{{Short description|Murder of a 22-year-old man in Canada}} {{Redirect-confused|Vincent Li|Vincent Lee}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox civilian attack | title = Killing of Tim McLean | image = | image_size = 245 | caption = Tim McLean | location = Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada | target = Random attack | type = Homicide, stabbing, decapitation, cannibalism | motive = Li's schizophrenic delusions that McLean was a demon and that God had commanded him to kill McLean | date = {{Start date|2008|07|30|df=y}} – {{End date|2008|07|31|df=y}} | time = {{nowrap|8:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.}} | timezone = CDT | weapons = Knife | victim = Timothy Richard McLean, aged 22 | injuries = | perp = Vincent Weiguang Li | charges = Second-degree murder | verdict = Not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder{{Infobox event | title = <br> | child = yes | sentence = Involuntary commitment (released after 6 years) | litigation = 2{{efn|*Lawsuit by the family of Tim McLean against Greyhound, the Attorney General of Canada, and Vince Li *Lawsuit by two passengers against Li, Greyhound, the RCMP, and the Canadian government (''dropped'')}}}} }}
On 30 July 2008, '''Tim McLean''', a 22-year-old Canadian man, was stabbed, beheaded, and cannibalized while riding a Greyhound Canada bus along the Trans-Canada Highway, about {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} west of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. On 5 March 2009, his killer, 40-year-old Vince Li, was found not criminally responsible for murder, after it was determined that he was schizophrenic. Li was remanded to a high-security section of the Selkirk Mental Health Centre in Selkirk, Manitoba, where he was detained until his release on 8 May 2015.<ref name="Mental Health Ward">{{cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Mike |date=6 March 2009 |title=I saw the entire attack, heard the screams ... Vincent Li not criminally responsible for bus killing, beheading, cannibalization |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/Health/Beheader+criminally+responsible/1356476/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315135511/http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Health/Beheader%2Bcriminally%2Bresponsible/1356476/story.html |archive-date=15 March 2009 |access-date=5 March 2009 |work=Winnipeg Free Press}}</ref><ref name="Release">{{cite web |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/vince-li-who-beheaded-bus-passenger-granted-move-to-group-home/|title=Vince Li, who beheaded bus passenger, granted move to group home |access-date=10 May 2015 |work= CTV News|date=8 May 2015 }}</ref>
==Incident== [[File:The Halfway Tree (about halfway between Winnipeg and Brandon) - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Trans-Canada Highway west of Portage la Prairie]] On 30 July 2008, Tim McLean, a carnival barker, was returning home to Winnipeg after working at a fair in Edmonton.<ref>{{citation|title=Accused still hears voices, as much a victim as beheaded passenger: psychiatrist|journal=Canadian Press|date=3 March 2009|access-date=3 March 2009|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g6yzZOswjctLEjNXiUzmeHDRbY2w|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306220154/http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g6yzZOswjctLEjNXiUzmeHDRbY2w|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2009-2010/bus_1170/timeline.html |title=CBC: Fifth Estate Timeline |publisher=Cbc.ca |access-date=19 February 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100715171115/http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2009-2010/bus_1170/timeline.html | archive-date = 15 July 2010 | url-status = unfit }}</ref> He departed Edmonton on board Greyhound bus 1170 to Winnipeg, via the Yellowhead Highway through Saskatchewan. He sat at the rear, one row ahead of the toilet. At 6:55 p.m., the bus departed Erickson, Manitoba, with a new passenger, Vince Li.