Random Facts About The Horrific Murder Of Tim McLean Aboard A Greyhound Bus (11 items)

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  (#1) Tim McLean Was Traveling Home From A Work Trip The Day He Was Killed

  Tim McLean had recently taken up employment as a carnival barker when he boarded Greyhound Canada bus 1170 on July 30, 2008. The 22-year-old had been working at a fair in Edmonton, Alberta, and was heading back to his home in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

  McLean reportedly sat towards the back of the bus upon boarding and put in headphones before falling asleep with his head leaning against a window.

  Born on October 3, 1985, McLean was an active athlete and a beloved son, brother, and uncle with a large extended family. He was known as an adventurous person who loved traveling and meeting new people. Five months after his murder, his son was born on December 21, 2008.
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  (#2) Vince Li Boarded The Bus Later Than Evening In Manitoba

  Around 6 pm on July 30, 2008, 40-year-old Vince Li boarded bus 1170 at a stop in Erickson, Manitoba. Some other passengers later claimed Li seemed agitated and possibly confused as he climbed aboard, but he did not seem to be a threat.

  Li chose a seat near the front of the bus, spoke to no one, and eventually disembarked briefly at a rest stop to smoke a cigarette. When Li returned to the bus, he walked past his original seat and instead sat next to Tim McLean towards the rear.
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  (#3) Li Had Been Living With Schizophrenia At The Time Of The Murder

  Vince Li immigrated to Winnipeg, Ontario, Canada from China in 2001. Although he studied computer science in China, he was unable to find steady work in Canada, moving between jobs at Mcdonald's, Meatland Food, and Walmart, where he was eventually fired over a disagreement with a coworker.

  All the while, he reportedly harbored disturbing thoughts about aliens and how God had chosen him to vanquish them. Authorities later learned Li had schizophrenia. Without access to proper mental health treatment, Li began traveling around Canada trying to find the aliens he believed he was meant to destroy.

  When Li spotted McLean on the bus, he believed McLean was an alien he needed to kill in order to protect the other passengers. Li later stated he felt as though he “was like the second coming of Christ.”
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  (#4) Li Reportedly Displayed Strange Behavior Before Boarding Bus 1170

  Prior to boarding bus 1170 on the evening of July 30, Vince Li was seen sitting at the bus stop for hours before the bus was scheduled to arrive. According to reports, Li was emotionless, sitting upright with his eyes open throughout the night and into the next day. He also had a sign in front of his suitcase that read, “Laptop For Sale $600 O.B.O."

  The next morning, just hours before he would board the bus with Tim McLean, he sold his laptop to a 15-year-old boy for $60. Once Li's violent actions became public, however, the computer was quickly confiscated. When asked about Li, the teen who purchased the laptop said, "He had, like, no emotion to him, but he didn't seem like he was a very nasty guy. He just seemed calm and normal."
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  (#5) Li Reportedly Killed McLean Without Expressing Emotion

  Dozens of witnesses were present when Li changed his seat and positioned himself next to the sleeping McLean. Just moments after the bus began moving, Li reportedly pulled out a large hunting knife and began stabbing McLean in the neck and chest. McLean awoke and began screaming - a scream that haunted many of the other passengers years afterward.

  As Li attacked McLean, he was reportedly calm and methodical, never changing his expression or displaying emotion. Fellow passengers said they were shocked by his lack of rage and the almost robotic way in which he committed the act; according to one witness, he stabbed McLean nearly 60 times.

  As screams of horror filled the bus and the driver quickly pulled to the side of the road, Li began to cut off McLean's head and dismember his body.
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  (#6) Witnesses Attempted To Help McLean

  As soon as the bus driver became aware of the stabbing, he quickly pulled the bus off the road. Most passengers ran from the bus for safety, but one passenger, 26-year-old Garnet Caton, who had served five years in the Canadian Forces, tried to get others to help him overpower Li. When he was unsuccessful, Caton exited the bus, where he was met by a truck driver who had pulled over to offer assistance.

