Mike on Crime

by Mike McIntyre

  He had arrived from China in 2001 and found a home in Winnipeg, surrounded by a loving wife and caring members of the community who quickly took him under their wing. He soon found a job, vastly improved his English and enjoyed socializing with new friends at Sunday-morning church services, dinner parties and trips out to Falcon Lake. On the outside, life appeared to be very good for the new Canadian. Yet those who got to know Vince Li well soon recognized that beneath his friendly, polite exterior lurked something very troubling. “He was kind of a lost soul. It was as if he was always looking for something,” said a member of a Winnipeg family which befriended Li—even having him over for Christmas dinner two years ago.

  The woman and her family requested anonymity, not wanting to be deluged by other media covering the story. They were reeling over news of what Li had done. They had long suspected Li was battling mental illness, but he had refused repeated offers to see a doctor and get help.

  “I think, in their culture, [the issue of mental illness] is kind of frowned upon,” the woman said. She works in the mental health field and said it was obvious Li was struggling. “He was definitely schizophrenic, probably paranoid schizophrenic,” she said. “He needed help but he just wouldn’t get it.”

  There was the constant paranoia, a feeling that he was always being watched and that others might be out to get him. There were his bizarre, rambling stories that seemed to come out of nowhere. And there were the unannounced bus trips that would catch his wife by surprise—such as the time he hopped on a Greyhound headed to The Pas, later explaining that he wanted to look at some land he was thinking about buying.

  “I don’t think he actually had any money. This was probably just a symptom of his disease,” the woman said. She recalled an unusual conversation with Li shortly after he got a red-light ticket in Winnipeg. “He started talking about how ‘they were after me, there was nothing there,’ “ the woman said.

  Li’s illness soon began taking a toll on his marriage. He and his common-law wife Anna found a home in the Osborne Village area of Winnipeg shortly after coming to Canada. He got hired as a forklift driver with Midland Foods on Nairn Avenue, while she began working several waitressing jobs at Chinese-food restaurants in the city. The couple began occasionally attending church services at the Grant Memorial Baptist Church, which opened the door to other social opportunities. Li worked at the church and its attached schoolhouse as a night custodian for a time.

  The woman said her father and stepmother took a liking to the couple and began having them over for dinner and, eventually, for visits to their Whiteshell cottage. “He was always a little bit quiet, kind of reserved. I think that’s because he was self-conscious about his English,” she said. However, Li eventually warmed up to the family. “We’d play cards together, dominoes, games like that,” she said. But things took a turn about two years ago when Li suddenly left his wife and went to Edmonton. The woman said it was clear Li’s wife was frustrated by her husband’s erratic behaviour. She stayed behind in Winnipeg—continuing to work various jobs—but recently moved to Edmonton where Li had found work.

  Members of Grant Memorial church had recently spoken with Li, apparently concerned about how he and his wife were doing. However, nobody predicted things would reach such a crisis point and climax in one of the country’s grisliest murder cases.

  WEDNESDAY AUGUST 6, 2008

  It’s located on the eastern edge of downtown Edmonton beside an elementary school, a sprawling two-tower high-rise that provides a spectacular view of the Saskatchewan River. The 20 floors of the north tower of Boardwalk Centre host a mix of residents, mostly seniors on the lower floors, low-income earners on assisted living above. The south tower, with a view of Commonwealth Stadium, had been a frequent home to players with the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos. But these days, nobody living in Boardwalk Centre was talking about football stars. All the buzz has been about the residents of suite 1612.

  Vince Li and Anna had moved into the block about four months earlier—around the time Anna was believed to have come to Edmonton from Winnipeg to rejoin her estranged partner. Li was often seen by residents enjoying the swimming pool on the fourth floor. He would engage neighbours in short conversations during elevator rides.

  “I remember one time, around June, we just talked about the weather, how nice it was,” said Scott Arnold, who also lived on the 16th floor. “It seemed like he was keeping real weird hours, sometimes I’d see or hear him coming and going in the middle of the night.”

