Canada, police dropped from beheading suit
Victim’s family sues killer, Greyhound
The Canadian government and the RCMP have been quietly dropped from lawsuits filed after the beheading of a young man aboard a Greyhound bus in Manitoba.
Victim Tim McLean’s father filed a claim soon after his son was killed in the summer of 2008 against Greyhound, perpetrator Vince Li and Canada. The Canadian Press recently discovered that the file was amended in April 2012 to drop the federal government as a defendant and to add 22-year-old McLean’s “infant son” as one of 15 people who have “been deprived of Tim McLean Jr.’s guidance, care and companionship.”
Lawsuits filed by two separate bus passengers, Debra Tucker and Kayli Shaw, have also been amended to drop the RCMP.
L a wye r Jay Prober, who represents Tim McLean Sr., said the government was dropped from his client’s lawsuit because there were concerns it wouldn’t stand up in court. “We were concerned that it wasn’t a strong enough case,” Prober said.
The lawsuit against Greyhound and Li is proceeding, but has been delayed because the lawyer representing the bus company has just been appointed a federal judge, Prober said.
Li has been confined to a psychiatric institution north of Winnipeg since he was found not criminally responsible for stabbing, mutilating and beheading McLean on a bus heading to Winnipeg in July 2008. Li, a schizophrenic, sat next to the 22-year-old McLean after the young man smiled at him and asked how he was doing.
Li said he heard the voice of God telling him to kill the young carnival worker or “die immediately.” Li repeatedly stabbed McLean who unsuccessfully fought for his life.
The bus pulled over near Portage la Prairie, Man., and Li continued stabbing and mutilating McLean’s body. Passengers fled the bus and stood outside. Li eventually escaped through a window and was arrested.
The original statement of claim filed by McLean’s father alleged the government of Canada was liable because it is responsible for national transportation security. It also argued that the government knew or should have known about previous violence on board Greyhound buses and failed to put safeguards in place.
The lawsuits filed by passengers Tucker and Shaw in 2011 have not only dropped the RCMP, but have crossed out a section that alleged Canada “failed to ensure the safety of passengers on board buses travelling between provinces” and “failed to assure that Canada’s transportation system meets the highest practicable safety and security standards.”
None of the allegations has been proven in court. The federal government never filed a statement of defence.
Denise Reaume, professor of law at the University of Toronto, said it’s not unusual for defendants to be dropped as a lawsuit moves through the courts. “Generally speaking, the way plaintiffs usually start off is with a cause of action to include everybody except Santa Claus in the possible defendants,” she said.