Murder charged over webcam death

Police say 23 year old Liu Qian was chatting with her boyfriend Meng Xianchao in Beijing when a man knocked on the door.

“The man tried to hold Liu Qian, she was resisting and saying no no please don’t. At that time my mind went blank. I was cursing him from my webcam,” Meng recalled.

“I was so far away I couldn’t reach her, I felt helpless and I couldn’t calm down.”

She was last seen alive struggling with a man inside her apartment in Toronto. Her webcam was then shut off, so Meng contacted other friends in the city who in turn called police.

Qian’s body was found a few hours after her boyfriend witnessed the attack.

She was naked from the waist down and there were no obvious signs of sexual assault or trauma severe enough to kill her. The autopsy was inconclusive, and police said they were awaiting toxicology test results.

A 29 year old man, Brian Dickson, has been charged with the murder.

Qian’s parents are now travelling from Beijing to Toronto. Her father, Liu Jianhui, said his daughter studied at Beijing City University before moving to Canada, where she met Meng.

“At the beginning I didn’t believe it was true, she was a very hard working, and outstanding girl,” he said.

Her laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment the night of the attack, police said.

Qian’s death is a terrible tragedy and our entire community mourns the loss, Mamdou Shoukri, York University

They also said the online chat was on a live streaming camera and was not recorded, though investigators were trying to figure out if there was any way they could recover it.

Liu Qian was studying at York University, where fellow students have been paying tribute.

“Qian’s death is a terrible tragedy and our entire community mourns the loss of a promising young student. Our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy go out to her family, friends and classmates,” said York University president Mamdouh Shoukri

Since her death, the university has increased security patrols on its Keele campus. Qian was living in The Village, a private housing development south of the University.

“At this difficult time, there is a heightened level of concern among students about safety. Safety has been, and remains, a top priority at York University, so we are committing additional resources, above and beyond the safety measures and initiatives that we have already implemented this past year and have planned for the future,” Mr Shoukri said.

“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. York Security Services continues to offer assistance as the investigation progresses.”

This is not the first time a crime has been captured by webcam. In the most notorious incident, Meleanie Hain of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was shot dead in 2009 while talking to a friend via webcam.

Police say the friend was looking away when he heard a shot and a scream, but when he looked back at the screen, he saw Hain’s husband firing a handgun at where his wife had been.

Police later found both Hain and her husband dead in their home.