Beheading Suspect Pleads "Please Kill Me"

A man accused of beheading and cannibalizing another passenger on a Greyhound bus in Canada pleaded Tuesday in court for someone to "please kill me," and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Prosecutor Joyce Dalmyn, who argued for the evaluation, revealed new details about the attack Wednesday night. She said Vince Weiguang Li had a plastic bag containing his victim's ear, nose and part of a mouth in his pocket when officers arrested him. The only response officers received from him was: "'I have to stay on the bus forever,"' Dalmyn said.

Li, who immigrated to Canada from China in 2004, is charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of 22-year-old carnival worker Tim McLean - an attack which witnesses aboard the bus said appeared to be unprovoked. He has yet to enter a plea.

Li was scheduled to appear Tuesday to determine whether he should undergo psychiatric testing, but the judge in Portage La Prairie adjourned the hearing for a short recess to allow a legal aid attorney to confer with him.

Since his arrest, Li has declined to speak to prosecutors and his court-appointed attorney.

When asked again by the judge after the recess if he wanted a lawyer, Li shook his head and then quietly said "please kill me."

Li's remark was heard by reporters and confirmed by court clerks, but was not acknowledged by the judge. He is due back in court Sept. 8.

Thirty-seven passengers were aboard the Greyhound from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, as it traveled at night along a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway about 12 miles from Portage La Prairie. Some were napping and others watching the movie "The Legend of Zorro" on bus television screens when Li attacked McLean, allegedly stabbing him dozens of times.

As horrified passengers fled the bus, Li severed McLean's head, displaying it to some of the passengers outside the bus, witnesses said. He then began hacking at the body.

A police officer at the scene reported seeing the attacker hacking off pieces of the victim's body and eating them, according to a police tape leaked on the Internet.

A church pastor, Tom Castor, who helped hire Li soon after he immigrated in 2004 with his wife, Anna, said the man never showed any sign of anger or emotional problems when he worked there as a custodian. Church officials said they vetted Li by contacting references listed on his application and running a criminal record check.

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.

More than 105,000 people have joined the online memorial group.