Man who beheaded Greyhound bus passenger seeking ‘absolute discharge’, says family

WINNIPEG — The man found not criminally responsible for a beheading Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba almost nine years ago, is seeking an absolute discharge, according to the victim’s mother.

Mclean’s mother, Carol de Delley said she was informed by justice officials on Friday that there will be a hearing in February.

Vince Li – who now goes by the name Will Baker – will ask the Criminal Code Review Board for a discharge at the panel on Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. This is part of Baker’s annual review board hearing.

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De Delley said she is disappointed with the hearing.

“It’s terrifying to me,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's terrifying to me," she said.

De Delley said a discharge is “the lowest level adult sentence that an offender can get.”

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If Baker receives an absolute discharge, it mean means he is guilty of the killing but will not be convicted of the offence, according to Community Legal Education Association. An absolute discharge cannot be revoked by the courts.

Baker killed Tim McLean during a bus trip along the Trans-Canada Highway near Portage la Prairie in July 2008.

He was found to be not criminally responsible due to a mental illness – schizophrenia.

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In February 2016, a Criminal Code Review Board granted Baker the right to live on his own on the condition he would be subject to monitoring and random drug tests.

Baker was originally kept in a secure wing at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, but the board has granted him increasing freedoms almost every year.

His medical team has said he has been a model patient and understands the need to continue to take anti-psychotic medication.

With files from the Canadian Press