1 LUNATIC, 1 ICE PICK

Luka Magnotta was born Eric Clinton Newman on July 25, 1982 in Scarborough, Ontario. A new breed of psychopath, Magnotta shared the heinous acts he perpetrated on the internet. The web was the perfect platform for him, after all, he was obsessed with his looks and referred to himself as a “plastic surgery addict.” He even auditioned for “Plastic Makes Perfect” a Canadian TV show.
An aspiring model, Magnotta would occasionally pick up a job here and there. A sexy shirtless photo of Magnotta posing seductively was featured in Fab, a Toronto magazine. He worked mostly in the field of adult entertainment, stripping at Remington’s, a Toronto nightclub and ‘acting’ in low budget porn. 

When Magnotta wasn’t busy with his “workplace endeavors” he kept himself entertained by writing blogposts about himself. Websites where he would fuel controversy and even perpetuate a rumor he concocted saying he was formerly in a relationship with Karla Homolka (she is the recently paroled killer sidekick of Paul Bernardo, also Canadian). Magnotta had created some seventy Facebook pages and twenty different websites devoted entirely to his favorite subject. Himself. 
It wasn’t long before Magnotta’s online activities skewed from self absorbed to absolutely depraved. It began with a series of horrific animal abuse videos involving kittens and ended with a full blown murder. 

On May 24, 2012, Canadian immigrant and Concordia University student Justin Lin, 33, or Lin Jun, as he was known in his native country of China responded to an ad on Craigslist that Magnotta had placed for a man who wanted to engage in bondage. It would be the worst decision he ever made. It was the following day when a 10 minute video titled “1 Lunatic, 1 Icepick” was uploaded to bestgore.com. It shows the body of a man later identified as Lin Jun, tied to a bed with his throat deeply slashed, straddled by Magnotta. He is repeatedly stabbed in the chest and thighs with an icepick while the song “True Faith” by New Order booms in the background. The body of Jun is then dismembered and Magnotta uses a knife and fork to cut into his flesh – and then cannibalism. A dog is also brought into the scene and is prompted to lick at the wounds.  

Over the coming days law enforcement agencies around the globe received multiple calls about the video but somehow it managed to stay online. Four days after the murder, a foul smelling, blood stained package containing a left foot was delivered to the national headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada a note inside the package warned that six different body parts had been mailed out and hinted that the perpetrator would kill again.  A second parcel addressed to the Liberal Party which contained a left hand was intercepted at a Canadian mail processing facility. In the coming days more body parts would arrive at various institutions around Canada including a right hand which was sent to a Vancouver Elementary school.

As word spread that of international student Lin Jun was missing, law enforcement quickly connected the dots and conducted a search of Magnotta’s apartment and surrounding areas. The apartment was mostly empty of personal effects however it was loaded with evidence. Blood was found everywhere: the mattress,  refrigerator, kitchen table, and the bathtub. When officers searched the common areas they found a human torso stuffed inside a suitcase outside near the dumpster. That next morning police identified the slain man as 33-year-old Lin Jun. It was at this point Montreal police issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for Magnotta. He was also added to the list of Interpol’s most wanted. As the international manhunt ramped up it was determined that Magnotta had left Montreal on May 26 for an undisclosed destination in Europe. Just one day after Lin Jun’s disappearance. After an international manhunt, Magnotta was apprehended on June 4, 2012 by Berlin Police at an Internet café in the Neukölln district. Interestingly enough he was Googling news stories about himself moments before being taken into custody. But of course.

He appeared in a Berlin court the following day and was extradited back to Canada. Magnotta was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, offering indignities to a human body, distributing obscene materials, using the postal service to distribute obscene materials and criminal harassment. His twelve week trial culminated in an eight day jury deliberation where he was eventually found guilty of all charges. Magnotta was sentenced to life in prison, with possibility of parole after 25 years. He was also sentenced to 19 years for other charges, however that term is to be served concurrently. If he makes parole he could be released by the age of 57.

SOURCE CITATIONS

Blatchford, Christie . Man who hired Luka Magnotta as escort recalls encounters with killer. Ocanada.com

Montgomery, Sue. Magnotta thought Lin Jun was an agent for government, court hears. April 27, 2016. Montreal Gazette 

Petti Fong; Andrew Chung; Hilda Hoy (June 5, 2012). “Foot and hand sent to Vancouver schools”. Toronto Star. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018

“Luka Magnotta is convicted of first-degree murder“. thestar.com.