Luka Rocco Magnotta, Canadian porn actor, pleads not guilty in body parts case

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

In this photo Luka Rocco Magnotta is taken by police from a Canadian military plane to a waiting van on Monday, June 18, 2012, in Mirabel, Quebec.

/ AP Photo/Montreal Police

(CBS/AP) MONTREAL - Luka Rocco Magnotta, the Canadian porn actor accused of dismembering his Chinese lover and mailing the body parts to political parties and schools, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five charges including first degree murder.

Pictures: Porn actor wanted in gruesome body parts case

Magnotta entered his plea before a judge via videoconference from a Montreal detention center. It was his first hearing since being extradited to Canada under security from Germany, where he was arrested after an international manhunt.

His lawyer, Pierre Panaccio, requested that Magnotta be evaluated by a psychiatrist to determine his criminal responsibility. The court will consider that request on Thursday.

Magnotta, 29, is suspected of killing Jun Lin, a 33-year-old a computer science student at Concordia University, and sending his feet and hands to Canada's top political parties and two schools. Lin's head is still missing, and police said they would ask Magnotta where it is.

Investigators say Magnotta posted a video online showing him having sex with the dismembered corpse. A second, unedited version of the video seen by police shows him eating parts of the body. Police say Magnotta and Lin were in a relationship.

Magnotta faces charges including first degree murder, defiling a corpse, threatening the prime minister and using the mail system for delivering "obscene, indecent, immoral or scurrilous" material.

Prosecutor Helene DiSalvo said authorities will meet with Lin's family, who traveled to Canada after hearing of his death. She said finding the head is important to both the case and the victim's family.

Complete coverage of Luka Rocco Magnotta on Crimesider

1 Comments +