Montreal • Video footage from the death and dismembering of a Chinese student seems to show the suspect eating the body, Canadian police said Tuesday. The porn actor suspected in the killing, meanwhile, told authorities in Germany he would not fight extradition to Canada.
Montreal Police Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere said that although police have not been able to conclusively confirm it, they suspect Luka Magnotta did eat parts of the body.
"As gross and as graphic as it could be, yes, it was seen on the video," Lafreniere said.
Magnotta, 29, was arrested in Berlin while reading about himself at an Internet cafe on Monday after an employee recognized him from a newspaper photo and flagged down a police car.
A copy of the video viewed online by The Associated Press did not show anyone eating the body but did show a man using a fork and knife on it.
Magnotta appeared before a German judge in the afternoon and was ordered held pending extradition, police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf said. He was then transferred to a Berlin prison from a police detention center.
He will have to go before a German court for an extradition hearing once Canada formally requests that he be returned for trial, Neuendorf said.
"I assume there will be no problems," he said. "According to his statements to prosecutors he will not fight his extradition."
That means Magnotta could be returned to Canada as early as this week, according to authorities. The Canadian Embassy in Berlin declined to comment on when Ottawa may file the official papers seeking extradition.
Magnotta arrived in Berlin on Saturday on a bus from the French capital, Paris, said Martin Steltner, a spokesman for Berlin prosecutors. He would not elaborate on what Magnotta did in Berlin between his arrival and the time of his arrest, citing the ongoing investigation.
-
4A softball: Youthful Salem Hills captures state crown
Published May 23, 2013 09:26:03PM -
Video: Follow ‘MJ’ the tabby cat on her Philadelphia bike outings
Published May 23, 2013 09:20:33PM -
I-5 bridge collapses in Washington; people in water
Published May 23, 2013 09:18:02PM -
4A baseball: Slam lifts Salem Hills into title game
Published May 23, 2013 08:45:02PM
Magnotta is wanted by Canadian authorities on suspicion of killing Jun Lin, a 33-year-old man he dated.
Authorities allege Magnotta filmed the slaying in his Montreal studio apartment and posted it online. The video shows a man with an ice pick stabbing another naked, bound male. He also dismembers the corpse and performs sexual acts with it.
The case’s full horror emerged when a package containing a severed foot was opened at Canada’s ruling Conservative Party headquarters on May 29.
That same day a hand was discovered at a postal facility, addressed to the Liberal Party of Canada. And a torso was found in a suitcase on a garbage dump in Montreal, outside Magnotta’s apartment building. Police in masks combed through the blood-soaked Montreal studio apartment last Wednesday.
As they unraveled his background, police discovered that Magnotta changed his name from Eric Clinton Newman in 2006 and that he was born in Scarborough, Ontario. He is also known as Vladimir Romanov.
Montreal police on Tuesday said DNA tests have confirmed that the parts mailed to the political parties were those from Lin’s corpse, and that they have footage of him mailing the two parcels that were sent to Ottawa.
"The head is still missing," Lafreniere said. "And one hand and one foot is still missing."
He said they had no indication those parts had been shipped anywhere, however.
Zheng Xu, a press spokesman at the Chinese consulate in Montreal, said press attache at consulate, said Lin’s family has been contacted and wants to come to Canada as soon as possible. He said he was not able to give any further details without the family’s approval.
In Germany, surveillance camera footage of the cafe, obtained by The Associated Press, showed Magnotta casually entering the shop at noon local time wearing jeans, a green hoodie sweater and sunglasses. He briefly spoke to the counter clerk, then walked to his assigned computer where he was later spotted reading news about his case.
About two hours later, seven German police officers walk into the shop, without any haste. The footage shows three police officers accompanying the handcuffed Magnotta a couple of minutes after they first entered the cafe. Magnotta calmly walks alongside them.
Next Page >Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
