Reader warning: The Free Press has decided to print the full allegations against Li because they are likely to play a crucial role in deciding whether he is fit for trial and criminally responsible for his actions. However, some of the details may disturb some readers.
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE -- He swayed back and forth, staring blankly at the floor and responding to a series of questions with audible grunts and sudden jerks of his head -- up and down in the affirmative, side to side in the negative.
Vince Li appears in Portage la Prairie court on Tuesday. The judge ordered a psychological assessment.
The heavily shackled man showed no visible reaction as the Crown attorney read aloud some of the facts of his alleged crimes, even while some courtroom spectators gasped.
And then, quickly and quietly, he spoke for the first time.
"Please kill me," Vincent Li, 40, said.
Provincial court Judge Michel Chartier had heard and seen enough.
Chartier agreed Tuesday with the Crown's request to order a forensic psychological assessment for Li, saying there appears to be serious mental health issues that could affect whether the Chinese immigrant is fit to stand trial for last week's decapitation killing of 22-year-old Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba.
The unprovoked slaying of the Winnipeg carnival worker made headlines around the world and prompted an outpouring of grief and outrage.
Dr. Frank Vattheur will meet Li and try to get information to form an expert opinion that will determine if, or how, the case will proceed.
Their first meeting is set for Thursday. Vattheur is expected to file a report by the time Li next appears in court on Sept. 8.
If Vattheur rules Li isn't fit to stand trial, that will effectively end the matter. Li would be sent indefinitely to a mental-health facility and held until, or unless, he is ever deemed ready to appreciate the legal process. The court case would resume at that point.
If found fit to stand trial, the next issue is whether Li is criminally responsible for his actions. Vattheur will submit an opinion on that issue as well.
A finding of "not criminally responsible" would result in Li going to a hospital instead of prison. His release would be in the hands of medical professionals who have the option of keeping him locked up and in treatment as long as they deem necessary.
Crown attorney Joyce Dalmyn revealed new details Tuesday about Li's background and the circumstances surrounding McLean's killing. She did so at the invitation of Chartier, who wanted to know what her grounds were for seeking a forensic assessment.
There was no publication ban. The Free Press is aware that many of the allegations are disturbing to readers, but has elected to print them because they are central to the issue of whether Li will ultimately face criminal sanctions.
Court was told Tuesday that Li's common-law wife, Anna, claims the man previously spent four days in a psychiatric ward. RCMP are trying to confirm the claims and obtain a search warrant to seize patient records.
Dalmyn had no further details about the hospital stay, such as the circumstances of his admission and release and when it happened, but said she believes it was in a province other than Manitoba and Alberta.
Li came to Canada in 2001, living in Winnipeg for several years before leaving his wife and moving to Edmonton.
He had been exhibiting "bizarre and unusual behaviour" in recent weeks and months, including taking sudden bus trips to various cities in Canada for no apparent reason, Dalmyn said.
As the Free Press reported this past weekend, a Winnipeg family and several members of the church Li attended tried to persuade him to see a doctor as recently as two years ago. They had concerns he was schizophrenic, possibly paranoid schizophrenic.
Li refused, then eventually left his wife behind in Winnipeg and moved to Edmonton, where he worked in the automotive department at Wal-Mart and delivered newspapers and flyers
The last day he was seen at work was Monday, July 28, two days before the deadly assault. His wife told an employer he had an "emergency" in Winnipeg and was coming for a job interview.
Dalmyn told court Li attacked a sleeping McLean for absolutely no reason as the Greyhound bus travelled down the Trans-Canada Highway near Portage la Prairie last Wednesday night, stabbing him as many as 40 times while 36 horrified passengers looked on.
He got McLean on the floor and then sat on top of him in the aisle of the bus, stabbing away with a large hunting knife, court was told.
A passenger called 911 while the Greyhound driver pulled over at the side of the highway, allowing all the passengers to flee.
The driver then locked the bus with just Li and a mortally wounded McLean inside.
Police rushed to the scene and surrounded the bus. Officers watched in horror as Li began carrying around McLean's severed head and appeared to be taunting them with it, court was told.
Li said nothing to police, except to tell them at one point, "I have to stay on this bus forever," Dalmyn said.
At one point, Li began cutting other body parts off McLean and was seen to consume some of them, she said.
There were audible gasps in the packed courtroom at this revelation, including from several members of McLean's family, who later left court without speaking to reporters.
"He appeared to be focused on his victim. He did not appear to be drunk or high," Dalmyn said.
"This was a completely random attack. There's been no link established (between Li and McLean)."
There had been speculation from some members of McLean's family that people on the bus may have been taking the drug ecstasy before the attack. No mention of drug use was made in court Tuesday.
Police elected not to storm the bus, waiting until Li smashed out a window and tossed a bloody knife and scissors towards them. He then jumped from the broken window, cutting his hand on the shards of glass, and was arrested, Dalmyn said.
Police searched him and found several severed body parts, including an ear, nose and partial mouth, inside a plastic bag in his pocket, court was told.
Police tried to interview Li but he refused to make verbal responses, Dalmyn said. However, he did softly mutter that he was "guilty" at least four times, she said.
Li has refused to speak with Legal Aid lawyer Randy Janis, who tried to meet with him on the weekend at the Winnipeg Remand Centre and again in Portage la Prairie court on Tuesday.
www.mikeoncrime.com
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