<ref name="GM080806">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/please-kill-me-accused-begs-in-court/article657590/|title='Please kill me,' accused begs in court|last=Friesen|first=Joe|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date= 6 August 2008|access-date=28 November 2021}}</ref><ref name=Sun/> Li, a tall man in his 40s with a shaved head and sunglasses, first sat near the front of the bus, then moved to sit next to McLean after a scheduled rest stop in Brandon. McLean "barely acknowledged" Li, then fell asleep against the window pane, headphones covering his ears.<ref name="globemail">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-quiet-ride---then-carnage/article657355/|title=A quiet ride – then carnage|last=Friesen|first=Joe|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=1 August 2008|access-date=28 November 2021}}</ref> thumb|Similar bus to that taken by McLean Li produced a large knife and began stabbing McLean in the neck and chest. The bus driver pulled to the side of the road and fled the vehicle with all the other passengers. The driver and two other men tried to rescue McLean, but were chased away by Li, who slashed at them from behind the locked bus doors. Li decapitated McLean and displayed his severed head to those outside the bus, then began severing other parts of McLean's body and consuming his flesh. This went on for some hours.<ref name="GM080806" />
At 8:30 p.m., the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Portage la Prairie received a report of the stabbing. They arrived to find the suspect on the bus, prevented from escaping by another passenger, the bus driver, and a truck driver, who had provided a crowbar and a hammer as weapons. The other passengers were huddled at the roadside, some crying and vomiting. Because the suspect had tried to drive the bus away, the driver had engaged the emergency immobiliser rendering the vehicle inoperable.<ref name="globemail"/>
By 9:00 p.m., police were in a standoff and had summoned special negotiators and an armed tactical unit. The suspect alternately paced the length of the bus and defiled the corpse. Police saw Li eating parts of the body and heard him say, "I have to stay on the bus forever."<ref name="GM080806" />
On 31 July 2008, at 1:30 a.m., Li tried to leave the bus by breaking a window. The police arrested Li.<ref name=Sun>Kitching, Chris. [http://winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2008/08/01/6328131.html RCMP identify man accused of beheading victim]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Winnipeg Sun'', 1 August 2008. Accessed 6 August 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/police-don-t-know-what-prompted-vicious-bus-attack-1.312559|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015020811/http://www.ctvnews.ca/police-don-t-know-what-prompted-vicious-bus-attack-1.312559|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 October 2012|title=Police don't know what prompted vicious bus attack|publisher=CTV.ca|date= 31 July 2008|access-date=6 August 2008}}</ref> He was shot twice with a Taser, handcuffed, and put in the back of a police cruiser. Parts of the victim's body, placed in plastic bags, were retrieved from the bus; his ear, nose, and tongue were found in Li's pockets. The victim's eyes and a part of his heart were never recovered and, in spite of his denial, are presumed to have been eaten by Li.<ref name=":3" />
The passengers were interviewed at the Brandon RCMP detachment.<ref name="globemail"/> On 31 July 2008, 10:00 a.m., Greyhound representatives took the passengers to a store to replace their clothes, which remained on the bus. The passengers arrived in Winnipeg at 3:30 p.m. that day.<ref name="globemail"/>
== Tim McLean == {{Infobox person | name = Tim McLean | image = | caption = | birth_name = Timothy Richard McLean | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1985|10|3}} | birth_place = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | death_date = {{Nowrap|{{Death date and age|df=yes|2008|7|30|1985|10|3}}}} | death_place = Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada | children = 1 | occupation = Carnival worker }}
'''Timothy Richard McLean Jr.''', was born on 3 October 1985, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-138970/MCLEAN_TIMOTHY|title=Timothy Richard McLean, Jr.|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press}}</ref> He grew up in Winnipeg and in Elie, Manitoba. He was 22 years old at the time of his death, and had been working as a carnival barker in Edmonton, Alberta.
