UPDATE Aug 05-08: Man Stabbed, Beheaded on Manitoba bus. Accused, pleads to Court "KILL ME!!"

Opinion

Barry Artiste. Now Public Contributor

Liberal Think Tanks say Crime in Canada is down. Perhaps they may want to rethink that stance, as events on buses are becoming shockingly frequent. If crime is so way down and groovy, why is there talk of metal detectors for bus passengers?  Certainly previous to this, it was a non occurrence.

What's next, metal detectors for customers entering 7-11 to buy a quart of milk? Because you know what 7-11 at least in some cities where crime is rampant have store clerks arming themselves, or hiring a security guard outside their stores. Now what does that tell you about our low crime rate?  Politicians have to get their head out of their ass and act, and ACT NOW!  Is it any wonder citizens in North America have no faith in our incompetent justice system, that they arm themselves and take matters into their own hands if push comes to shove?

This "everyone wins a Trophy for Showing up Society" we currently live in, where Politicians treat Criminals better than the Victims, is insanity. Victims have no Rights, Period, and have not had any rights since the Trudeau Liberal Days of the early 1970's in Canada.

It's Time for Politicians to take off their "Nancy Boy Skirts of Political Correctness", and put your Pants back on. Otherwise, we are doing no justice for Tim McLean or any other future victims of crime in this country.

Certainly a horrendous memory visitors from the USA and other parts unknown, who witnessed this atrocity in front of them, will never forget, as their last memory of Canada of a crazed lunatic waving a bloody, severed head in front of them. To add insult to this 5'4" headless victim's body, it has been reported that the Madman for shock value, began to eat the victim's flesh in front of horrified passengers.

Below is a Timeline of Events from July 31st to present. Updates will be posted daily as events unfold.

Below is the original story link

July 31, 2008 Breaking News

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7886faf4-e8e9-4217-ac1d-66563d16ec9f

Man stabbed, beheaded on Manitoba bus

'I don't think the guy knew him at all . . . the poor guy, he didn't see it coming'

Gabrielle Giroday and Ian Hitchen,

Winnipeg Free Press and Brandon Sun Published: Thursday, July 31, 2008

BRANDON, Man. - Thirty-six passengers of a Greyhound bus traveling from Edmonton to Winnipeg Wednesday night watched in horror as a fellow passenger reportedly stabbed another man sleeping next to him, eventually decapitating him and waving the man's severed head.

"He didn't do anything to provoke the guy. The guy just took a knife out and stabbed him, started stabbing him like crazy and cut his head off," said Garnet Caton, 36, a passenger.

Update July 31st, 2008

Below is the update link from a passenger who talked to the victim earlier.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/07/31/greyhound-transcanada.html

Caton described the attacker as surprisingly calm. "It was like he was at the beach or something. There was no rage in him. He wasn't swearing or cursing or anything.

It was just like he was a robot or something." Police cruisers arrived about 10 minutes after the attack began, he estimated, and officers began directing passengers to school buses to take them to a hotel in Brandon. "While we were waiting on the side of the road, [the attacker] was taunting the police with the head in his hand," said Caton.

The union that represents Greyhound drivers says the company must move to improve its security measures. Below is an additional the update

http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2008/07/31/6320741.html

Opinion, Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor

Bus travel being one of the more economical ways to travel attracts many on a budget, It has been reported that transients, homeless and just released prisoners, and mentally ill are attracted by the relatively cheap transit fares and take advantage of these cheap fares, with Vancouver, BC a favoured destination.  Certainly if this is the case, are we really safe, when one is unsure the passenger sitting  next to them is mentally stable, or could lash out in an instant?

One thing that is also said is that city fathers in certain provinces in their quest to get rid of undesirables offer free transit bus passes in order to entice those it does not want in it's city to leave for other cities across Canada, resulting in the next city and taxpayers having to deal with them.

Certainly an uneasy feeling, when  cities instead of  dealing with a social problem, it seems a Free Bus Ticket to parts unknown, is a  viable solution for cities who just want this problem to go away.

Vancouver's temperate climate is a mecca for transients, drug dealers, homeless and the criminal element seen by many as "Easy Pickins" for those who make Vancouver their home.  Currently it is said there is about 15,000 homeless in the lower mainland, which close to 90% of these people who came here from all across Canada.

With Vancouver's 2010 Olympics fast approaching, social  services are stretched to the maximum.   Vancouver's homeless advocates frequently "riot" in the streets demanding  Housing for the homeless.

