The man who killed and beheaded a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus in western Canada last July was found not criminally responsible, a Manitoba provincial court announced Thursday, Xinhua reported.
Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Judge John Scurfield said that Vince Li, 40, could not be found guilty of murder and is not criminally responsible for the crime because he was mentally ill at the time of the killing.
"These grotesque acts are appalling ... but are suggestive of a mental disorder," the judge said. "He did not appreciate the act he committed was wrong."
Li had pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder. Psychiatric evidence at his trial suggested he is a schizophrenic who suffered a major psychotic episode last July 30 when he fatally stabbed Tim McLean, 22, ate some of the body parts, and cut off McLean's head.
For five hours after the killing, Li wandered around on the bus, from which passengers had fled along the Trans-Canada Highway, defiling the body while an RCMP tactical team waited to subdue him.
Psychiatrists testified Li was schizophrenic and suffering a major psychotic episode at the time of the killing.
Li heard voices from God telling him that McLean was an evil threat that needed to be eliminated, the psychiatrists said. Even after the killing, Li believed McLean might come back to life and threaten him. The psychiatrists testified Li fit the criteria for someone who was not criminally responsible for their actions due to mental illness.
The verdict means Li will now be remanded to a secure psychiatric facility where he will receive treatment.
His case will be reviewed on an annual basis by a mental health review board. The review board has the power to keep Li locked up indefinitely or, if he is no longer considered a risk, discharge him.
McLean's family had been lobbying for a change in the Criminal Code to prevent mentally ill killers from eventually being returned to the community. His mother, Carol de Delley, said after the ruling that she would do everything in her power to ensure Li is never released from secure custody.