The accused, who was 17 at the time of the killing and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, entered his plea in Ontario Superior Court Wednesday morning, where the court heard he was considering carried out his violent actions for months. Slouching forward with his head down, the defendant spoke softly as he answered “Yes” to the judge, who explained that pleading guilty would waive his rights to a trial and appeal. When his charges were read aloud, he clearly answered “Guilty” to both. Asked why he identified as an incel, the teenager told police in a statement: “You don’t choose to be an incel. You’re born.” Incel ideology or involuntary celibacy originated as in the online misogynistic subculture and is usually characterized by hatred or accusation against women for their inability to find a romantic or sexual partner. The term gained widespread attention in 2018 when a man posting about the so-called “incel uprising” drove a truck onto a sidewalk in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 16 others. In his statement to the police, the then-teenager told the police that he did not expect to live at the end of the day and believed that the police would have killed him. “It wasn’t worth it. My life is ruined now,” he said. He also noted that he feared how other inmates might treat him behind bars. The court heard that the accused was found with a handwritten note after the attack, which read: “Long live the incel uprising”. As for why she was carrying the note, she told officers: “I wanted everyone to find it. I wanted people to know that there are people like us and it’s not really fair.” The plea does not cover related terrorism charges against the defendants, which were added in the months after the February 2020 killing of 24-year-old Ashley Noell Arzaga and the stabbing of another man and woman at Crown Spa in the city’s west end. The case is believed to mark the first time terrorism charges have been brought in connection with an act fueled by Incel ideology. The van attack killer, Alek Minassian, was never charged with terrorism. The judge who found him guilty noted that he had said in some interviews that he linked his actions to fueling the ideology of fame. The court heard the teenager used a sword nearly half a meter long as the murder weapon, which had the words “thot slayer” written on it – “thot” is a derogatory term used against women. When one of the responding paramedics asked him what happened, the court heard he replied that he “wanted to kill everyone in the building and I’m glad I got one”. Defendant said he did not remember making that statement, but did not dispute that he made it. The court was also shown a 20-minute collection of surveillance video in which the young man was seen stabbing Arzaga, the massage parlor receptionist, to death. The video begins with the teenager walking from his home less than two kilometers from the spa and shows in graphic detail the moment he drew the sword, killing Arzaga. In late February 2020, police were called to a massage parlor in Toronto’s north end for a stabbing that left Ashley Noell Arzaga dead and another woman and a man with multiple stab wounds. A case file was filed against the 17-year-old for first-degree murder and attempted murder. (Michael Cole/CBC) Family members and loved ones of the victims were visibly emotional, hugging each other as the scenes played out on large screens in the courtroom. A judge will now determine whether the murder and attempted murder meet the threshold of terrorist activity. The Criminal Code defines terrorism as an act carried out “for a political, religious or ideological purpose, purpose or cause” intended to intimidate the public by causing or attempting to cause death or grievous bodily harm by violence, endangering health and safety or disrupting an essential service.
