Arrest Made in Toronto 'Webcam Killing'

Police arrest Brian Dickson in connection with webcam killing of York University student.

Police have arrested Brian Dickson, a 29-year-old former York University student, in the killing of Liu Qian, a student from China whose death, witnessed by her boyfriend in China via webcam, made headlines around the world. Dickson had studied at York's McLaughlin College for nearly a decade, working toward a bachelor's degree he never received. Outside of class, he co-founded York’s model NATO organization and also served on McLaughlin’s undergrad political science council, as well as being the college’s representative at the York Federation of Students. Shamini Selvaratnam, a vice-president with the organization at the time, said of the accused, "I had a class with him; he just seemed like someone who was quiet.” The nature of the relationship between Dickson and Qian and the motives behind the killing remain unknown.