On 21 December 2008, five months after McLean's death, his girlfriend Colleen Yestrau gave birth to a son.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://winnipegsun.com/2016/01/13/agony-continues-for-tim-mcleans-family|title=Agony continues for Tim McLean's family|newspaper=Winnipeg Sun}}</ref> In 2009, a custody dispute between Yestrau and McLean's parents over guardianship of the boy began. The boy began living with the McLean family in January 2015; in February 2016, the McLean family won full custody. McLean's mother has described her grandson as "a gift from God sent by my son to give me a reason to get up every day and to take care of". Due to disputes with the agency supervising visits and the separation of McLean's mother from her husband, the boy has remained with McLean's mother, and neither Yestrau nor Timothy McLean Sr. have seen him since 2018 and 2016 respectively.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Pauls |first=Karen |date=30 July 2018 |title=10 years after Greyhound beheading, family of victim and bystanders still suffering |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/greyhound-beheading-10th-anniversary-1.4760074 |website=CBC}}</ref>
==Vince Li== ===Background=== {{Infobox criminal | name = Vince Li | image = <!-- just the filename, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing brackets --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Li Weiguang | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|04|30|df=y}} | birth_place = Dandong, Liaoning, China | alma_mater = Wuhan Institute of Technology (BS) | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = Will Baker | conviction = | occupation = Software engineer, menial worker (later due to illness) | penalty = | native_name = 李伟光 | native_name_lang = zh }}
'''Vincent Weiguang Li''' ({{zh|s=李伟光|t=|p=Lǐ Wěiguāng}})<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Xiao |first=Tang |date=3 March 2009 |title=加拿大华裔巴士杀手被判无罪 将被送进精神病院治疗 |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqkx/2009-03/06/content_7545802.htm |access-date=7 October 2022 |website=www.chinadaily.com.}}</ref> was born in Dandong, Liaoning, on 30 April 1968 as the second of three children. Li's father was a custodian while his mother was a math teacher. He was born one month premature, and it was noted by psychiatrists in his youth that Li was very sickly throughout most of his childhood and exhibited developmental delays, learning to walk and talk only at around five years old and starting elementary school at age nine. Nevertheless, his health and academic progress improved upon entering high school. At age 19, Li began studying automotive engineering at the Wuhan Institute of Technology from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in computing in 1992. From 1994 to 1998, Li worked in Beijing as a computer software engineer. He married his wife, Anna, whom he met while working at a factory in Beijing, in June 1995. According to Li's wife and family, he displayed no signs of mental illness, although his father noted that his son was "stubborn and restless" and had a tendency for "always moving around".<ref name=":6" />
Li immigrated to Canada on 11 June 2001<ref>McIntyre, Mike. [https://nationalpost.com/story.html?id=702288 'Please kill me,' pleads man accused in beheading murder]{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, ''National Post'', 5 August 2008. Accessed 6 August 2008. {{dead link|date=September 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>[http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=74af9925-382e-4175-8ff1-42ed0e4bb2d1 Now a citizen, beheading suspect cannot be deported] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628214237/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=74af9925-382e-4175-8ff1-42ed0e4bb2d1 |date=28 June 2011 }}, ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 August 2008. Accessed 17 February 2011.</ref><ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/accused-in-bus-slaying-ordered-to-get-psychiatric-assessment-1.722962 Accused in bus slaying ordered to get psychiatric assessment], ''CBC News'', 5 August 2008. Accessed 12 August 2008. [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/accused-in-bus-slaying-ordered-to-get-psychiatric-assessment-1.722962]</ref> (though some newspapers mistakenly reported 2004)<ref name="Gillies">Gillies, Rob. [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hx-mB9K812hwZqPx4HhsRsgjT7YwD92CEL700 Canada bus beheading suspect says 'please kill me'], Associated Press, 5 August 2008. Accessed 6 August 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080809031829/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hx-mB9K812hwZqPx4HhsRsgjT7YwD92CEL700 |date=9 August 2008 }}</ref> as part of the Federal Skilled Worker Program,<ref name="GM080806" /> and remained a Chinese national until he became a Canadian citizen on 7 November 2006.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=Puxley |first=Chinta |date=3 March 2009 |title=Man pleads not guilty in bus beheading |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2009/03/03/man_pleads_not_guilty_in_bus_beheading.html |access-date=22 March 2019 |website=The Toronto Star}}</ref> Starting in the fall of 2004, he worked in Winnipeg at menial jobs at Grant Memorial Church for six months to support his wife, Anna.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=6 August 2008 |title=Timeline to the Greyhound bus killing |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/timeline-to-the-greyhound-bus-killing-1.757680 |website=CBC News}}</ref> Pastor Tom Castor, who employed Li, said he seemed happy to have a job and was committed to doing it well, despite a language barrier with other congregation members. "I think he would occasionally feel frustrated with not being able to communicate or understand," Castor told CTV Winnipeg. "But we have very patient staff members and he seemed to respond well." Castor also said Li did not show any signs of anger issues or any other trouble before he quit in the spring of 2005.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=4 August 2008 |title=Accused killer described as hard worker |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna26012011 |access-date=7 October 2022 |website=NBC News}}</ref> He began working as a forklift operator in Winnipeg that same year's summer while his wife worked as a waitress.
