Magnotta found guilty of first-degree murder
CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Tuesday, December 23, 2014 6:09AM EST
Last Updated Tuesday, December 23, 2014 11:26AM EST
Luka Rocco Magnotta has been found guilty on all counts in the murder and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin, in a trial that hinged on Magnotta's mental state at the time of the grisly killing.
It took the eight women and four men on the jury eight days of deliberation to reach a verdict.
The jury also found Magnotta guilty of criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other MPs, guilty of mailing obscene and indecent material, guilty of committing an indignity to a body, and guilty of publishing obscene materials.
Lin was last seen alive entering Magnotta's Montreal apartment on May 24, 2012. One day later, a video surfaced online that showed Magnotta stabbing and dismembering Lin's lifeless body. It was titled "One Lunatic, One Ice Pick."
Magnotta, 32, fled to Europe, where German police caught up with him inside a Berlin Internet café on June 4.
The defence did not dispute that Magnotta caused Lin's death. However, Magnotta's lawyers argued that he is schizophrenic and that their client suffered a psychotic episode when he killed Lin. Therefore, they said, he was unable to distinguish right from wrong.
As a result, the defence asked the jury to find Magnotta not criminally responsible for Lin's death. The Crown argued that Magnotta was misdiagnosed and that his behaviour was the result of personality disorder.
The jury, which could have found Magnotta guilty of first- or second-degree murder, manslaughter, or not criminally responsible due to mental disorder, had to consider testimony from 66 witnesses, as well as hundreds of pages of documents including medical files, reports from experts, and physical evidence.
Among the defence witnesses were two forensic psychiatrists who diagnosed Magnotta as schizophrenic. Drs. Joel Watts and Marie-Frederique Alllard said that Magnotta was in a deep psychotic state at the time Lin was killed and was therefore unable to distinguish right from wrong.
The trial also heard from Dr. Joel Paris, a psychiatrist who saw Magnotta approximately one month before Lin was killed. He did not see signs of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but did diagnose Magnotta with borderline personality disorder because of his difficult relationships, compulsive behaviour, and mood swings.
A key Crown witness was British journalist Alex West, who met with Magnotta in December, 2011, to discuss cat-killing videos posted online. Magnotta sent West an email to say that the cats' slayings would be followed with the filmed murder of a human being. Lin was killed less than six months later
Before he left Canada, Magnotta mailed some of Lin's body parts to people across Canada, including the federal Conservative Party's Ottawa headquarters. The prime minister's deputy chief of staff, Jenni Byrne, testified that her office received a package containing Lin's foot. That package was never opened -- an aide noticed a strong odour, and Byrne told the aide to call 911.
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Luka Rocco Magnotta found guilty on all counts | CTV News
Not a surprise, still, thank goodness.
