MONTREAL (AP) — A Canadian porn actor accused of dismembering his Chinese lover and mailing the body parts to several addresses pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five charges, including first-degree murder.
Luka Magnotta entered his plea through his lawyer, Pierre Panaccio.
On Thursday, the court will consider a request by Mr. Magnotta’s lawyer that Mr. Magnotta be evaluated by a psychiatrist to determine his criminal responsibility.
The hearing on Tuesday was Mr. Magnotta’s first after returning to Canada via military transport from Germany, where he was arrested.
Mr. Magnotta did not fight his extradition. He is suspected of killing Jun Lin and sending body parts to Canadian political parties and schools. The head is still missing. Police said they would ask Mr. Magnotta where it is.
Investigators say Mr. Magnotta, 29, also posted a video online showing him having sex with the dismembered corpse.
A convoy of police vehicles with flashing lights rolled out to meet Magnotta at Montreal’s Mirabel International Airport on Monday. A half-dozen men escorted him down the stairs of the plane and into a minivan. Armed guards stood by. A handcuffed Mr. Magnotta said nothing.
Montreal police Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere called the Canadian military flight an extraordinary measure but said there was no way they were going to bring him back on a commercial flight.
“We’re extremely happy with the result today,” Cmdr. Lafreniere said. “This is not the end of the investigation. We’re missing an important part of the investigation, which is the head of the body.”
He said they hope to help the family mourn by telling them where the head is.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday that China was monitoring developments and hoped that there would be justice to give “the victim a result that can have him rest in peace.”
Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews noted that Mr. Magnotta himself sped up the process by declining to contest his extradition.
Martin Steltner, a spokesman for Berlin prosecutors, said Germany’s federal government gave formal approval for the extradition a few days ago. Mr. Magnotta’s court-appointed lawyer during the extradition proceedings, Evelyn Ascher, could not be reached late Monday.
Mr. Magnotta was caught reading stories about himself at an Internet cafe in Berlin earlier this month after he spent a few days partying in Paris.
The case first 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.
Mr. Lin’s torso was found in a suitcase at a garbage dump in Montreal outside Mr. Magnotta’s apartment building.
About a week later, a foot and hand were found mailed to two schools in Vancouver. Police said notes were included in most of the packages but declined to say what they said. DNA tests have confirmed that all the body parts belong to Mr. Lin, a Chinese national studying computer science at Concordia University.
Mr. Magnotta is wanted for first-degree murder, defiling a corpse, threatening the prime minister and using the mail system for delivering “obscene, indecent, immoral or scurrilous” material.
Yan Shi of the Concordia Chinese Students Association said Mr. Lin’s family remains in Montreal, but he hasn’t heard any reaction from them to Mr. Magnotta’s return. The family traveled to Canada from China upon learning of Mr. Lin’s death.
Police said Mr. Magnotta and Mr. Lin, 33, were in a relationship.
Rob Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin and Didi Tang in Beijing contributed to this report.
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