pleads( 15 year-old ) guilty to second-degree murder in Halifax mall stabbing

CITYnews halifax / By Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

A Halifax-area youth has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death last year of a 16-year-old high school student who was stabbed in a parking garage.

The 15-year-old accused, whose identity is protected from publication, entered the plea today in Halifax youth court after an agreed statement of facts was read into the record about the death of Grade 10 student Ahmad Maher Al Marrach.

Court heard that on April 22, the killer and three other teens met at a downtown Halifax shopping mall where the accused stole a large kitchen knife from a discount store.

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The group then took a bus to a parkade near the Halifax Shopping Centre, where one of the teens — a 17-year-old — had agreed via text message to have a fight with Al Marrach over a girlfriend.

The statement of facts says that at one point, all four teens joined in attacking Al Marrach, but it was the 15-year-old who pulled a knife from his clothing and stabbed Al Marrach in the chest as the brawl appeared to be drawing to a close.

The 15-year-old killer will be sentenced on June 9.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025.