WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — A Canadian man who was found not criminally responsible for beheading a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus has been granted his freedom.
Manitoba’s Criminal Code Review Board announced Friday it has given Will Baker, formerly known as Vince Li, an absolute discharge, meaning he is no longer subject to monitoring.
Baker, a diagnosed schizophrenic, killed Tim McLean, 22, in 2008. A year later he was found not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
McLean’s mother, Carol de Delley, has been outspoken against granting Baker freedom, saying there would be no way to ensure he continued to take his medication.
Baker was initially kept in a secure wing of a psychiatric hospital but was given more freedom every year. He has been living on his own in a Winnipeg apartment since November, but was still subject to monitoring to ensure he took his medication.
Baker’s doctor, Jeffrey Waldman, told the board earlier this week that he is confident Baker will remain on his medication and will continue to work with his treatment team if released.
In a written decision, the review board said it “is of the opinion that the weight of evidence does not substantiate that Mr. Baker poses a significant threat to the safety of the public.”
Waldman said Baker plans to visit his native China if released but would live in Winnipeg for the next two to three years. He is on the waiting list for a post-secondary training program and plans on establishing a career in the city. Baker emigrated from China in 2001 and became a Canadian citizen four years ago.
He sat next to McLean on the bus after the man smiled at him and asked how he was doing.
Baker said he heard the voice of God telling him to kill the man or “die immediately.”
He repeatedly stabbed McLean. As passengers fled the bus, Baker continued stabbing and mutilating the body before he was arrested. He severed McLean’s head, displaying it to some of the passengers outside the bus, witnesses said.