Certainly it seems the more housing the Province provides, the more transients arrive in this Province looking for a free meal, free housing, drugs, or a place to start a criminal enterprise knowing penalties for criminal offences are either non existent or very lienent, especially when many criminals here are presently walking our streets with up to 130 criminal convictions under their belt. 

Certainly speaks volumes of a seemingly incompetent Justice System, who care not for the Victims Rights. In what Politicians in British Columbia continually state in the Media, that Vancouver is the place to be! 

Politicians state further to the World that Vancouver , British Columbia is the "Best Place on Earth to Live", Certainly the Homeless and especially the Criminal Organizations think so.

In 2008 National News magazine MacLeans" and National Police Forces across Canada  voted Vancouver as "The World's Largest Criminal Super Power" as a favoured choice for Criminal Organizations to be based here.   Something I am sure the Provincial Liberal Government under Premier Gordon Campbell and his Justice Department and the Left Wing New Democrats preceding the Liberals must be quite proud of in leaving a lasting Legacy of what many say is Wild West show of lawlessness in this Province and city we call Vancouver. 

To Now Public  Readers, who are looking at coming to our 2010 Olympics,  I would like to say "Welcome to Vancouver, and keep one hand on your pocketbooks and stay out of "Needle Park and East Hastings", or as what some call "Welcome to your personal Tour and Nightmare on Elm Street" if you venture into these two areas a block away from Historic Gastown.

July 31st , 2008

A passenger on board the bus where a man was stabbed and decapitated describes his impressions of the suspect in this video.

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/horrific-ride/#clip70940

Bus violence

Recent violent incidents that have occurred on Greyhound buses in Canada:

• Dec. 24, 2007: A 27-year-old man is stabbed after an argument with another passenger on a bus near Tweed, Ont.
• Feb. 16, 2007: A group of people in their 20s attack and beat the driver of a bus in Lloydminster, Alta.
• Dec. 23, 2000: A man attempts to take control of a bus near Thunder Bay, Ont. Thirty-two passengers are injured when the bus lands on its side in a ditch. One woman later dies of her injuries.
• March, 2000. A pregnant woman is attacked by a man on a bus in London, Ont. The woman suffered injuries to her arms. 

Here is one of a series of news stories on this incident along with eyewitnesses accounts describing their impressions of the attacker.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080731/Manitoba_bus_080731/20080731?hub=TopStories

One report from a friend of the victim was, he was not asleep but text messaging an ex girlfriend on the the trip back home. Below is a transcript from a radio show 680 News.

http://www.680news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n080112A

"I was talking to one of his ex-girlfriends not too long ago, and she was texting him the whole way back from Edmonton until 10 minutes before this accident happens," Caron told The Canadian Press.

"He was just sitting there texting her, listening to music on his cellphone."

He said his friend was small, around five-foot-four and weighing maybe 130 pounds.

"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."

Update August 1, 2008. 10:00am  Attacker Identified

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=1f424adc-e1b7-43a2-936a-68cae8338380

It has been said the male attacker identified as Vincent Li, 40 years old from Edmonton, Alberta, will be arraigned in court today in Manitoba.

The victim is identified as Tim McLean, 22 years old was enroute from Edmonton to Manitoba.   Vincent Li is described as heavy set and stood at just under 6 feet tall, where as the victim was a slight 5 foot 4 inch man at 120 pounds, certainly no match when taken by surprise by the attacker armed with a large hunting knife.

Friday, August 01, 2008 Bus attack suspect makes court appearance Gabrielle Giroday and Ian Hitchen, Winnipeg Free Press and Brandon Sun

Published: Friday, August 01, 2008

BRANDON, Man. -- Vince Weiguang Li, the 40-year-old suspect in the gruesome stabbing and decapitation aboard a Greyhound bus in Manitoba, appeared in court Friday to face a second-degree murder charge.

Shackled at the wrists and ankles, Li was led by police in and out of a courtroom in Portage la Prairie, Man. shortly after 10 a.m. Friday. He will appear again Tuesday. Li did not speak in court Friday.

The Edmonton resident was arrested Wednesday at the scene and charged early Friday with second-degree murder.

Below is from the friends who knew the Victim

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/07/31/6316716-cp.html

August 01st, 2008

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/08/01/stabbing-victim.html?ref=rss

Victim's Father trying to reach wife

McLean's father, Tim McLean Sr., told CBC News on Thursday night that he was in the process of trying to get confirmation from the police that his son was, in fact, the victim.

