Beheading Suspect Called "Model Employee"

Boss Says Man Arrested In Bus Decapitation Murder Was Nice, Polite, Reliable

(AP)  The employer of a man who witnesses said stabbed and beheaded his seat mate on a Greyhound bus in Canada said Saturday that he was in shock to learn that his "model employee" has been accused of the grisly attack.

Vincent Augert, an independent contractor who distributes newspapers in Edmonton, Alberta, said that Vince Weiguang Li, was one of his most reliable carriers.

"He was very punctual and always cleanly dressed," Augert told The Associated Press. "He was a very nice, polite guy. We would've had no reason to let him go before all this happened."

Li faces second-degree murder charges for the brutal late Wednesday murder of a 22-year-old man on the bus traveling a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway about 12 miles from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba.

Witnesses described a bloody killing that occurred as some passenger were napping and others watching "The Legend of Zorro" on television screens inside the bus. Greyhound spokeswoman Abby Wambaugh said there were 37 passengers on the Winnipeg, Manitoba-bound bus at the time.

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

Li, who was in court Friday, did not reply when the judge asked him whether 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.

He shuffled into the courtroom Friday in Portage la Prairie with his head bowed and feet shackled.

The prosecutor asked for a psychiatric assessment, but the judge said he wanted to give Li a chance to meet with his lawyer. Li's next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Li has no known criminal record.

Authorities have not released the victim's name but friends identified him as Tim McLean and said he was headed to Winnipeg after working with the carnival in Edmonton.

William Caron, 23, said McLean was quiet, though he liked to socialize with friends. He was small - about 5-foot-4 and 130 pounds - and tended to stay away from a fight, 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," Caron said.

Friends started a Facebook group to remember him after news of the attack.

Friends told the Globe and Mail newspaper that a small group gathered Thursday outside the home of McLean's father, also named Tim. They greeted him as he returned home from work, and sat with him as he watched the news at his computer for the first time.

Witness Garnet Caton, who was sitting just one seat in front of the two men on the bus, said the suspect had been on the bus about an hour. He initially did not sit near the victim but changed seats after a rest stop. Caton 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 watched in horror as blood sprayed across the back of the bus, he told The Globe & Mail daily.

"He had a Rambo, hunting knife covered in blood and he just kept going at the guy," Caton said. "He was very calmly killing the guy and the other guy was screaming bloody murder," he added.

"There was no rage or anything. He was just like a robot stabbing the guy," 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.

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.

[babooph]

So many proper citizens cannot get a tourist visa-this Christian came in -NO PROBLEM!

[E.Cam]

On the bus, the movie Zorro was showing, could be that the nutjob was easily influenced by watching it.
However... I say an eye for an eye, hold em down and cut off his head in the same manner.
Death to all these psycho nutjob murderers!

[E.Cam]

On the bus, the movie Zorro was showing, could be that the nutjob was easily influenced by watching it.
However... I say an eye for an eye, hold em down and cut off his head in the same manner.
Death to all these psycho nutjob murderers!

[calicocat6]

The world contains evil, not doubt about it. It could be sitting next to anyone of us at any time. I just hope the killer doesn''t get any mercy with an insanity defense. He should be put away for life.

[apegirlz]

i would like to send my deepest heartfelt condolences to this young man and his family.as i am truly sickened as well as shocked by this brutal killer.i hope his charges get upgraded first degree murder.its so sad,that it was in canada,if it was in the united states,he would automaticly get the death sentence. i live in winnipeg as well.my deepest condolences to all who knew him.i met him .but briefly.i took my grand-daughter to the fair ,in the city.he was a good person.he helped me put her on the rides.he was a kind loving young man.ill never forget his smile.

[ratchow1962]

A comment here from Canada

To all those who think that the other bus passengers should have stopped the attack by force.I challenge you to put yourself in that place at that time and just see how you would have reacted.I know I would have hauled my butt off that bus as fast as I could for in that horrible situation situation,it was clesrly every person for themselves.

For the record,an officer from the RCMP praised all the passengers for how they reacted.If you dont
believe me,go to the RCMP webapge www.rcmp.ca and read their press statements.

[guadalcanal3]

haolie25...Ha! ha!...that''s the best answer I''ve heard all day!

[mondak75]

Canada abolished their death penalty in 1976...what a major mistake! They need to really reinstate it to take care of lunatics like this Li guy from Edmonton...And I don''t want to hear the all the screaming from the death penalty opponents that it is "inhumane," because what that guy did to the 22 year old guy just trying to get home was not humane.

[haoli25]

what do you have to do in canada to be charged with first degree murder? Posted by URSODUMB


Kill a hockey player.

[quatermass2]

Local news hints at cannibalism, too. Sounds like he was possessed by the Wendigo.

[obama8years]

I only heard of heads cut off in Muslim Countries. Could this guy be a Muslim. Maybe the passenger was wearing a T-Shirt of Mohammed with a Bomb Strap to his Head.....DEEP THOUGHTS.

[wineberry]

Jimbo554: If you are talking about the victim possibly made a pass at the murderer, I doubt it but even so all the guy who did the killing had to do was to get up and move away. He didn''t have to start hacking away and chop off the guys head. No, I think this freak was just some kind of nutjob who had a problem underneath all that Mr. Niceguy that his boss thought he was. There are probably many more of these out there that are just waiting for the chance. That''s the bad thing about it, it could happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

[jimbo554]

"He initially did not sit near the victim but changed seats after a rest stop."

I''d be willing to bet money the guy made a pass at him.

[tomanyt]

rudy654...If the murder was premeditated then the charges would probably be in the first-degree.

[rudy654-2009]

Hope the other passengers cowardice haunts them forever! Not 1 out of 35 other passengers jumped into this, not 1!


**********

I agree. Somebody should have at least thrown something at him, hit him really hard in the head or something.

[rudy654-2009]

I hate it when the media remembers some murderer as a real swell fellow. Please, I don''t care if he was a model employee or not, he is now a murderer. The rest don''t matter.

[harp1963]

Well I guess all the b u tt kissers should be medicated now. All this time everyone thought it was the complainers who were the ones on edge when it was really the model employees.

[hurtmorons]

Hope the other passengers cowardice haunts them forever! Not 1 out of 35 other passengers jumped into this, not 1!

[jennmarikp]

Just goes to show . . . you never REALLY know anybody.

[andor3]

"Even responsible people change over time and go nuts. Look at Republicans! "

yep and I think the most dangerous people are the ones who swear they do not have a dark side and never had a malicious thought. if we are honest, insanity or that ugly impulse is not far away from any of us. best way to control it is admit that it is there...