Student in Canada Killed as Friend in China Watches on Webcam

[celeb_2006]

Student Qian Liu Killed in Canada as Friend in China Watches on Webcam
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_eeWpufepM[/YOUTUBE]

A Chinese woman studying in Canada was fatally attacked in her Toronto apartment as her friend watched helplessly from a webcam in China.

Qian Liu, 23, was found dead Friday morning in an apartment near York University, where she was enrolled in an English-language program.

Liu, who was originally from Beijing, was chatting online with a man her friends have identified as her boyfriend in the early hours of Friday morning when she answered a knock on the door and was attacked, police said. The Chinese man with whom she had been chatting told police he watched in horror as Liu battled her attacker in front of the webcam, until the attacker closed the computer and the witness' screen went ominously black.

Thousands of miles away, in China, the friend sent panicked emails begging family members and friends to rush to her aid. Liu's worried mother called the Chinese Consulate, according to CBC, and asked authorities to find her daughter.

But in Toronto, people were fast asleep, and the emails went unread until Friday morning. When the landlord opened the door to Liu's apartment mid-morning Friday, it was too late. Liu's lifeless body was discovered naked from the waist down, police said in a statement. They also said there were no immediate signs that she had been sexually assaulted, but they are waiting for lab results in the case. No cause of death has been determined.

"She opened the door to a male. She could have known the male, but he was unknown to the online witness," Toronto Police Detective Frank Skubic told London's Daily Mail. According to the paper, one of Liu's roommates told reporters Liu had been stalked by a man whose romantic advances she had spurned.

The Toronto Star reports that people identifying themselves as Liu's friends have said in Chinese-language online chat rooms that she was being stalked.

Police have not commented on whether Liu had a stalker, but said in a statement that the man described to them by the webcam witness was white, between 20 and 30 and about 6 feet tall. They told Toronto's National Post it was unclear whether Liu knew her attacker.

York University president Mamdouh Shoukri released a statement on its website that called the death a "terrible tragedy" and asked students to contact police if they have any information about the crime.

"Qian's death is a terrible tragedy, and our entire community mourns the loss of a promising young student," Shoukri wrote. "Our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy go out to her family, friends and classmates."

[fgg]

How horrifying to see that happening and not be able to do anything about it! Poor girl.
Posted from my iPhone

[Brah]

I can't even imagine how the boyfriend must have felt.

[Laurent]

If you're being stalked why on earth would you open the door in the middle of the night? Especially if you saw that it was your stalker? Doesn't make sense.

[twitchy2.0]

You don't see until you open the door. It had no peephole. My daughter is currently living in that area and looking for a place on her own and has seen at lots of places with dodgy security. No deadbolts, no chain on the door, no peepholes, windows that don't lock.

[SHELLEE]

How horrifying. I can't even begin to imagine what her poor friend was feeling.

[Moongirl]

A suspect has been arrested:

Police Arrest Suspect in Death of Chinese Student Killed While on Webcam - FoxNews.com

TORONTO -- A 29-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a college student whose frantic boyfriend in China watched though a webcam as she struggled with an attacker, police said Wednesday.

Brian Dickson was charged with first-degree murder, Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella told The Associated Press. Dickson was scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning.

Police did not release any more details but asked the media not to publish any photos of Dickson, saying it could compromise the investigation.

The body of York University student Liu Qian, 23, of Beijing, was found Friday in her apartment in Toronto a few hours after her boyfriend witnessed the attack, police said. 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 Tuesday they were awaiting toxicology test results.

Dickson is not a student at York, university spokeswoman Janice Wells said.


Liu was chatting with her boyfriend, Meng Xianchao, by webcam at about 1 a.m. 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 in turn 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 arrived Wednesday 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 is relieved that police have 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 in a statement.

Liu Qian's laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment the night of the attack, police said. Police 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.

[january]

This is my worst nightmare. To see or hear an attack happening to a loved one and having no way to stop it. It's horrifying. I remember watching a movie called "An Eye for an Eye" (Sally Field, Kiefer Sutherland) where a woman is on the phone with her daughter when she opens the door to a man who rapes and murders her while her mom frantically listens and tries to rush home. Ugh, gives me chills.

[baked_tater]

^I remember that movie! Very good movie, and so chilling and horrifying.