WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Luka Rocco Magnotta was convicted of murdering and dismembering student Jun Lin in Montreal in 2012. He posted a video of the killing online, showing him stabbing the body and feeding parts to a dog. The crime continued to reverberate more than 14 years later.
The Murder of Jun Lin
Jun Lin, a 33-year-old computer engineering student from China, had moved to Montreal in 2010 for a fresh start. He was an undergraduate at Concordia University. He met Magnotta through a website after his romantic relationship ended. CCTV footage captured the two entering Magnotta's apartment block in May 2012. The next day, a video emerged showing Magnotta attacking Jun's dead body, stabbing it repeatedly, and feeding portions to a dog. He also sexually assaulted the body with a wine bottle while the song "True Faith" played. Media reports indicated a longer video showed evidence of cannibalism.
The Killer's Background
Magnotta, born Eric Clinton Kirk, changed his name in 2006. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a condition that also afflicted his father. After his parents' divorce, he lived with his grandmother. His mother claimed he was fixated with cleanliness as a child, locked his siblings out, and abandoned pet rabbits to die. He received disability payments for mental health issues but worked as an escort and adult film actor. He sought fame, auditioning for a reality TV show in 2008 and undergoing cosmetic procedures. He spread false stories about himself, including a rumored relationship with convicted killer Karla Homolka. An ex-partner later said Magnotta was "obsessed" with fame and viewed Homolka and Paul Bernardo as role models.
Magnotta's criminal record began in 2005 with impersonation and fraud charges, earning a conditional sentence. In 2010 and 2011, he posted videos of himself suffocating and drowning kittens. Police investigated after the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals contacted them.
The Investigation and Arrest
After the murder, Magnotta flew to Paris. On May 29, 2012, Jun's left foot was mailed to the Conservative Party of Canada headquarters. A left hand was sent to the Liberal Party. Jun's torso was found in a suitcase behind an apartment building. Police uncovered more remains and blood-soaked clothing, along with paperwork identifying Magnotta. CCTV showed him carrying bin bags downstairs over several days. A note in his apartment read: "If you don't like the reflection, don't look in the mirror, I don't care." A note with the first package claimed six body parts were sent and threatened more attacks. A right foot was sent to St George's School on June 5, and a right hand to False Creek Elementary School in Vancouver. By June 13, all body parts were matched to Jun. His head was discovered at a lake on July 1 after an anonymous tip. Interpol issued a red notice. Magnotta was arrested in Berlin on June 4, 2012, while browsing news about himself in an internet café. He was returned to Canada on a military aircraft on June 18, 2012.
The Trial and Sentencing
Magnotta's trial began in 2014 and lasted 10 weeks. He admitted killing and dismembering Jun but pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness. He was convicted of first-degree murder, indignity to a human body, publishing obscene material, and criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other MPs. He showed no emotion and received a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years before parole eligibility. Jun's father, Diran Lin, traveled from China and read a victim impact statement: "The night Lin Jun died, parts of many other people died in one way or another. His mother, his sister and me, his friends ... in one night, we lost a lifetime of hope. I had come to see your trial system to see justice done, and I leave satisfied that you have not let my son down."
