sick...sicker

There is no honour among thieves, as the old expression goes. The unscrupulous will try and take advantage of just about any situation to gain a profit. But given the nature of one of the most gruesome crimes in Canadian history, this scam seems beyond the pale.

An online poster to the social networking site Facebook claimed to be the sister of the man beheaded onboard a Winnipeg-bound bus last month. And "she" was trying to use the tragedy to collect some quick cash.

The unidentified person who put up the suspicious notice claims to be Amanda, the eldest sister of 22-year-old Tim McLean. He's the carnival worker who was stabbed and then decapitated by a man onboard a Greyhound bus in Portage La Prairie on July 30th.

The message tugs at the already tight heartstrings of readers and then makes a play for their wallet.

"I thank you all for your support of our family," it reads. "It has been hard to deal with, but life must go on. 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 same person is believed to have sent an instant message to the man who put up the Facebook tribute page to McLean. Ron Schinners admits he was duped by the tale of woe when he received a plea from "Amanda."

"She" told him her family was having a tough time paying for the funeral expenses and were forced to quit their jobs to support each other. Schinners was so moved by her story, he turned control of the page over to the writer. He now knows that was a mistake.

"I was doing it out of the kindness of my heart, but I was also being deceived and I felt really stupid," the Port Alberni, B.C. resident admits now.

The page remained in place for a few days, likely garnering contributors, until the real Amanda McLean contacted Schinners and told him those messages weren't from her.

Others became suspicious because the family had previously set up a trust fund through TD-Canada Trust and wouldn't have needed to use PayPal for anything.

The postings were removed and the intruder reported to the RCMP. It's not clear how much the phony relative may have made off the scam or if authorities will be able to track her - or him - down.

A 40-year-old Edmonton man remains in custody undergoing psychiatric tests for the awful crime. Vince Weiguang Li is charged with second degree murder. He was heard to plead "kill me" during his last court appearance. He only recently obtained the services of a lawyer and will be back before a judge on September 8th.

Source: citynews.ca