He said he was also trying to reach his wife, who is on an Alaskan cruise until next week.

Certainly,heart wrenching as a parent and mother on an Alaskan Cruise line, must have heard of her son's death in the news by now, and on the Pacific Ocean possibly far from land, must be more tragic when a mother cannot be with her family to grieve the loss of her son. And must do so in private amongst party revelers and passengers on board the cruise ship.  Certainly an unfathomable pain of loss to be 4,000 miles away.

5:00 PM Update August 1, 2008.  Attacker's "Mute Silence" when in front of the Judge

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4207100p-4799431c.html

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE - The 40-year-old Edmonton man accused of the second-degree murder of 22-year-old Timothy McLean while aboard a Winnipeg-bound Greyhound bus Wednesday made a brief court appearance this morning.

Visibly shaken, Vincent Weiguang Li didn’t speak during the short appearance, at which time court heard that Li has not yet asked to speak to a lawyer.

His next court appearance is Tuesday in Portage la Prairie when the psychological assessment will be considered by the court.

Li’s right hand was tightly bandaged, possibly due to handling the knife he’s alleged to have used to kill McLean.

He was escorted into court under heavy guard by RCMP officers and Manitoba sheriffs.

Veteran Crown attorney Larry Hodgson will handle the public prosecution of Li.

Hodgson said the charge of second-degree murder was selected as appropriate given the evidence currently available against Li. The police investigation is ongoing and further charges could be brought forward, Hodgson said.

Police indicated yesterday that they were having difficulty interviewing Li.

It does not state whether Li speaks English, a recent arrival to Canada or is just reluctant to speak to Police at this time?  I will provide further updates on this story as it develops.

WAS THERE PASSENGER COWARDICE ?

Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributors Opinion.

Many readers have left comments, some deriding the passengers who were great in number against a lone knife wielding attacker, and not standing up to the attacker and preventing the stabbing and capturing the "Butcher of Greyhound".

Now Public readers need to know this happened in an instant, Though I can certainly understand everyone’s rage.  You have to know this is 8:30pm at night, the bus is dark inside or dimly lit so passengers can sleep , it is foggy and raining, hence daylight is reduced in a bus with darkened windows. Witnesses state it happened so fast, late at night, when some near the victim were asleep, there was no time to react as the brain still is taking in what is going on.

So you have shock, then fear and flight, then self preservation of you and your kids, thats right some near the murderer had young children with them, once passengers  processed what just happened, perhaps some felt rage, most felt disbelief,  a lot of them Fear!!!    Again Fear of the Unknown is in all of us, so the  unknown being some passengers were awakened suddenly by screams, Is this a Bus Crash? What is going on? Sleeping Passengers need to adjust their vision in the dark with screaming, commotion, panicked and rushing passengers trying to get out of a maniac's  Wild flailing Butcher style Knife, described as friggin Huge!   So you have to cut these passengers some slack, who just witnessed this Maniac and what just happened!  Again I remind you the bus is dark at night , a single aisle for escape with a maniac flailing a knife in the air stabbing wildly, and passengers have to go past him to escape to safety, never mind there is a throng of passengers behind you pushing you in the dark along the 30 inch wide aisle in front of this knife stabbing maniac!  What would you do?  Like I say again, no one knew what was happening until it was too late.

Once off the bus passengers armed themselves with a passing Truckers wrenches, it is said some got back on the bus and confronted the Murderer, then I can assume realised in the dark, that the narrow aisle when confronting the maniac, they as a group were at a clear disadvantage, in that to one combat with a wrench against a maniac with a large Knife and who  just stabbed someone 50 times and then decapitated that person, certainly has nothing to lose. So with an unfair advantage and the, and the bus dimly lit inside or in total darkness, they realise this is not a an even "Mano a Mano"  situation most would have wanted to be in.  

So they retreat and  the bus driver, who is the real hero disabling the bus, so the maniac could not drive it and with the help of his brave passengers, they barricaded the glass doors to the bus with their own bodies to prevent his escape as the madman in a rage stabbed the glass doors of the bus repeatedly with a heavy and friggin Large Rambo Butcher Knife, so remember passengers bodies are against that glass, with have gaps for knives to slice through and  injure them directly as I am sure some with their bodies against the bus glass doors could feel the force of this Huge friggin knife  on their backs through the glass doors.  Pretty brave passengers if you ask me~!

