Canada bus killer Vince Weiguang Li 'believed victim was alien'

Vince Weiguang Li stabbed Tim McLean 50 or 60 times before cutting off his head

A man who beheaded a fellow bus passenger in Canada in 2008 has spoken out for the first time, saying he believed he was killing an alien.

In an interview with a schizophrenia society, Vince Weiguang Li said he had heard what he believed was "the voice of God" before killing Tim McLean, 22.

Mr Li was deemed not criminally responsible for the murder after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

He has since been treated at a mental health centre near Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In the interview given to Chris Summerville, head of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, Chinese-born Mr Li said he had bought the knife used in the attack for protection "from the aliens".

He said he had been unaware at the time that he suffered from schizophrenia.

The attack took place in front of horrified passengers as the inter-city Greyhound bus travelled past Portage la Prairie, about 70km (40 miles) west of Winnipeg.

Mr Li was trapped on the bus for three hours before being captured

The driver, alerted by Mr McLean's screams, stopped the bus and fled with the passengers as Mr Li continued his attack.

"The voice told me that I was the third story of the Bible, that I was like the second coming of Jesus [and that] I was to save people from a space alien attack," he said, according to a transcript of the interview published by Canadian media.

"I was really scared. I remember cutting off his head. I believed he was an alien. The voices told me to kill him, that he would kill me or others. I do not believe this now."

He said he was "really sorry" for what he had done.

Asked what he would like to say to Mr McLean's mother and family, he said: "If I could talk to her directly I would do anything for their family. I would ask forgiveness, but I know it would be hard to accept."

Mr Li, who had been locked in the bus, was apprehended after a three-hour stand-off with police as he tried to leave by a window.

He was later heard in a pre-trial hearing to plead "please kill me".