The court in Montreal has commenced the trial of a Canadian man who allegedly killed his lover and sent parts of his body through post to prominent politicians.
The 32 year-old Luka Magnotta, has pleaded not guilty to the five charges brought up against him related to the death of Jun Lin in 2012, including murder.
Lin was enrolled as a computer science and engineering student at Concordia University in Montreal, and hailed from the city of Wuhan in China.
Magnotta is expected to receive a sentence of life imprisonment if he is eventually convicted on all the charges brought against him.
It was learnt that the commencement of the trial was delayed owing to a busy court calendar and the difficulty in choosing the panel of judges.
Moreover, in a bid to select the best hands to fill the14-member bilingual jury including two alternatives, about 1, 600 people were interviewed.
In a statement by Magnotta’s lawyer, Luc Leclair, it was revealed that he had sought jurors who were open-minded and willing to listen to the case.
“He’s been waiting a long time,” Leclair said. “There was a time that we never thought this day would come.”
Punch report stated that Canadian court rules are against the disclosure of evidence presented at the trial.
In a bid to ensure that they were best for the job, prospective jurors were asked during the team selection whether they would be able to handle graphic and disturbing evidence.
However, it was previously reported that police officials began their investigation in late May 2012 after discovering a headless upper body near Magnotta’s flat in Montreal.
Afterwards, limbs were found in the post sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office and to the Liberal Party’s office.
Also, it was discovered that Lin’s body parts were later seen mailed to two British Columbia schools and his head was found in a Montreal park.
Investigators also found a video posted online supposedly showing Lin’s murder.
Following the crime, Magnotta escaped to Europe, which resulted to an international manhunt that came to an end when he was arrested in an internet cafe in Berlin.
The charges against him include, first-degree murder, committing an indignity to a body, publishing obscene material, mailing such material, and criminally harassing some members of the parliament including the Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The hearing may ask the panel of judges to find Magnotta guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter if they cannot prove Magnotta planned Lin’s murder ahead and intentionally killed him.
In addition, it is anticipated that the hearing would last four to six weeks with about sixty different witnesses invited to give accounts. Lin’s father, Diran Lin, will be in attendance during the prosecution.
