‘Canadian Psycho’ trial begins for Luka Rocco Magnotta
Jun Lin’s father, Diran Lin, leaves the courthouse with an interpreter on Monday where Luka Rocco Magnotta appeared for a preliminary hearing March 11, 2013 in Montreal, Canada.
Luka Rocco Magnotta should learn Tuesday morning just how large his audience will be when a judge rules on a publication ban covering his preliminary hearing in Canada’s infamous body parts killing case.
Defense lawyers in the case say with so much scrutiny, the 30-year-old self-styled adult model can’t have a fair trial unless the doors are closed, the Montreal Gazette reported.
“The jury pool is sitting out there and the jury pool is listening,” attorney Luc Leclair said today in court, according to the Gazette. “This is one of those cases.”
Lawyers arguing for a group of media outlets said having an open courtroom is central to democracy.
Justice Lori-Renee Weitzman took the afternoon to rule and is expected to deliver her decision Tuesday.
Magnotta is accused of killing, violating and dismembering 33-year-old Chinese exchange student Jun Lin in Montreal last May.
He’s also facing charges of publishing obscene materials, harassing public officials and mailing obscene material.
The case began when political parties in Ottawa received body parts in the mail, Canada.com reported.
More from GlobalPost: Police confirm severed head belongs to Jun Lin
More body parts were found locked inside a suitcase in Montreal and still more parts found inside the mail of a Vancouver school.
He’s believed to have recorded the grisly indecencies to the body and posting the video online, according to AFP.
An international manhunt ensued until Magnotta’s arrest in Germany.
Lin’s father Diran was inside a packed Montreal courtroom as curious onlookers, international and local journalists clamored for a seat, CBC said.
A preliminary hearing determines if there’s enough evidence to proceed to full trial. If convicted, Magnotta faces life in prison.
More from GlobalPost: ‘Canadian Psycho’ pleads not guilty in body parts killing case
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