5:00am Update Aug 1st, 2008

By CHRIS KITCHING, SUN MEDIA
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2008/08/02/6335046-sun.html

Father of brutally murdered young man learned of death from reporter, not the RCMP, friends say

WINNIPEG -- Longtime friends of a 22-year-old man murdered on a Winnipeg-bound bus say his family is outraged it learned of his gruesome death from a reporter who went to their home, not the RCMP.

"His father just had his hands over his mouth saying, 'No, oh my God, no,'" said Kehler, 21.

Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributors Opinion.

To be fair, RCMP kept Mum on the Facts, as it seems passengers on the bus, who talked to reporters first may have named the suspect, in which McLean's friend who heard started a FaceBook page.  RCMP usually notify next of kin, in this case passengers leaked the story to the media first.

5:00am Update Aug 1st, 2008
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/08/01/stabbing-victim.html 

Suspect in bus killing delivered newspapers, worked at McDonald's

The man accused of stabbing a young Winnipeg man aboard a Greyhound bus delivered newspapers for several Edmonton publications and had worked at McDonald's, according to one of his employers.

Vince Weiguang Li, 40, worked for a contractor delivering the Edmonton Journal, the National Post and the Edmonton Sun, his boss Vincent Augert told CBC News Friday.

5:00am Update Aug 2nd, 2008

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=43fd4482-90ae-4890-baca-5190c66becf5

Memorial service held at Regina Exhibition for man slain on bus. Tim McLean, 22, killed aboard Greyhound bus in Manitoba Kristina Jarvis, leaderpost.com

Published: Saturday, August 02, 2008

REGINA -- A memorial service was held on the midway of the Regina Exhibition on Saturday for Tim McLean, the young man who was murdered on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba last Wednesday night.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=14060584-665f-409f-9b1f-ff776681a84e Beheading victim planned to live in Vancouver

Kelly Sinoski, James Turner, Vancouver Sun

Published: Saturday, August 02, 2008

A young man who was beheaded while travelling on a Greyhound bus was a summer carnival worker at Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition. Tim McLean, 22, loved working at the PNE so much he planned to move to Vancouver this summer, his friend Teisha Ryley said.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=909d3c15-afbd-4955-a5cf-be3ad54e34e4

Mourning family calls man beheaded on bus 'stubborn, kind'James Turner and Kelly Sinoski, Canwest News ServicePublished: Saturday, August 03, 2008

WINNIPEG - The family of a young man stabbed to death and beheaded on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba on Wednesday night finally spoke out Saturday, calling 22-year-old Tim McLean "a little guy with a heart bigger than you could know."

"Timothy Richard McLean - known as Timmy to his friends and Tim Junior by his family - was a stubborn soul and a kind one," said Tim's uncle, Alex McLean, reading a statement from the family.

"He made friends effortlessly, disliked no one, and accepted everyone for who they were. He was a charmer who loved to smile, and you could never take a plate of food away from him."

Canadians were asked if Police were correct in only laying Second Degree Murder Charges?

Certainly a charge, discussed in length by Now Public Readers the World Over as Insufficient when 1st Degree Murder charges, seem more appropriate.

Poll    Do you agree with the second-degree murder charge given to bus decapitation suspect Vince Weiguang Li?  Yes. Seems right.
49.43 %   No. He was clearly insane.
19.54 %   No. If this isn't a third-degree murder case, what is?
31.03 %



10:00pm August 03, 2008
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080803/national/mba_bus_beheading

Accused killer on Manitoba bus described as quiet, hard-working
By Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG - Long before he was accused of the gruesome beheading of a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba, Vince Weiguang Li was a quiet and hard-working custodian at Grant Memorial Church.
Pastor Tom Castor, who helped hire Li soon after he immigrated from China in 2004, said the man never showed any sign of anger or emotional problems.

August 03, 2008

http://www.thespec.com/news/article/413616

Family of beheaded man speaks out

Torstar News Service

WARNING: Contents may be disturbing to some readers.

WINNIPEG - A young man killed in a seemingly random attack aboard a Greyhound bus in Manitoba was a charmer who loved meeting people and saw the good in everyone, his family said, as they were still reeling not only from losing the 22-year-old, but from the horror of the way he died.

Tim McLean's family described the young carnival worker Saturday as a kind soul and a free spirit.