According to Stanley Yaren, his court psychiatrist, Li told him that he had converted to Christianity and was baptised during his employment at Grant Memorial Church, after he heard the "voice of God" talking to him. Li said that the voice called him the "third story of the Bible", as well as the "second coming of Jesus", destined to save people from an alien invasion. In preparation, the voice would regularly order Li to travel through the country on foot or by bus, often disappearing from his home for days on end, as corroborated by his wife.<ref name=":3" /> Due to his paranoid belief that he was constantly under threat by alien infiltrators, Li began carrying a buck knife on his person for protection. This is the same knife he ultimately used to kill McLean. His delusions would later be ascribed to undiagnosed schizophrenia.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=23 May 2012 |title=Canada bus killer Vince Weiguang Li 'believed victim was alien' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-18170463 |access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 May 2012 |title=Greyhound killer believed man he beheaded was an alien |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/greyhound-killer-believed-man-he-beheaded-was-an-alien-1.1131575 |website=CBC}}</ref> Li's wife recalled that he often went several days without sleeping or eating, and often spent his days at home crying and telling her about his visions of God. She and many of Li's friends attempted to get Li to visit a doctor for his auditory hallucinations, but he refused due to a fear of hospitals.<ref name=":6" /> The couple subsequently separated in March 2005, leading Li to leave for Thompson, initially planning to buy land, but after realizing that he had no money, he instead began working as an overnight maintenance worker at a local Wal-Mart. Four months later, Li saved up enough to move back to Winnipeg, where he briefly worked as a gas station attendant for Domo and part-time at a Tim Hortons. Li says it was during this time that he suffered his first full-blown mental breakdown.<ref name=":6" />
In September 2005, the voice in Li's head convinced him to abandon everything to head for Toronto as it was "easier to find work there". After failing to do so, the voice told Li to go back to Winnipeg on foot, discarding his luggage by a roadside. He was later found by Ontario Provincial Police, wandering Highway 427, malnourished and dehydrated, stating that he was "following the sun" at the command of God.<ref name=":3" /> He was examined at William Osler Health Centre and despite some local newspapers reporting that Li was diagnosed with schizophrenia by staff there and refused medication, official records show that Li was never documented for mental illness, though it was noted at Li's trial that his maternal uncle suffered from an unspecified psychiatric disorder.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 March 2009 |title=Man who brutally killed fellow bus passenger 'reclusive' but 'decent' |url=https://www.grandforksherald.com/newsmd/man-who-brutally-killed-fellow-bus-passenger-reclusive-but-decent |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=Grand Forks Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=White |first=Patrick |date=6 March 2009 |title=How the mental health system failed Vince Li |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/how-the-mental-health-system-failed-vince-li/article20441432/ |access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref> After Li checked himself out of the clinic, against the advice of doctors who wanted him to stay for a month for continued observation, he called his wife and asked her to book him a flight back to Dandong. There, his parents noticed their son's change in personality and that although Li found work easily, he was unable to stay employed for longer than a few days due to his sudden irritability. Li's wife joined her husband shortly after, and they tried to reconcile, but they ended up divorcing when she saw that Li's mental faculties had only worsened since their separation.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Lett |first=Dan |date=5 March 2009 |title=Tormented by mental illness |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2009/03/05/tormented_by_mental_illness |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=Winnipeg Free Press |language=en-US}}</ref>
