Vincent Weiguang Li was born on April 30, 1968, in Dandong, Liaoning, China, the second of three children in a working-class family. His father was a custodian, and his mother taught mathematics. Li was born a month premature, and early childhood doctors documented severe health and developmental delays. He did not begin walking or speaking until the age of five and did not start school until he was nine. Despite these early difficulties, Li eventually adapted and showed improvement during his high school years.

In 1987, at the age of 19, Li enrolled at the Wuhan Institute of Technology, where he studied automotive engineering and graduated in 1992 with a degree in computing. He later worked as a computer software engineer in Beijing from 1994 to 1998. During this time, he met and married his wife, Anna, in 1995. Family and friends reported that Li had no history of mental illness during these years, though his father recalled him as “stubborn and restless.”

Li immigrated to Canada on June 11, 2001, under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and became a Canadian citizen on November 7, 2006. Initially, he worked in menial jobs in Winnipeg, including positions at Grant Memorial Church, a gas station, and Tim Hortons. It was during this period that Li’s mental health began to deteriorate. According to psychiatric testimony, he started hearing voices he believed were from God, identifying himself as the “second coming of Jesus” and a “savior” destined to protect humanity from alien invaders.

His delusions grew more severe. Li began carrying a knife for “protection” and believed he was under constant threat from alien forces disguised as humans. He stopped sleeping, cried frequently, and spoke about visions of divine missions. Despite repeated pleas from family and friends, he refused medical help due to a fear of hospitals. His marriage broke down in 2005, and he wandered across Canada, traveling by foot or bus on “missions” dictated by the voices in his head.

By 2005, Li’s paranoia had escalated to the point where he was found dehydrated and disoriented on Ontario’s Highway 427, claiming to be “following the sun” under divine orders. Although he was evaluated at a hospital, he was not diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and checked himself out prematurely. Over the following years, Li’s life spiraled into instability. He worked a string of low-wage jobs, experienced repeated homelessness, and displayed erratic behavior. He was briefly reunited with his wife, but they divorced after his condition worsened.

In 2008, Li’s mental state deteriorated further. He became unemployed, exhibited intense religious delusions, and was fired from his job after disputes with coworkers. Days before the killing, he abruptly left his home, leaving a note that read, “Don’t look for me. I wish you were happy.” On July 28, 2008, he boarded a Greyhound bus from Edmonton to Winnipeg, setting in motion the horrifying killings in Canadian criminal history.

On the evening of July 30, 2008, a packed Greyhound Canada bus was traveling along the Trans-Canada Highway near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Among the passengers were Tim McLean, a 22-year-old carnival worker returning home from a job in Edmonton, and Vincent Li, sitting quietly in a nearby seat. Witnesses later described Li’s behavior as odd but not aggressive; he stared out the window and muttered occasionally but did not interact with others.

At approximately 8:30 p.m., without warning, Li produced a large hunting knife from his bag and began repeatedly stabbing McLean in the chest, neck, and head. Passengers screamed and fled as the bus driver stopped the vehicle and passengers escaped. Li continued his frenzied attack, decapitating McLean and holding his severed head aloft in front of horrified onlookers. He then began mutilating the body, cutting off parts of McLean’s flesh and consuming them.

Police surrounded the bus for several hours during a tense standoff. Li refused to surrender and continued to mutilate the victim’s body. At around 1:30 a.m., officers stormed the vehicle and arrested Li without incident. He showed little emotion and did not attempt to flee. During his first court appearance, the only words he uttered were, “Please kill me.”

At trial, prosecutors charged Li with second-degree murder, but his defense entered a plea of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD). Psychiatric experts, including Dr. Stanley Yaren, testified that Li suffered from untreated schizophrenia and was in the midst of a psychotic episode during the killing. He believed that McLean was a demon and an alien threat sent to kill him, and that God had commanded him to “destroy” the creature. Li also believed mutilating the body was necessary to prevent McLean from returning to life.

On March 5, 2009, Justice John Scurfield ruled that Li was not criminally responsible for the murder. Both prosecution and defense agreed with the diagnosis, and Li was remanded indefinitely to the Selkirk Mental Health Centre in Manitoba.