The mom of a man who was decapitated and cannibalized by a stranger on a bus said she is still "haunted" by the killer 's release from jail.
Tim McLean, 22, was brutally killed by Vincent Weiguang Li, known as Vincent Li, in an unprovoked attack on July 30, 2008. The 40-year-old attacker, who was suffering from untreated schizophrenia at the time, stabbed the victim - who was sleeping - nearly 60 times before dismembering and cannibalizing him as fellow passengers on a Greyhound bus watched on in horror.
The bus was traveling east on the Trans-Canada Highway towards Winnipeg, the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba, when McLean was killed. He was sitting in the back of the bus listening to music while on his way to see his pregnant girlfriend.
He then fell asleep with his head against the window when Li got on the bus. When he started stabbing the victim, the driver stopped the bus and other passengers tried to intervene but the killer kept them away by slashing the knife in the air. Horrifically, at some point, the killer lifted McLean's severed head to the window so that other passengers, who had in the meantime left the bus, could see it.
He went on to dismember McLean's body and even consumed part of his flesh. It took police five hours to stop and arrest the enraged killer. Following the brutal attack, Li was transferred to the care of the Manitoba Criminal Review Board and was placed in a mental health facility for treatment.
However, in March 2009, Li was found Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) for the murder on account of mental illness and was committed to the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. In 2017, he was discharged after the board concluded he no longer posed a significant threat to the public. He eventually changed his name to Will Lee Baker and now lives as a free man.
After the killer was discharged, the victim's mom, Carol de Delley, spoke to APTN News about her disappointment as she described it as an "injustice". She said: "That's wrong and should never be. Vince Li committed one of the most horrific murders in Canadian history and has faded back into society. My son is still dead."
The grieving mom added: "I do not believe public safety is of ‘paramount’ concern, when mass murderers and serial killers can plead NCR." She also tried to reform the law as she said: "I feel like I raised awareness that NCR even existed because I'd never heard of it before Timothy's murder.
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"But I failed to make enough of a change in the Legislation around NOT CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE to actually protect anyone." McLean's father, Tim McLean Sr, dealt with his grief by getting a tattoo of his son's face over his heart, but told the BBC during an interview that dealing with his son's killing was "an ongoing challenge". He added: "I don't believe we will ever fully recover."
McLean's son was born five months after he was killed and his grandmother said he inherited his dad's eyes and sense of humor. Tim's dad described his grandson as "a gift from God" and said he gives him the motivation to wake up every day and take care of him.
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