Li moved back to Canada and settled in Toronto, where he was unemployed. He called his ex-wife regularly, telling her he missed her and was unable to work. She allowed Li to live with her in Winnipeg until he was able to live by himself again, but less than a year later in 2006, Li left his ex-wife when he abruptly relocated to Edmonton.<ref name="calgaryherald">Steve Lillebuen, Jennifer Yang. [http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=9d10f756-7815-4110-b1c3-611a34a4494b Alleged beheader lost Wal-Mart job over conflict with fellow worker] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805124037/http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=9d10f756-7815-4110-b1c3-611a34a4494b |date=5 August 2008 }}, ''Calgary Herald'', 4 August 2008. Accessed 6 August 2008.</ref> For a while, Li lived in his car after again failing to find a job. His ex-wife continued to send him money and in July 2007, she moved in with Li, with their relationship improving in the following months. From then on, his jobs included work as a janitor, mechanic and cashier at a Wal-Mart, service at a McDonald's restaurant, and newspaper delivery.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> His delivery boss, Vincent Augert, described Li as reliable, hard-working and not showing any signs of trouble.<ref name=":1" /> Li's ex-wife said that he appeared happy for the first time since his hallucinations began.
In June 2008, Li's mental health deteriorated rapidly. He flew back to China on a whim to see his family, but stayed only for a day before returning, telling his father that he had just come to "find a wife". Four weeks before the killing, Li was fired from Wal-Mart following a disagreement with another employee.<ref name="calgaryherald" /> Shortly before the incident, he asked for time off from his delivery job to go to Winnipeg for a job interview. On 24 July, Li left the home he shared with his ex-wife, leaving a note reading "Don’t look for me. I wish you were happy". As Li had frequently left her and returned without notice during their marriage, she was not worried about this until Li called her on 26 July and clarified that he would not be coming back.<ref name=":6" />
===29 July 2008=== At 12:05 p.m. on 28 July in Edmonton, Li boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Winnipeg. On 29 July, around 6 p.m., Li got off the bus in Erickson, Manitoba, with at least three pieces of luggage, and stayed the night on a bench next to a grocery store. According to one witness, he was seen at 3 a.m. sitting "bolt upright" with eyes wide open.<ref name="GM080806"/> On the morning of 30 July, still at the bench, he sold his new laptop computer to a 15-year-old boy for $60.<ref>{{cite news|author=Giroday, Gabrielle|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/story/4208695p-4801212c.html|title=Li sold laptop before slaying|publisher=Winnipeg Free Press|date=6 August 2008|access-date=7 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080809003059/http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/story/4208695p-4801212c.html|archive-date=9 August 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Friesen, Joe |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080805.wbus06/BNStory/National/home |title='Please kill me,' accused pleads |publisher=The Globe and Mail |date= 5 August 2008|access-date=19 February 2011 |location=Toronto|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080810005604/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080805.wbus06/BNStory/National/home|archive-date=10 August 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The laptop was seized by the RCMP as evidence. It contained over 20 individual résumés applying for jobs in differing fields, including convenience stores, fast food restaurants, IT departments and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, though it has not been specified which position he was applying for. There were also several images, such as body shots of female models, pictures of military parades by the People's Liberation Army and photos taken by Li himself, including various mountains in British Columbia, as well as multiple angle shots of a BAE CT-155 Hawk mid-flight, the latter two of which are assumed to have been made during his travels across Canada while undergoing schizophrenic episodes. There was also an undated and unsent message addressed to either a family member or friend in China, in which Li commented on how he enjoyed living in Canada, but states that he misses home and that Canada was "not as he expected".<ref name="GM080806" />