  Sightings of Anna were less frequent. And she rarely spoke to anyone in the building. “She seemed rather shy,” said Arnold. Just days after her partner was accused of one of the most sadistic murders in Canadian history, Anna was seen leaving her suite with a man believed to be a police officer. “She was wearing all black, with black sunglasses and a baseball cap. She was carrying a backpack,” said Arnold.

  He cheerfully wishes people a “wonderful day” at the end of his personal cellphone message. And yet it was becoming clear life was anything but wonderful for Vince Li, especially in the weeks preceding his attack on Tim McLean. His Edmonton employer, Vincent Augert, described how Li attracted attention at a recent company picnic with erratic behaviour that may have been a disturbing sign of things to come. Li was one of about 250 newspaper carries who showed up for the annual summer thank-you event on June 29—just a month before the deadly attack.

  Augert caught Li standing alone near a newspaper vending machine that was being used as a target for a children’s game that day. Li was hunched over, a blank look on his face, tilting his head and staring into the empty machine. “It was very strange. He was looking at it the way you’d expect a three-year-old would do,” Augert recalled. “I went up to him and said ‘Vince, it’s just a newspaper vending machine. You know, you put money in it and get papers’.” Li continued to display a childlike wonderment. Augert moved on, greeting others at the party, while Li quietly slipped away and left shortly after. Was it a sign of a serious mental illness, which some who knew Li have suggested he suffered from?

  Augert said the incident was the first time he started wondering about Li’s mindset. Until then, he’d been a model employee known for being efficient, well-dressed and able to juggle multiple paper routes without confusion. The two men would often meet for coffee at McDonald’s—Li’s choice—where he would always order a small coffee, black. Augert would offer to buy him food but Li always declined. “He was a good guy, I respected him, he respected me,” said Augert.

  He spoke with Li’s wife by telephone after the man failed to show up for work during the previous week. Anna seemed confused by what was happening and made no mention during their last conversation on July 31 about the tragedy that had unfolded the night before. She just said Li had an emergency in Winnipeg but that she hadn’t heard from him. Augert told her he would drop Li’s July paycheque off at their downtown high-rise apartment. That cheque was now in the hands of police, who interviewed Augert about his involvement with Li.

  “They’re kinda stumped, to tell you the truth, as to why he would do that,” he said.

  Several patrons of an Edmonton casino said that Li was often seen gambling at the establishment—usually playing card games. Augert said Li would have only been making about $800 per month—before taxes—but wasn’t surprised to hear he may have been gambling some of it away.

  THURSDAY AUGUST 7, 2008

  They had suffered in private while the entire world reacted in shock to their son’s death. But now, on the eve of a funeral that threatened to turn into a three-ring circus, the parents of Tim McLean broke their silence. Carol and Tim deDelley, the mother and stepfather of the 22-year-old man, wanted to clear the air—especially with word that some members of the US-based Westboro Baptist Church were threatening to crash the service.

  “I hope, however the funeral goes down, it’s done with respect to Tim, that we are allowed to lay him to re
st,” said Tim deDelley. He said the days since learning of McLean’s death had been a blur. “We’re trying to deal what with happened here. We haven’t even had a chance to mourn yet,” he said.

  Carol deDelley said she was frustrated by much of what has been written and said about her son’s death—from sensational headlines and gory details to bogus claims made about the circumstances of the unprovoked killing. DeDelley also felt some people had been critical of the family’s silence while so many others have been grieving publicly. “I haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth. And I need to honour my son in this way [by speaking out],” she said.

  The couple said they were taking a “wait-and-see” approach to the case against Vince Li. And they were refusing to get caught up in the furor that had seen Internet chat rooms filled with uninformed commentary and several special-interest groups try and capitalize on the tragedy for their own personal gain. They planned to follow the court proceedings closely but didn’t want to make any comments on Li at this time. They described McLean, known to his friends as Timmy, as a “free spirit” with a big heart and passion for travelling the country while working at various summer fairs and carnivals.

  TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

  After weeks of relative silence, family members of Tim McLean were making quite the statement. A sweeping lawsuit had now been filed in which they condemned the actions of the federal government, RCMP and Greyhound following the killing of their son. They were seeking a total of $170,000 in general damages plus additional costs from the named parties but insist this has nothing to do with money.

  “It’s about accountability, responsibility for what happened to their son. It’s about getting answers, so that his death might not be a total waste, that there might be some good to come from it,” the family’s lawyer, Jay Prober, told a packed news conference.

  The McLean family didn’t attend in person because they were too upset, he said. Prober and his colleague, Norman Boudreau, said the family “agonized” over the decision to go after the RCMP but ultimately decided it must be done. Their main source of concern was why police stood around the bus for nearly five hours while the killer beheaded, dismembered and cannibalized McLean in full view. They never stormed the bus, and the standoff only ended when suspect Vince Li tried to escape by jumping through a smashed window.

  “How could this incident be allowed to continue for so long?” asked Prober. “We’re told by the family they’re not getting answers” from police. According to the statement of claim, “the RCMP failed to adhere to proper and established arresting procedures required by law... and knew or ought to have known that their acts and conduct amounted to a wanton disregard and/or total repudiation of the statutory duties incumbent upon members of the RCMP.” By not taking action sooner, police “caused irreparable damage and injury” to the McLean family, “thereby allowing [the killer] to defile the body of the deceased.”

  The family was also taking aim at the Government of Canada, the minister of public safety and the minister of public health, saying they clearly failed in their duty to provide a safe environment for passengers on board that ill-fated bus. “You can go on a bus carrying a knife... but you can’t get on an airplane with one,” said Boudreau, saying proper regulation of bus safety is clearly needed. “People who take the bus are people who can’t afford to take the plane. Why are these people subjected to having their safety being put in danger? Everyone should be offered the same security and safety. When is the Government of Canada going to put an end to this?”

  They cited six other Greyhound incidents of violence—three from the past 18 months—which ought to have raised alarm bells. “It is clear that [the government] omitted and continues to omit putting in place safety regulations to ensure that similar violent incidents would be prevented,” the lawsuit states. The family was making similar allegations against Calgary-based Greyhound Transportation Inc., which had repeatedly gone on record to say bus travel was safe. Prober said the fact a person can easily walk onto a bus with a hunting knife and attack a fellow passenger without any warning or provocation suggests that’s not true.

  The lawsuit claimed Greyhound had failed to install proper security measures such as metal detectors and bag checks and failed to provide adequate training to employees regarding passenger safety. Prober said the claim by Greyhound that such a system isn’t feasible “doesn’t wash” with the McLean family. “Hopefully Greyhound will be held accountable,” he said. Prober said the family had talked about using the money to start up a scholarship in McLean’s name.

  MONDAY OCTOBER 6, 2008

  It was being described as a significant transformation that had occurred while being lodged at a Winnipeg psychiatric ward. And now a medical expert was saying Vince Li fully understood his legal situation and was fit to stand trial.

  “We are quite confident in his ability to instruct counsel,” defence lawyer Gordon Bates told court. Doctors agreed Li clearly understood how the court system worked, the role of the various lawyers, the charge he faced and the potential consequences. With Li’s current mental health no longer in question, the focus now turned to whether he should face criminal sanctions for the death of McLean.

  “That’s really the sole issue in this case,” defence lawyer Alan Libman said outside court. “If someone commits an offence while suffering a disease of the mind and they don’t know their actions are wrong, they can’t be held criminally responsible.”

  Li did not appear in court but was said to be fully co-operating with his lawyers and officials at the PX3 ward at the Health Sciences Centre, where he had been held since early August. “Obviously now he’s talking,” said Bates. Li had also agreed to medication, he said.