  Caton and the driver attempted to use a hammer and crowbar to injure Li, but Li tried to attack them with his knife. Eventually, the men managed to lock Li inside the bus so he couldn't escape.

  Li then cut off McLean's head and held it up to one of the bus windows in sight of the other passengers. Li then reportedly dropped McLean's head on the bus floor and proceeded to dismember the body.
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  (#7) Li Consumed Some Of McLean's Flesh Before Climbing Out A Bus Window

  Around 8:30 pm on July 30, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police received a call about McLean's murder. The RCMP arrived to find Li still on the bus, and Caton and the truck driver still guarding the door with a crowbar and hammer. The driver had engaged the emergency immobilizer system so Li could not attempt to drive the bus away. By this time, Li had further dismembered McLean's body and consumed some of his flesh.

  By 9 pm, the police were in a standoff with Li, who was pacing the bus and refusing to leave despite the best efforts of special negotiators. Around 1:30 am on July 31, Li tried to escape through a back window of the bus, where he was tasered twice, then handcuffed and taken into custody.
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  (#8) Witnesses Experienced Instense Emotional Trauma As A Result Of The Murder

  After leaving the bus, passengers reportedly screamed, cried, and vomited when they saw Li holding up McLean's severed head. Years after the violent episode, fellow passenger Stephen Allison said he and his wife were still affected by what they had seen. In a 2009 interview, Allison stated:

  Everything's been affected by this. I used to be a very outgoing and talkative person and have lots of friends, but now I just kind of sit around and don't do much.

  Allison and other passengers also sued Greyhound for not having proper security, and for the extreme emotional trauma caused by the event. As for Li, he refused to believe he had consumed any of McLean's flesh and later begged “Please kill me” during the murder trial.
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  (#9) The Scene Was Reportedly Also Mentally Scarring For The Responding Officers

  When police boarded the bus, they were faced with an intensely gruesome scene. Not only had Li dismembered McLean, but some of his body parts were missing. When RCMP searched Li, they found the victim's nose and tongue in his pocket. Findings later revealed McLean's eyes and part of his heart were never recovered - Li supposedly ate them during the attack.

  The horror of the situation took its toll on everyone involved. The RCMP officer who first boarded the bus reportedly never recovered from the shock. Said to be burdened and overwhelmed by his PTSD, the officer took his own life six years after McLean's murder.
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  (#10) Many Were Shocked By The Outcome Of The Trial

  Vince Li's murder trial began on March 3, 2009, less than a year after he murdered McLean. Although dozens of witnesses were present at the scene, Li's legal representation claimed he could not be held accountable for the crime due to his untreated schizophrenia.

  Only two days later on March 5, the judge presiding over the case ultimately determined Li was not in full control of his actions at the time of the murder, and was subsequently committed to a high-security psychiatric facility in Selkirk, Manitoba.

  When asked for comment after the verdict was read, McLean's mother, Carol DeDelley responded:

  He still did it. Whether he was in his right frame of mind or not, he still did the act. There was nobody else on that bus, holding a knife, slicing up my child.
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  (#11) Li Became A Free Man In 2017

  Li was reportedly a cooperative patient during his time at Selkirk Mental Health Centre in Manitoba and was eventually granted the privileges of going outside and seeing visitors. In 2015, Li was allowed to stay at group homes and was living in his own apartment in Manitoba by November 2016.

  In 2017, Li, under the new name Will Baker, was granted an absolute discharge and was no longer considered a threat to others. At the time, the review board that granted his discharge stated it was "of the opinion that the weight of evidence does not substantiate that Mr. Baker poses a significant threat to the safety of the public.”

  In a separate interview in 2012, Baker expressed remorse for what he had done, apologized to McLean's family, and stated that he no longer heard voices or believed in aliens.

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