Man accused of ‘webcam’ murder appears in court

A MAN accused of murdering a Chinese student made a brief court appearance just under a week since the victim’s boyfriend watched helplessly through a webcam as she struggled with an attacker.

Brian Dickson stood before the court in a white shirt and blue jeans as the judge read out a charge of first-degree murder. He did not enter a plea. His case was held over until April 26.

The body of York University student Liu Qian, 23, of Beijing, was found last Friday in her apartment in Toronto a few hours after her boyfriend in China 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.