Canada Bus Decapitation Suspect In Court

(CBS/ AP)  A 40-year-old man who witnesses say stabbed and beheaded his seat mate aboard a Greyhound bus traveling across Canada made his first court appearance Friday on second degree murder charges. Police offered no motive for the savage attack against a man who friends described as an easygoing carnival worker.

Vince Weiguang Li, of Edmonton, Alberta, his feet shackled, shuffled into a courtroom for a procedural hearing in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba with his head bowed. He did not reply when the judge asked him if he was going to get a lawyer, and only nodded slightly when asked whether he was exercising his right not to speak. He was not required to enter a plea.

Li's right hand was tightly bandaged, possibly due to handling the knife he's alleged to have used to attack his victim, reports the Winnipeg Free Press.

The prosecutor asked for a psychiatric assessment, but the judge said he wanted to give Li a chance to meet with his lawyer about that. Li's next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.

Authorities have not released the victim's name or other details about Li. They also have not commented on the details of the attack, which occurred Wednesday night as the bus - en route from Edmonton to Winnipeg, Manitoba - traveled a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway through the Canadian Prairies.

Friends of the 22-year-old victim, however, identified him as Tim McLean, saying he was headed to Winnipeg after working with the carnival in Edmonton.

William Caron, 23, said his brother was supposed to pick McLean up at the bus depot in Winnipeg. When McLean did not show up, his brothers went to McLean's father's house, where they learned of his murder, he said.

Caron said McLean was quiet, though he liked to socialize with friends. He was small - about 5-foot-4 and 130 pounds - and tried to steer clear of trouble, he said.

"From what I hear, this other guy is three times his size," Caron said. "All the time I've known Tim, he's never been the type of guy to get into a fight with. He always kept to himself when there's strangers around."

Friends started a Facebook group called "R.I.P. Tim" after news of the attack.

"He was a great person, he was kind, thoughtful, and he did not deserve this. I feel for his parents and sisters and his lil bro," Jossiee Kehleer wrote on the site. She called him "a nice, caring guy," in an interview by instant message, but declined to say more.

Witnesses described a grisly murder that occurred as some were napping and others watching "The Legend of Zorro" on the bus's television screens.

Shortly after passengers reboarded the bus following a break, the suspect - for no apparent reason - stabbed the man sitting next to him several dozen times as passengers fled in horror, witnesses said. He then severed the man's head, displayed it and began hacking at the body.

Garnet Caton, who was sitting just one seat in front of the two men, said he did not hear the two speak to each other before the attack.

"We heard this bloodcurdling scream and turned around, and the guy was standing up, stabbing this guy repeatedly," Caton said.

Caton said the driver stopped the bus when he became aware of the attack and passengers raced off. A short while later, Caton said he re-boarded along with the bus driver and a trucker who had stopped to see what was happening.

He said the suspect had the victim on the floor of the bus and "was cutting his head off" with a large hunting knife.

"When he was attacking him, he was calm," said Caton. "There was no rage or anything. He was just like a robot stabbing the guy."

The attacker turned toward them and the three men quickly left the bus, blocking the door as the attacker slashed at them through an opening. Caton said the driver disabled the vehicle after the attacker tried to drive it away.

As the three guarded the door with a crow bar and a hammer, the attacker went back to the body and calmly came to the front of the bus to show off the head, Caton said.

Cody Olmstead, another passenger, said the man "dropped the head and went back and started cutting the body." Olmstead said the man later use the head to taunt police.

Greyhound spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said there were 37 passengers aboard.

The victim had been on the bus since Edmonton. Caton said the attacker boarded the bus in Brandon, Manitoba, about 80 miles west of Portage La Prairie.

The suspect had been on the bus about an hour and initially did not sit near the victim, Caton said. But he changed seats after a rest stop.

[ttech7-2009]

When bellachimera wrote that something snapped in his head just like with a dog. She was right. People do sometimes snap or go bad. With dogs we "put them down" this is the only was to be sure that they will not kill or attempt to kill again. Same is true of us of course. 80% or all murders are commited by those that have killed before.

[reptilian96]

I don''t understand why this guy should even go to trial, everyone in the bus seen him, cops got him of the crime scene red handed and he still getting a trial. This is why govt is getting broke for shelling money on useless prisoners and rehabilitation system. It doesn''t work at all. Govt mission is to make sane tax payers insane now we have to watch our ***** everywhere beacuse govt certainly won''t. "watch movie BRAVE ONE and learn from it"

[mondak75]

What I find odd is:

1) Vince Weiguang Li is from Edmonton, where McClean was working and departed for Winnipeg.

2)Vince Weiguang Li did not board that bus in Edmonton, but, he boarded it almost 18 hours later in Brandon, Manitoba (getting closer to the Winnipeg area).

3)Vince Weiguang Li told his boss he had to go to Winnipeg for a job interview.

