The man accused of fatally stabbing a 22-year-old man on a Greyhound bus, and then beheading his victim as horrified passengers fled for safety, once worked as a custodian at a Winnipeg church.

Vince Weiguang Li, 40, who immigrated to Canada from China in 2004, worked menial jobs at Grant Memorial Church for six months to support his wife, Anna.

Pastor Tom Castor, who employed Li, said he seemed happy to have a job and was committed to doing it well, despite a language barrier with other congregation members.

"I think he would occasionally feel frustrated with not being able to communicate or understand," Castor told CTV Winnipeg. "But we have a very patient staff and he seemed to respond well."

Castor also said Li did not show any signs of anger issues or any other trouble before he quit in the spring of 2005 and moved to Edmonton.

Li has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Tim McLean's death. He is expected to return to court in Portage la Prairie on Tuesday.

The church's congregation has offered to support Li's wife, who Castor said is in shock and afraid for her future in Canada. They have also prayed for the family of McLean, who was viciously murdered on the bus as it travelled near Portage La Prairie, Man.

McLean was returning home to Winnipeg after working as a carnival booth operator at a fair in Edmonton.

Witnesses said McLean was sleeping when a man seated next to him started to stab him in the neck and chest with a large knife. Frightened passengers scrambled to get off the bus as the man, who was not known to McLean, continued to stab his victim.

Passengers said the man ended up cutting off McLean's head and held it up for others to see.

"Maybe those passengers will forget (the incident) one day. For his friends and family, this is one of the most tragic days of our lives," McLean's childhood friend William Caron told CTV News.

On Saturday, McLean's family spoke publicly about the tragedy for the first time. The victim's uncle described him as a "little guy with a heart bigger than you could know."

Several Facebook groups remembering McLean have attracted tens of thousands of members. One of the largest, R.I.P. Tim McLean, had more than 75,000 people by Sunday evening. It's asking Canadians to hold a minute of silence for McLean on August 7 at 10 a.m.

With a report by CTV Winnipeg's Stacey Ashley and files from The Canadian Press