Luka Magnotta collapses listening to evidence in courtroom
Canadian police and Interpol issued arrest warrants for Luka Rocco Magnotta after discovering a headless torso stuffed inside a locked suitcase outside his Montreal apartment building.
Luka Magnotta, the Canadian man accused of murdering and mailing body parts across the country, collapsed today during his preliminary hearing inside a Montreal courtroom.
The 30-year-old Toronto man asked a bailiff for a five-minute recess, tried to stand but quickly fell to the floor, CBC News reported.
“You might want to make room for an ambulance; somebody’s collapsed,” prosecutor Louis Bouthillier told courtroom staff, according to CBC.
Magnotta was hearing evidence against him during Day 7 of the body parts killing case.
At the time he collapsed, prosecutors were showing video evidence.
By Canadian law, all evidence presented during the preliminary hearing is under publication ban.
Should the judge decide there’s enough evidence, the publication ban is lifted for the regular trial.
More from GlobalPost: ‘Canadian Psycho’ trial begins for Luka Magnotta
Magnotta is accused of killing 33-year-old Chinese exchange student Jun Lin last May, dismembering and defiling the corpse. He’s also accused of producing obscene material and harassing public officials.
German police arrested him inside an internet cafe shortly after the alleged crimes.
The judge postponed today’s scheduled afternoon hearing until Wednesday, the Montreal Gazette said.
Defense lawyers said their client would recover with rest back at the jail where he's being held.
Magnotta appeared especially affected by the evidence, wiping away tears and holding his hand to his mouth.
The 24-seat courtroom was again packed, with the Toronto Sun reporting Magnotta has attracted at least one fan.
“I wanted to take it all in,” a 22-year-old North Carolina man named Kyle told the newspaper.
He declined to give his last name, but said he drove north especially for the trial.
More from GlobalPost: Luka Magnotta pleads not guilty
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