4)Vince Weiguang Li told his wife he was going to Winnipeg for a family emergency.

5)Vince Weiguang Li brings along a huge hunting knife for the trip.

Somehow, I find this hole "random" killing thing a little bizarre when all these other things don''t add up or possibly add up to something that was planned? We''ll have to wait and see.

[bellachimera]

But, security should be tighter, on buses and on trains too. Why did we stop with planes? People can cause damage and chaos in either of those modes of transport. Security measures do need to be improved; I don%u2019t argue that one bit. The world is just too dangerous to trust strangers wholeheartedly. If anything this tragedy has shed light on, its that.
I am so sorry for both the family and friends of both the victim and the perpetrator. This never should have happened.
And seriously, this isn%u2019t Greyhounds fault. They couldn%u2019t know this would happen. It could have happened on any bus on any train, anywhere. It just happened here instead.

[bellachimera]

. He is not Charles Manson, or Paul Bernardo. Those men, did evil things, and were/are evil, but the way this act took place indicates that something happened to that man, something snapped. Our brains are so complex and such a small percentage is used that we may never know what triggers a person to do such horrendous things, but the act was hardly premeditated. It happens to dogs all the time, the mildest mannered, friendly dog snaps and mauls its owner to death. Not to compare us to dogs, but we are both animals. We have instincts, and chemicals, and complex minds, and anything, anytime to anyone one of us, something can go wrong.
That is truly what terrified me most about hearing of this. When you think of the dangers of traveling, the dangers are in the terminals, the truck stops, the streets, its not on the bus. The most you ever expect to happen is to get robbed. Even in your home, you lock your doors and set your alarm because you know that the possibility of someone breaking in is there. But this? And this disgusting? You never expect this to happen, and certainly not here.

[bellachimera]

I don%u2019t think any of us has the right pass judgment on what occurred that day. Until you are in a position where you are faced with such truly dangerous, traumatizing and gruesome acts can you know how you will react. Leaving the area is a fair and instinctive reaction and that basic need to save themselves is more than understandable. He could have hurt or killed others and is that any better? They did a brave thing trying to keep him on the bus until the authorities came, and that%u2019s all we can ask for.
Secondly, I seem to be having problems calling that man, that killer, evil. What he did was truly an evil act, but to say that the man himself is evil is unfair. Any man in his right mind would not choose to kill someone on a bus in such a manner with people all around, where he can apprehended by police. He wouldn%u2019t keep hacking the body while people waited for help, nor would he bring the head to the front of the bus to display his %u2018trophy%u2019 if he was sane. This man is obviously not sane, that does not make him evil. It is sad and terrible and disgusting and he should be locked up where he cannot hurt anyone again, but I do not believe he deserves to die.

[bed1232]

It''s hard to put into words how I feel about this. Horrified, disturbed, sickend are few. It scares me that there was a person out there ready to kill an innocent young man for no reason, totally unprovoked. I hope the authorities will try to learn from this lunatic what made him do this and then execute him. He does not deserve to live. And we should have metal scanners at all bus and train stations. It could have been anyone on that bus, me, you, anyone. I feel so sick. But remember this though, despite all these horrific murders we hear about daily, there are more good people in this world than evil ones, so there is hope for us yet.

[fnewton1]

To wbwilhite:

Good writings. I agree with many of your statements. Yes, I also agree with what you wrote in regard to Andor3. He or she is like a disease trying to protect other germs like this germ criminal of the Greyhound bus.

[wbwilhite]

As for Andor3, people like them don''t have a clue about me, anyone, or anything. They haven''t lived fully. He''s a typically bored person who baits others for entertainment. Look how quick he is to engage in personal attacks. It is so typical of all these posts, here and elsewhere. And it is such a waste of time to deal with him or his thoughts and accusations. For example: Am I a coward? Are you? Andor3 has never met any of us. He has no idea about we are. Some of us have faced death in the face. Some have served in war. Some are police officers, which increasingly is equivalent to being a soldier. Andor3 is the fool to not realize this - that the people he addresses have led lives beyond his comprehension. He is a complete waste of time and should be ignored as I should have done all along.

[wbwilhite]

I was a young ship''s engineer in Africa 30 years ago, back when ships had booms instead of containers. An engine cadet went ashore to do some drinking. He went ashore with some unlicensed crew. After he''d had enough, he returned to the ship at night alone. Near the docks, three Africans surrounded him. They had knives. One came up behind the cadet and threatened him. Later, the cadet said he thought he was a goner, so he grabbed one knife by the blade out of the hand of an assailant. He punched another assailant and all three took off. I''m cutting the story short, of course, but that kid was a real man. He got some stitches and one hell of a lot of respect by merchant seamen used to being attacked and rolled by thugs and other predators. Bravery is still out there, but it remains rare.