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Reuters

A Canadian has admitted in court that he killed and dismembered a Chinese student and mailed body parts to Canadian political parties and schools, but his lawyer said he was schizophrenic and not criminally responsible.
The prosecutor said on Monday evidence would show that Luka Magnotta, 32, started planning to kill someone and film it, at least six months before the 2012 killing of Lin Jun, 33, in Montreal.
At a preliminary hearing, the media was barred from reporting certain details of the case. Explicit details were publicised during an international search for Magnotta, but cannot be repeated.

Magnotta is charged with the first-degree murder of Lin and with committing indignities to the body and broadcasting obscene material. He is accused of dismembering Lin and sending body parts to political parties and to two schools.
Magnotta admitted to the acts underlying the five offences he is charged with, including killing Lin, but he pleaded not guilty to each charge.
"A person is not responsible if he or she suffers from a mental disorder at the time of the act," defence lawyer Luc Leclair told the jury.
Wearing black trousers and a grey sweater, Magnotta stood beside Leclair behind a glass panel in the tiny Montreal courtroom and responded "not guilty" as each of the charges was read out.
Prosecutor Louis Bouthillier said an alleged email from Magnotta to a journalist in 2011, some six months before the killing, indicated Lin's murder was planned and deliberate.
"It is our position that this email makes it clear that Mr Magnotta planned to kill a human being and make a movie," he said.
Leclair said Magnotta had been seen for years by different psychiatrists, and that he had been diagnosed in Montreal in 2012 with having a borderline personality disorder. Other psychiatrists had diagnosed schizophrenia, Leclair said.
Surveillance images from Magnotta's apartment building in Montreal in 2012 showed him walking with Lin, an engineering student and convenience store clerk, Bouthillier said.
"These images from the surveillance cameras are the last images of Jun Lin alive," the prosecutor added. "Mr Jun Lin's head will be found in Angrignon Park about a month after his death."
The prosecutor said the jury would also see a video that allegedly shows the killing.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer told jurors: "You must avoid all media coverage of this case."
Lin's father, Lin Diran, travelled from China and was in court. He intends to stay in Montreal until the end of the trial. It is expected to last six weeks.
His eyes filled with tears as his lawyer Daniel Urbas said: "He wants to know how it happened, what happened to his son, when it happened and especially why."
The South China Morning Post does not make reports of ongoing jury trials available for comment by our readers.  This policy applies to all such trials and is intended to ensure Hong Kong’s laws on contempt of court are observed.  Readers will be able to comment on these stories as soon as the trial concerned ends.


Yes, I killed Chinese student, but I can't be held responsible, Canadian tells court

Reporters film a prison van carrying defendant Luka Magnotta arriving at court in Montreal, Canada on the first day of Magnotta's murder trial. Photo: EPA

Luka Magnotta

The victim's father, Lin Diran, and relatives attend court. Photo: EPA

Luka Rocco Magnotta at a security checkpoint area. Canadian and European law enforcement hunted for  Magnotta across Europe. Photo: AP

Luka Magnotta and Jun Lin

News

World

Canadian Luka Magnotta admits dismembering body of Lin Jun but pleads not guilty to murder, as lawyer tells jury his client is schizophrenic


A Canadian has admitted in court that he killed and dismembered a Chinese student and mailed body parts to Canadian political parties and schools, but his lawyer said he was schizophrenic and not criminally responsible.
