A 19-year-old woman is facing up to six months in jail after admitting in court Friday that she hurled a patio chair from the 45th-floor balcony of a downtown Toronto condo tower earlier this year.

Marcella Zoia pleaded guilty to one count of mischief endangering life for the Feb. 9 incident that was filmed and widely distributed in a viral video online, sparking public outrage.

Crown attorney Heather Keating told Ontario Court Justice Mara Greene the prosecution will be seeking a six-month jail sentence for the offence, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14.

Zoia’s lawyer, Greg Leslie, said outside the Old City Hall courthouse that a non-custodial sentence with probation is a more appropriate punishment, given his client’s age and prospects for rehabilitation.

“When you deal with somebody so young, in my opinion ... the brain’s not fully developed, she’s was still a young lady at that time. She made a mistake, I think jail is far excessive and we’ll be asking for a suspended sentence.”

Asked if he thought the Crown was seeking jail time because of Zoia’s continued “social media presence,” since her arrest last winter, Leslie said, “it’s a possibility.” But the case’s extensive media coverage could have influenced prosecution’s position, Leslie said, noting that the charge is very serious.

As he has always maintained, Leslie said “peer pressure” from others with Zoia that morning prompted her reckless action.

Dressed in head-to-toe black, Zoia bolted from the courthouse into a waiting SUV without speaking to reporters following the hearing. Leslie said she is suffering from a “lot of anxiety” knowing she could be going to jail.

In court, Keating read a relatively short synopsis of what happened last winter and played the infamous 10-second video recorded that Saturday around 10 a.m. Zoia responded “yes” when the judge asked her if she was the person on the balcony seen smiling and launching the chair over the railing.

The video captured it falling to the ground toward the nearby Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard, but not landing, Keating said reading from the synopsis. A witness in a nearby building saw several people on the balcony of 4508-55 Bremner Boulevard, which is owned by Wescana Properties. At the time, the unit was being used as a short-term rental. The witness contacted building security.

Surveillance footage recorded Zoia entering the 45th-floor elevator at 55 Bremner about ten minutes later.

Although no one was injured, building surveillance cameras picked up several people entering and exiting the building around that time, including a woman pushing a child in a stroller, Keating told court.

Two destroyed Ikea wooden and metal folding chairs matching the chair in the video were located by police near the sidewalk, mere feet from the entrance to the building and directly below unit 4508.

Leslie stood up in court to say he wanted to make it clear that Zoia is only admitting to tossing a single chair over the railing.

Later, outside court, Leslie said as part of his sentencing submissions he will argue that what Zoia threw was a lawn chair, not a heavy wooden chair, and that the video recorded it “floating to the ground.”

Leslie said that didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous.

“If a lawn chair hits somebody from 45 stories up I’m sure it can cause severe injuries to a person.”

Zoia, in the company of three friends and her mother, was much more subdued in and outside the courtroom Friday compared to her last in-person appearance last February, where she seemed to enjoy the media attention.

Leslie said she is a “changed woman” since then, keenly aware that she now has a criminal record that could prevent her from working as a model in the United States. She is currently unemployed, he said.

“She’s learned, she’s matured ... she understands the severity and the consequences of what she’s done,” and the plea shows she is remorseful, he added.

The Crown will withdraw the remaining charges of mischief involving damage to property and common nuisance.

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After news of her arrest broke, Zoia became an instant hot topic on social media, scorned by critics for reckless and idiotic behaviour.

But her notoriety also fuelled interest her Instagram account, on which she has continued to post photos of herself partying and striking model poses in lingerie and swimwear.

Zoia briefly deleted her account shortly after the video went viral. At that time, she had fewer than 6,000 followers. But she soon reactivated it and as of Friday her account had more than 31,000 followers.