Parents of “webcam murder” victim say they have lost their entire future

TORONTO – The parents of a York University student from China who was murdered by a fellow tenant in her building have released a statement about their daughter, saying they have lost their entire future.

Qian Liu, 23, was killed in April 2011 by Brian Dickson, who was convicted Monday of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The verdict indicates the jury believed Dickson killed Liu in the course of sexually assaulting her — an assault partly witnessed by Liu’s ex-boyfriend in China via webcam.

The statement from Liu’s parents, released today by the detective in charge of the case, says Liu and her mother had chatted hours before she was killed about how she had booked a ticket for a visit home to Beijing and how much she missed her family.

Her parents say they think about their only child every minute of the 1,086 days since her death.

They say celebratory days such as New Year’s and Chinese Family Reunion day are dark moments, as their family reunions now take place after a two-hour bus trip to their daughter’s grave site.