Toronto death: Man charged
Source: Agencies |
April 22, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A MAN accused of murdering a Chinese student made a brief court appearance in Toronto, Canada, yesterday, just under a week since the victim's boyfriend watched helplessly through a webcam as she struggled with her attacker.
Brian Dickson stood before the court in a white shirt and blue jeans as the judge read out a charge of first-degree murder. He did not enter a plea. His case was held over until Tuesday.
The body of York University student Liu Qian, 23, of Beijing, was found on Friday in her apartment in Toronto, a few hours after her boyfriend in China witnessed the attack, police said. She was naked from the waist down but there were no obvious signs of sexual assault or trauma severe enough to kill her. The autopsy was inconclusive.
Police arrested Dickson, 29, of Toronto, on Wednesday and charged him with first-degree murder.
They did not release any more details but asked the media not to publish any photos of Dickson, saying it could compromise the investigation.
Dickson is not a student at York, university spokeswoman Janice Wells said.
Liu was chatting with her boyfriend, Meng Xianchao, by webcam about 1am on Friday when a man knocked on the door, police said. Meng reported seeing a struggle break out between the two before Liu's webcam was shut off. Meng contacted other friends in Toronto who called police.
The victim's father, Liu Jianhui, said his daughter studied at Beijing City University before moving to Canada, where she met Meng. Liu Jianhui flew to Toronto on Thursday from China.
He is the research director of Communist Party history at the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC, which trains Party officials.
York University President Mamdouh Shoukri said the community was relieved that police had arrested a suspect.
"Qian Liu's death has had a profound impact on all of us at York. We appreciate the dedicated effort of Toronto Police Service and we are pleased that they have apprehended a suspect," Shoukri said.
Liu Qian's laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment on the night of the attack, police said.
Police said the online chat was a live stream and was not recorded, though investigators were trying to figure out if they could recover it.
Brian Dickson stood before the court in a white shirt and blue jeans as the judge read out a charge of first-degree murder. He did not enter a plea. His case was held over until Tuesday.
The body of York University student Liu Qian, 23, of Beijing, was found on Friday in her apartment in Toronto, a few hours after her boyfriend in China witnessed the attack, police said. She was naked from the waist down but there were no obvious signs of sexual assault or trauma severe enough to kill her. The autopsy was inconclusive.
Police arrested Dickson, 29, of Toronto, on Wednesday and charged him with first-degree murder.
They did not release any more details but asked the media not to publish any photos of Dickson, saying it could compromise the investigation.
Dickson is not a student at York, university spokeswoman Janice Wells said.
Liu was chatting with her boyfriend, Meng Xianchao, by webcam about 1am on Friday when a man knocked on the door, police said. Meng reported seeing a struggle break out between the two before Liu's webcam was shut off. Meng contacted other friends in Toronto who called police.
The victim's father, Liu Jianhui, said his daughter studied at Beijing City University before moving to Canada, where she met Meng. Liu Jianhui flew to Toronto on Thursday from China.
He is the research director of Communist Party history at the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC, which trains Party officials.
York University President Mamdouh Shoukri said the community was relieved that police had arrested a suspect.
"Qian Liu's death has had a profound impact on all of us at York. We appreciate the dedicated effort of Toronto Police Service and we are pleased that they have apprehended a suspect," Shoukri said.
Liu Qian's laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment on the night of the attack, police said.
Police said the online chat was a live stream and was not recorded, though investigators were trying to figure out if they could recover it.
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