===Trial=== When he appeared in a Portage la Prairie courthouse on charges of second-degree murder, the only words Li reportedly uttered were "Please kill me".<ref name="GM080806" /><ref name="Gillies" /> Li's trial commenced on 3 March 2009, with Li pleading not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. This means he accepted that the offence occurred but claimed that he was unable to form the necessary mental element or ''mens rea''.<ref name="Toronto Star">{{cite news |last=Puxley |first=Chinta |date=4 March 2009 |title=Man pleads not guilty in bus beheading |publisher=The Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/article/595800 |access-date=4 March 2009}}</ref> Stanley Yaren said that his patient's schizophrenia rendered him inculpable, as he had been under the false belief that McLean was a "force of evil" and posed an imminent threat to himself and others. In Li's mind, McLean was really a demon in disguise and an alien who needed to be "destroyed", to the point where he felt it was necessary to mutilate McLean's body to prevent him from coming back to life.<ref name=":3" /> Li had also felt pressured to perform the attack by voices he believed were from God, telling him to kill McLean sitting beside him, or he would be killed himself.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=5 March 2009 |title=Canada judge: Man not responsible for beheading |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-canada-bus-beheading-030509-2009mar05-story.html |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=The San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Judge: Beheading Suspect Not Responsible |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-beheading-suspect-not-responsible/ |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=5 March 2009 |language=en-US}}</ref> Both the defense and the prosecution were in agreement with Yaren's assessment and spoke in favour of involuntary commitment to a mental institution rather than prison time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canada judge: Man not responsible for beheading |url=https://www.statesboroherald.com/world/canada-judge-man-not-responsible-for-beheading/ |access-date=31 March 2023 |website=Statesboro Herald}}</ref> The presiding judge, John Scurfield, accepted the diagnosis, and ruled that Li was not criminally responsible for the killing.<ref name="Mental Health Ward"/> Li was remanded to the Selkirk Mental Health Centre.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/killer-vince-li-to-walk-in-unfenced-area-1.965195|publisher=CBC.ca|title=Killer Vince Li to walk in unfenced area|access-date=18 December 2010|date=30 July 2010}}</ref>
==Aftermath== The week following the attack, Greyhound Canada announced it was pulling a series of nationwide advertisements which included the slogan, "There's a reason you've never heard of bus rage." The incident has led to numerous calls and petitions demanding increased security on intercity buses.<ref>Rynor, Becky. [http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=0ae00464-9d02-416a-9ae4-08ccc246c322 Greyhound pulls 'bus rage' ads] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080809043052/http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=0ae00464-9d02-416a-9ae4-08ccc246c322 |date=9 August 2008 }} , ''The Windsor Star'', 5 August 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.</ref>
* The family of Tim McLean have brought a lawsuit of $150,000 against Greyhound, the Attorney General of Canada, and Vince Li.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/greyhound-beheading-10th-anniversary-1.4760074|title=10 years after Greyhound beheading, family of victim and bystanders still suffering|access-date=27 March 2020 }}</ref> As of July 2018, according to Timothy McLean Sr., the lawsuit was "in limbo".<ref name=":5" /> * On 3 June 2010, Li was granted supervised outdoor walks within his mental health facility as voted by the provincial review board.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/greyhound-killer-li-granted-walks-1.877470#socialcomments |title=Li granted walks supervised outside |publisher=Cbc.ca |date=3 June 2010 |access-date=19 February 2011}}</ref> * On 16 February 2011, two passengers, Debra Tucker and Kayli Shaw, filed a lawsuit against Li, Greyhound, the RCMP, and the Canadian government for being exposed to the beheading. They were each seeking $3 million in damages.<ref>Winnipeg Free Press.{{cite news|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Greyhound-RCMP-government-sued-ovre-McLean-beheading-116345794.html|title=RCMP, Greyhound, feds sued over McLean beheading|date=16 February 2011}}</ref> On 14 July 2015, the two women dropped their lawsuit.