A sentencing hearing is underway for a 16-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old Halifax high school student.
The offender, whose identity is protected from publication, was one of four teens charged in the death of Ahmad Maher Al Marrach on April 22, 2024, at a Halifax mall parking garage.
At the request of the defence, Judge Bronwyn Duffy has imposed a publication ban on details of the testimony of three witnesses in provincial youth court.
The ban applies to details on the teen’s mental health, family history and on information he provided to the witnesses in a clinical setting.
The witnesses are a psychologist who assessed the teenager; a psychologist who was consulted for the assessment; and a forensic social worker who authored the teen’s rehabilitative treatment plan.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled to continue on Sept. 12 and is expected to conclude on Oct. 3.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.