Tim McLean's family almost sunk by court costs: 'We're treading water'

Carol De Delley holds a portrait of her late son Tim McLean.

The mother of Tim McLean, who was beheaded on a Greyhound bus in 2008, says her family's long legal battle to keep her son's killer locked up has left them struggling to stay afloat financially.

Carol de Delley says that the fight stunted her career growth, saw her lose out on income and forced her and her husband Tim to rack up debt.

"We're pretty much at the end of our resources," de Delley told CTV Winnipeg.

"We're treading water."

De Delley says she was forced to miss work for extended periods of time as she attended hearings and dealt with legal issues related to Vince Li's trial.

Li, who suffers from schizophrenia, was found not criminally responsible for mutilating and beheading the 22-year-old McLean on a Greyhound bus bound for Winnipeg in the summer of 2008.

Both the Crown and defence agreed that Li was suffering from a psychotic episode when he killed McLean. Justice John Scurfield ruled in 2009 that Li “did not appreciate the act he committed was morally wrong. He believed he was acting in self-defence and that he had been commanded by God to do so.”

De Delley has fought the verdict of “not criminally responsible” ever since, and the recent decision to potentially move Li to a group home.

The family also filed a lawsuit against Greyhound and the federal government for failing to take proper safety precautions.

McLean's uncle, Dave Melcosky, created a gofundme for the couple earlier this month, which has raised more than $6,000.

On the page, Melcosky says that de Delley has been "totally consumed" by the "horrible tragedy" and asked for help in getting "their lives back."

Melcosky said that a lot of people are "unaware" of the financial burdens placed on the family by the case.

"Unfortunately, a lot of these things have dollar signs attached," Melcosky said.

"The fact that we're in a position to help rebuild Carol and Tim's wellbeing -- it’s very important to me," he added.

While de Delley found work cleaning houses at night, she also had to give that up to help care for her grandkids, including McLean's child, who was born five months after his death.

And now, de Delley says that their finances are teetering on the brink of disaster.

"We've survived everything else but at the end of the day, we have nothing or our retirement -- we have nothing for our future," said de Delley

"If my husband lost his job tomorrow, I don't know where we would be next month," she added.

With a report from CTV Winnipeg