<ref>Global News. {{cite news|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/2110360/women-drop-lawsuit-in-bus-beheading/|title=Women drop lawsuit in bus beheading|date=14 July 2015}}</ref> * On 30 May 2011, CBC reported that Li was responding well to his psychiatric treatment and that his doctor had recommended that he receive more freedoms, phased in over several months.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/bus-beheader-responds-to-treatment-psychiatrist-1.1031459 | work=CBC News | title=Bus beheader responds to treatment: psychiatrist | date=30 May 2011}}</ref> * On 17 May 2012, the ''National Post'' reported that Li had been granted temporary passes that would allow him out of the Selkirk Mental Health Centre for visits to the town of Selkirk, supervised by a nurse and peace officer.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/vince-li-passes | publisher=National Post | title=Vince Li wins right to escorted trips into community | date=17 May 2012}}</ref> In an interview with Chris Summerville of The Schizophrenia Society of Canada, Li spoke publicly for the first time, sharing that his condition is slowly improving. He is being prescribed olanzapine, and was learning about schizophrenia, as well as ways to cope with it in a healthy manner. Li affirmed his guilt, saying he "can never forget the Greyhound bus" and that he believes that he can never be happy again, acknowledging that McLean's family likely will not forgive him. When asked for parting words, Li offered an apology to McLean's mother, stating "I would like to say to Tim McLean's mother, I am sorry for killing your son. I am sorry for the pain I have caused. I wished I could reduce that pain."<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/9283963/Canada-cannibal-says-he-believed-victim-was-an-alien.html Canada cannibal says he believed victim was an alien], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 23 May 2012</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=28 May 2012 |title=Vince Li speaks for the first time |url=https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/vince-li-speaks-for-the-first-time-1.830470 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708235408/https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/vince-li-speaks-for-the-first-time-1.830470 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 July 2022 |access-date=31 March 2023 |website=CTV News |language=en}}</ref> * On 27 February 2014, CBC reported that on 6 March, Li would be allowed to have unsupervised visits to Selkirk, starting at 30 minutes and expanding to full-day trips. Since 2013, he had been allowed to have supervised visits to Lockport, Winnipeg, and nearby beaches. Those visits were then relaxed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/vince-li-granted-unsupervised-outings-in-selkirk-winnipeg-beaches-1.2554175|title=Vince Li granted unsupervised outings|publisher=CBC News|date=27 February 2014|access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref> * On 17 July 2014, the ''Toronto Sun'' and ''National Post'' reported that one of the first officers on the scene, Corporal Ken Barker of the RCMP, had committed suicide.<ref>[http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2014/07/20140717-184836.html "Cop at scene of 2008 Manitoba bus beheading commits suicide"]; {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719090853/http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2014/07/20140717-184836.html |date=19 July 2014 }}, ''The Toronto Sun'', 17 July 2014</ref><ref>{{Citation |title= Six years after Vince Li beheaded a Greyhound passenger, another death: Mountie at the scene commits suicide |url= https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/six-years-after-vince-li-beheaded-a-greyhound-passenger-another-death-mountie-at-the-scene-commits-suicide | publisher=National Post |access-date=6 August 2025}}</ref> The family stated in his obituary that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.<ref>[http://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-215423/name-Ken_Barker/min-run-date-1405486800/order-publish_date%7CDESC,last_name%7CASC/ Ken Barker Obituary], ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 16 July 2014</ref> * On 27 February 2015, CBC News reported that Li was given unsupervised day passes to visit Winnipeg so long as he carried a functioning cellular telephone while using them.<ref name=27feb2015>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/vince-li-man-in-bus-beheading-granted-unsupervised-passes-to-winnipeg-1.2976618 |title=Vince Li, man in bus beheading, granted unsupervised passes to Winnipeg |date=27 February 2015 |work=Manitoba – CBC News |quote=Li will be granted day passes to visit Winnipeg unsupervised as long as he carries a working cellphone with him}}</ref> * On 8 May 2015, CTV News reported that Li would be granted passes to group homes in the community.