Number 3 noteworthy crime and punishment story 2008: Greyhound bus beheading

January 5, 10:34 PMCrime ExaminerCindy Adams

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The scene of the gruesome bus attack 

In July 2008, Tim McLean, 22, boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada never imagining the horror that was about to befall him.  After the bus had stopped for a brief respite, Vince Weiguang Li, 40, sat next to McLean on the bus.

Many on the bus were watching the movie "The Legend of Zorro" when they heard a bloodcurdling scream from McLean.  According to other passengers on the bus, Li was standing up and without provocation began repeatedly stabbing McLean.

Li then pushed McLean on the floor and began cutting off his head with a large hunting knife.

As the attack began, the other passengers fled the bus and guarded the bus door to keep Li from leaving.  Li went back to the body, grabbed the head, and displayed it to the shocked travelers.  After a standoff with Canadian authorities, Li was taken into custody and has been charged with second-degree murder.   

According to friends of McLean, he never liked to fight and kept to himself when strangers were around.  He was quiet, but enjoyed socializing with friends.  McLean was also a small man at about 5-feet-4 and 130 pounds.

The Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day described the attack as bizarre and said, “The horrific nature of it is probably one-of-a-kind in Canadian history.”