It was in an email that Carol de Delley found out Friday, like she does each year, the latest changes made by a review board to conditions for her son’s killer.
"Timothy would be 29 today, and I miss him every day,” de Delly told media Friday evening.
Vince Li, the man found not criminally responsible for killing TIM McLean on a Greyhound bus in 2008 outside Portage La Prairie, has been granted some new freedoms.
Among them, the Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board granted changes to conditions so that Li can reside at either the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, or the PsychHealth Centre at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.
While the board’s decision comes around once a year, de Delley says she’s been waiting for an apology since her son was attacked and killed seven years ago.
"I believe that the Canadian government owes me and my family an apology for the systemic failures that led to the death of my son,” she said.
Li currently resides at the Selkirk centre, and the board said the hospital can grant him unsupervised passes into Winnipeg, Selkirk and surrounding areas.
Additionally, the board said it “may consider and approve an increase in pass privileges” to allow Li to live at a group home in Winnipeg, “subject to any further conditions deemed necessary and appropriate by the board.”
The board said that would be based on a receipt of a "detailed community living plan, with notice and an opportunity for counsel to respond."
Li will continue taking medication prescribed by a psychiatrist and will have a working cell phone to use during full day passes.
Chris Summerville from the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society said these expanded privileges suit someone low-risk, like Li.
"The review board does not take these things lightly, they look into the history and the current condition of the individual," said Summerville.
"Does he show any psychopathic or sociopathic behaviour? He does not. Does he have any substance abuse or addiction issues? He does not,” he said.
Doctors say 46-year-old Li is remorseful and hasn't had visual or auditory hallucinations for more than a year.
But for the mother who lost a son in Li’s hands, there is anger and fear he could kill again.
"Now he's going to be walking the streets of Winnipeg. I'm horrified by that. I'm horrified that he will have that oppourtunity," said de Delley.
During a hearing earlier this week, psychiatrists testified Li has shown profound improvement and is a low risk to reoffend.
The review board says it considered the public's safety before making its decision. The new conditions take effect Thursday and will remain in effect until further notice.
- with files from The Canadian Press