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/vince-li-who-beheaded-bus-passenger-granted-move-to-group-home/|title=Vince Li granted move to group home|publisher=CTV News|date=8 May 2015|access-date=9 May 2015}}</ref> * In February 2016, it was reported that Li had legally changed his name to Will Lee Baker and was seeking to leave his group home to live independently.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/man-beheaded-fellow-bus-passenger-seeks-looser-restrictions-173935103.html|title=Man who beheaded fellow bus passenger wants to live on his own|publisher=Yahoo!|date=23 February 2016|access-date=26 February 2016|first=Steve|last=Lambert|quote=Vince Li appeared before a Criminal Code Review Board on Monday under the new name of Will Baker.|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033424/https://ca.news.yahoo.com/man-beheaded-fellow-bus-passenger-seeks-looser-restrictions-173935103.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=10 February 2017 |title=Vince Li, man who beheaded passenger on Greyhound bus, given absolute discharge |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/vince-li-discharge-1.3977278 |access-date=7 October 2022 |website=}}</ref> He won the right to live alone on 26 February upon the recommendation of the Criminal Code Review Board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/26/board-oks-plan-for-man-who-beheaded-bus-passenger-to-eventually-live-on-his-own_n_9321924.html |website=HuffingtonPost.Ca |title=Vince Li, Man Who Beheaded Greyhound Passenger, Wins Right To Live Alone |first=Steve |last=Lambert |date=26 February 2016 |quote=opponents, including some politicians and McLean's mother, have opposed the board granting Baker increasing freedom. "The Crown has the ability to view Will Baker ... as a designated high-risk not criminally responsible person, but they have chosen not to," Conservative MP James Bezan wrote in a statement. |access-date=26 February 2016 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225204254/https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/26/board-oks-plan-for-man-who-beheaded-bus-passenger-to-eventually-live-on-his-own_n_9321924.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> * On 10 February 2017, the Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board ordered Li be discharged. Li was granted an absolute discharge. There will be no legal obligations or restrictions pertaining to Li's independent living.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/vince-li-discharge-1.3977278|title=Vince Li, man who beheaded passenger on Greyhound bus, given absolute discharge|newspaper=CBC News|access-date=10 February 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/11/mentally-ill-man-who-beheaded-bus-passenger-is-freed-from-all-supervision|title=Mentally ill man who beheaded bus passenger is freed from all supervision|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=10 February 2017|language=en}}</ref>
==Further reading== ''Vincent'' (Cider Press, 2015), a book-length poem by American poet Joseph Fasano, is a fictionalized work based loosely on the event.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vincent|url=http://ciderpressreview.com/product/vincent/?mc_cid=7932b4c548&mc_eid=28c4e809ad|website=Cider Press Review|access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with Joseph Fasano|url=http://combustus.com/joseph-fasano-poet/|website=Combustus|date=16 March 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Miljure|first1=Ben|title=New book offers imagined perspective of Greyhound bus killer|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg/article/new-book-offers-imagined-perspective-of-greyhound-bus-killer/|access-date=23 March 2015|agency=CTVNews Winnipeg}}</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Law|Canada}} * 2001 Greyhound bus attack * Katherine Knight * List of incidents of cannibalism * Murder of Yang Xin * Murder of Jun Lin * Omaima Nelson * Killing of Iryna Zarutska
==Notes== {{notelist}} ==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Wikinews-inline|Man decapitated on Greyhound bus in Manitoba}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Tim}} Category:2008 murders in Canada Category:2008 in Manitoba Category:Bus incidents in Canada Category:Deaths by decapitation Category:Deaths by person in Canada Category:Deaths by stabbing in Canada Category:Greyhound Lines Category:Incidents of cannibalism Category:Intercity bus incidents