August 03, 2008

Below is my initial Op piece on this storyPolice radio transmission in bus slaying leaked on Internet: Family of slaying victim speak out for the first time.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/rcmp-transmission-brutal-beheading-hits-youtube-manitoba-victims-family-speaks-out

Below is the media link in full

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080802.wtape0802/BNStory/National Police radio transmission in Manitoba bus slaying leaked on Internet

The Canadian Press

August 2, 2008 at 8:29 PM

EDT TORONTO — A chilling recording of a radio transmission between RCMP officers responding to the killing of a man who was stabbed and dismembered aboard a Greyhound bus in Manitoba was leaked on the Internet on Saturday.

On the recording, one officer describes the suspect – who police code-named Badger – moving around the bus, which was barricaded by the driver and a passenger. “Badger is armed with a knife and a pair of scissors and he is defiling the body at the front of the bus as we speak,” an officer says on the transmission.

The approximately 80-second recording was posted on several websites, including YouTube, where it had registered nearly 9,300 hits before it was made unavailable early Saturday afternoon.

The RCMP issued a news release stressing they had not given permission to use the transmission as they are “operational police communications and as such are not meant for public consumption. ” “Okay, Badger's at the back of the bus, hacking off pieces and eating it,” the transmission ends.

Witnesses said this week that the victim, Tim McLean, 22, was attacked by a big man on the bus near Portage la Prairie, Man.

They described how Mr. McLean, from Winnipeg, was stabbed repeatedly Wednesday as the driver ushered passengers off the bus and barricaded the door shut so the attacker couldn't escape.

06:00 AM Update August 04, 2008

Opinion

Barry Artiste. Now Public Contributor

A Candlelight vigil for Tim Mclean at the Manitoba Legislature certainly is the most appropriate place.

Certainly absent are the members of the ruling New Democratic Party, most, who it is assured are enjoying the Long Weekend with their loved ones, as this crowd of 200 mourn the loss of theirs.

Though this horrendous crime can not be faulted by any present government, it is said under the Federal Liberal Government who were in power during the time Vince Li immigrated to Canada, why was his illness not discovered by Health Officials at his immigration screening?

Certainly a logical reason to refuse his admission to Canada, and his lack of knowledge of Canada and the English language certainly were grounds of ineligibility as well to Canada.

In my Opinion, perhaps it is too little too late, by a previous Federal Liberal Government who citizens feel the Liberals once again "Sold Out Canadians" all for the ethnic votes from special interests.

Though I may not share that all sentiment made by those who commented in my posts, I can certainly understand their feelings on the matter.

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/manitoba-savage-death-moves-many-mourn-candlelight-vigil-mcclean
Manitoba: Savage death moves many to mourn: Candlelight Vigil for McCleanMon, August 4, 2008 

(Photo inset)  Tim McLean's sister hugs a friend at the steps of the Provincial Legislature.

Vigil for young victim Savage death moves many to mourn

By SHANNON VANRAES, SUN MEDIA World, Health,

They were his friends, his family and even complete strangers, but last night they gathered together to honour the memory of a young man whose lust for life ended tragically on a Greyhound bus last week.

Doug Mitchell -- a friend of 22-year-old homicide victim Tim McLean Jr. -- hopes the turnout at last night's candlelight vigil shows McLean's family the amount of support they have behind them.

AT LEGISLATURE "I hope they get the feeling they aren't alone grieving ... it is the city, the nation, the entire globe," said the 20-year-old, who organized the vigil.

Roughly 200 people had gathered in front of the Manitoba Legislature by about 10 p.m. last night, with some expected to stay for hours.

One of McLean's sisters briefly addressed the crowd. "It really helped to have a lot of people around us," she said, fighting through tears. "It's meant a lot to everybody." Many of those who attended the vigil remembered McLean as a friend or classmate.

Update 05, 2008
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/update-aug-05-2008-accused-decapitator-vince-li-whispers-kill-me-court-reports#comment-148578

Accused Decapitator Vince Li whispers KILL ME! : Court Reports

Update Aug 05, 2008 03:00pm

This is an update to the Vince Li trial, in which the accused in the slaughter and decapitation of Tim McLean, whispers to the court to Kill Him.

My previous post this morning revealed Vince Li was a seat mate to Tim Mclean's friend Stacey, who had a smoke break with Li during a rest stop.

Media reports that a woman called Stacy, a friend of slaughtered victim Tim McLean, spent an hour chatting with Vince Li may provide a clue which may have driven Vince Li to viciously stab and decapitate Tim McLean, in which after the conversation, Vince Li changed seats and went to the back of the bus and sat with Tim McLean.

Hence why McLean's family and friends don't believe Li's change-of-seating was a coincidence, insisting Vince Li face 1st degree murder charges.