WINNIPEG–Someone claiming to be a sister of the young man stabbed and beheaded on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba last month has been trying to use the horrific killing to collect money.
The unidentified person posted messages on the Facebook social-networking site last week, claiming to be Tim McLean's eldest sister, Amanda.
"I thank you all for your support of our family. It has been hard to deal with, but life must go on," one message read.
"If you would like to make a donation to help our family, we have set up a PayPal account to do so. Contact for more details."
The impostor also contacted Ron Schinners, who had set up a tribute page to McLean, with a story of financial hardship. The family was having a hard time paying for all the funeral expenses, Schinners was told via instant messaging, and had to quit jobs to help each other through the ordeal.
Schinners was so moved by the story that he turned control of his Facebook tribute page over to the person he believed was the victim's sister – despite never having met her or talked to her on the phone.
"I was doing it out of the kindness of my heart, but I was also being deceived and I felt really stupid," Schinners said today from his home in Port Alberni, B.C.
The pleas for donations were on a handful of McLean tribute pages for a couple of days before people got suspicious. They pointed out the McLean family had already set up an account to accept donations at branches of TD-Canada Trust.
Schinners eventually heard from the real Amanda McLean. At the same time, someone reported the matter to the RCMP and the person posting as Amanda McLean was removed from Facebook, he said.
Manitoba RCMP would not confirm whether an investigation was under way, citing privacy laws.
McLean, a travelling carnival worker, was on his way home to Winnipeg from Edmonton on July 30 when he was attacked onboard the bus.
Vince Weiguang Li, 40, of Edmonton has been charged with second-degree murder. He is undergoing a psychiatric assessment and his next court date is set for Sept. 8.
