A man accused of beheading and cannibalizing a passenger on a Greyhound bus apologized to police when he was arrested and begged officers to kill him. The details emerged as Vince Li faced his murder trial by pleading not guilty.
The Chinese immigrant is being tried on second-degree murder charges in the death of Tim McLean, a 22-year-old who was killed in what passengers described as a random, horrific attack.
“I’m sorry. I’m guilty. Please kill me,” Li said in a statement of facts agreed to by both the prosecution and defense.
But Li delivered his not guilty plea to the court on Tuesday in a loud, clear voice.
Li’s lawyers are not disputing that he killed McLean, but they argue he was mentally ill and not criminally responsible. A psychiatrist told the court Li is schizophrenic and believed God told him to do it.
Three dozen passengers were aboard the bus as it traveled at night along a desolate stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway in western Canada. Witnesses said Li attacked McLean unprovoked, stabbing him dozens of times.
The statement of facts read in court said Li attacked McLean “for no apparent reason” and McLean fought to escape before he died.
As horrified passengers fled the bus, Li severed McLean’s head and displayed it to some of the passengers outside, witnesses said.
A police report said an officer at the scene saw the attacker hacking off pieces of the body and eating them.
The statement said the attacker tried numerous times to leave the bus, but he was locked inside. Li eventually escaped through a window and was later arrested.
McLean’s family and friends, wearing T-shirts with his picture, wept as the details were read.
Li, dressed in a suit and running shoes without laces, appeared calm during the hearing as he sat surrounded by security guards, his back to spectators.
Li did not understand his actions were wrong, psychiatrist Stanley Yaren told the court.
“A voice from God told him Mr McLean was the force of evil and was about to execute him,” he said.
Li believed he had to act quickly to protect himself. The doctor said Li was still psychotic and believes it is just a matter of time before God kills him.
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