In his last phone calls and text messages, slain bus passenger Tim McLean was eagerly looking forward to seeing his friends and family, talked about how much he was enjoying himself, and made no mention of the peculiar passenger now charged with his murder.
Alexandra Storey, Mr. McLean's ex-girlfriend, said he sent her dozens of texts as the Greyhound he was riding made its way east to Winnipeg from Edmonton Wednesday night. The 22-year-old Winnipegger was coming home after seven weeks working on a carnival tour of Western Canada.
He told her some of the other passengers were taking ecstasy, a party drug with stimulant properties, and that he was counting down the hours by sending a new text at every town he passed.
It was from Brandon, Man., some time before 8 p.m. that he sent the longest flurry of texts, she said. He planned to go see his father, collect his pet iguana from a friend and wanted to visit Ms. Storey later that night. After their relationship ended, he became like a brother to her, she said, and he was particularly devoted to her daughter, April. In his last message, Mr. McLean said his phone was dying and he was going to charge it when he got to Portage la Prairie.
Ten minutes later, his accused killer, 40-year-old Vincent Li, changed seats, making his way to the last row of the bus and sitting next to Mr. McLean. Witnesses said the younger man, barely 5 foot 5 and 125 pounds, had fallen asleep with his headphones on, his cheek resting against the window, while Zorro played on the bus's television screen.
Without warning, witnesses said, a man stood up and stabbed Mr. McLean several times in the throat and torso, sending passengers scrambling off the bus. Afterward, the killer severed his victim's head, hacked at his body with a large knife and a pair of scissors, and, according to reports from the scene, ate some of the body parts.
Derek Caron, Mr. McLean's closest friend, was waiting at the Winnipeg bus station that night, anticipating a 9:45 p.m. arrival. He hung around patiently as Greyhound officials told him the bus was delayed, but as the hours passed they never explained what had happened. He left only when they closed the terminal after 1 a.m.
Although police didn't release his name, the description of the victim passed on by witnesses – a small, aboriginal man of 18-20 years – seemed to fit Mr. McLean, who wasn't aboriginal but looked it, Mr. McLean's friends said. As the day wore on, and they received no word from him, a small group gathered outside the home of his father, also named Tim McLean. When the older man arrived home from work, he greeted them cheerfully, asking if they were waiting for his son.
They sat down with him at his computer as he watched the news for the first time. He put his hands over his mouth and said, “No, no, no. My God, no,” according to a woman who was there. He tried to contact the RCMP to confirm his worst fear. His son's friends said an uncle had spoken to the RCMP already, and was told his nephew wasn't a passenger on the bus. But later that night, Mr. McLean had to identify his son's body.
As they struggled with their grief Friday, friends described the young man as a warm, fun-loving free spirit who attracted people to him with his energy and joie de vivre. He had never been in a fight in his life, said his friend Will Caron, who had known him for 10 years.
