Li's trial commenced on March 3, 2009, with Li pleading not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. This means he accepted that the offence occurred but claimed that he was unable to form the necessary mental element or mens rea.[28] Stanley Yaren said that his patient's schizophrenia rendered him inculpable, as he had been under the false belief that McLean was a "force of evil" and posed an imminent threat to himself and others. In Li's mind, McLean was really a demon in disguise and an alien who needed to be "destroyed", to the point where he felt it was necessary to mutilate McLean's body to prevent him from coming back to life.[9] Li had also felt pressured to perform the attack by voices he believed were from God, telling him to kill McLean sitting beside him, or he would be killed himself.[19][29][30] Both the defense and the prosecution were in agreement with Yaren's assessment and spoke in favor of involuntary commitment to a mental institution rather than prison time.[31] The presiding judge, John Scurfield, accepted the diagnosis, and ruled that Li was not criminally responsible for the killing.[1] Li was remanded to the Selkirk Mental Health Centre.