A preliminary hearing began Monday for an Israeli soldier and two juveniles accused in the beating death of a Toronto teen.

Daniel Weiz and the teens are charged with second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Dmitri Matti Baranovski.

Baranovski was repeatedly kicked and punched in the head in November 1999, apparently over a pack of cigarettes. He was found in a Toronto park, lying in a pool of blood, and later died in the hospital. Weiz has admitted to being in the park at the time of the killing, but denies any involvement in Baranovski's death.

Last year, a judge in Jerusalem ruled Weiz, 19, be extradited to Canada to stand trial. Weiz had fought the extradition for some 11 months before arriving in Toronto from Tel Aviv in October 2000.

Weiz was in Toronto visiting his father when Baranovski was killed. If convicted, he'll likely serve his sentence in an Israeli jail.