, with the Youth Crime Severity Index climbing in both years after a long decline since the 2003 Youth Criminal Justice Act.
• One of the eight girls charged in the December 2022 swarming of Kenneth Lee was convicted of manslaughter this week, while the others pleaded guilty to lesser charges; the accused were ages 13 to 16.
• Earlier this year, a Toronto 12-year-old pleaded guilty to killing his 12-year-old cousin, becoming the city’s youngest convicted murderer, with a court-ordered assessment finding no serious underlying mental-health issues or family history of violence.