Stefanie Rengel (died 1 January 2008) was a Toronto high school student who was murdered. The Toronto Police Service has arrested a 15-year old girl and a 17-year old boy, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, for the crime. A police source told Sun Media that "The 15-year-old was very jealous and controlling and wanted this done." The girl's defence lawyer said his client had made "intemperate remarks," but did not encourage her co-defendant to commit the crime. The Crown attorney intends to seek adult sentences if the two are convicted.
Numerous tributes to Stefanie Rengel were posted to Facebook, as well as hostile and threatening statements made against the alleged killers. Rengel was identified online 24 hours before Canadian media were legally permitted to release her name. Although a publication ban prevents Canadian media from naming the accused, their names were also posted repeatedly on the site and repeatedly removed by administrators. This has led to discussion about the relevance of Canada's censorship laws in the modern Information Age.
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