Canadian Police Identify Suspect In Bus Attack, Beheading

TORONTO  — Prosecutors in Canada have asked for a psychiatric assessment of a 40-year-old man charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing and beheading of a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus.

Vince Li of Edmonton, Alberta, walked into a court in Manitoba with his head bowed and only nodded when the judge asked if he was exercising his right not to speak.

The judge said he wanted to give the defendant a chance to meet with his lawyer before acting on the request for a psychiatric evaluation. His next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.

Friends identify the victim as a 22-year-old carnival worker named Tim McLean, though authorities won’t confirm his identity.

Witnesses say the victim was stabbed dozens of times as the bus traveled a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway in Manitoba Wednesday night. They say the attacker then severed the victim’s head, displayed it and began cutting up the body.

A man, who had been sitting just one seat in front of the pair says the suspect had been on the bus about an hour and had changed seats after a rest stop. He said he did not hear the two speak before the attack.