  Dr. Stanley Yaren has submitted a detailed report on Li’s mental state following two months of intensive evaluation. Libman told court there had been no definitive finding with regards to an opinion on whether Li could be held criminally responsible. “We want him to get a fair trial, don’t want to affect a potential jury pool,” Libman said in explaining the need for public secrecy at this point. “This should be litigated in court and not the court of public opinion,” said Libman.

  THURSDAY OCTOBER 9, 2008

  Carol deDelley was planning to fight all the way to Ottawa to ensure Li never tasted freedom again. Her calls for a “Tim’s Law”—tough new anti-crime legislation that would also honour her son—had sparked a flurry of public debate. DeDelley said she believed that “if you voluntarily take an innocent life like what was done here, you should forfeit your own.” She said in cases where there was absolutely “no doubt” about guilt, a murderer should either be executed or at least get life in prison, with no chance of parole.

  “All I am attempting to do is bring awareness that our current laws leave huge gaps in public safety and are in need of amendment. Eventually, for my sake, I will have to forgive Mr. Li’s horrific actions against my beautiful and loving son, Tim, and that forgiveness will be the next most difficult thing I will encounter in my life,” she said. “In the meanwhile, however, I cannot just remain quiet and say or do nothing for fear that one day Mr. Li is released into society and tragically repeats what he has demonstrated he is capable of doing. Mr. Li should be medically and psychologically treated so as to remain aware of what he did to another human being and that is his punishment. But at the same time, he needs to be kept away from society because he is dangerous, as he has most graphically proven.”

  DeDelley said it was outrageous her son’s killer would have the chance for freedom again, and she was angry there were no provisions in Canadian law to ensure the most dangerous criminals were at least guaranteed to be locked up forever.

  TUESDAY MARCH 3, 2009

  It was a mere formality at this point: Vince Li was going to be found not criminally responsible for his actions. Medical experts who had spent months examining Li on behalf of both the Crown and the defence had come to
the same conclusion. Now the public was getting to go inside Li’s brain as his high-profile trial began with the inevitable conclusion just days away.

  Dr. Stanley Yaren told court he believed Li had a very strong chance to recover from the major mental illness and extreme psychosis that triggered the unprovoked killing of Tim McLean. He described Li as an otherwise “decent person” who was suffering from untreated schizophrenia and clearly out of his mind when he believed he was acting on God’s commands to eliminate “the force of evil” by attacking the sleeping victim.

  “He was being tormented by auditory hallucinations,” said Yaren. “He believed Mr. McLean was a force of evil and was about to execute him. He had to act fast, urgently, to save himself. This wasn’t an innocent bystander or stranger he chose to kill, but rather an evil force he was commanded to kill. “

  Li, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, shuffled into the room led by several sheriff’s officers, and was placed in the prisoner’s box. He sat motionless, wearing a dark suit jacket, slacks and a light-coloured dress shirt.

  “He didn’t understand, in my opinion, that he was just killing an innocent bystander. He understood this was the only action he could take,” Yaren told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice John Scurfield. Once McLean was obviously dead from dozens of stab wounds to the back and chest, Li continued to hear voices demanding he attack the body, Yaren said.

  “He was terrified, frightened, tormented. Mr. Li’s fear, because of what he was being told through these hallucinated voices, is that what he perceived to be the evil being would come back to life, through some supernatural powers and finish him off. He was in a frenzy to prevent this from happening,” said Yaren. He said Li had been co-operative and made significant strides since being hospitalized and medicated and could function again in the community—something Yaren admitted didn’t sit well with most people, including the victim’s family. “I completely understand the need for a sense of justice, of retribution. It would be in some sense easier if Mr. Li was an anti-social psychopath with a history of malicious behaviour, but he isn’t that. He is, as I’ve come to know him, a decent person. He is as much a victim of this horrendous illness... as Mr. McLean was a victim. Don’t hate the person. Hate the illness.”