Suspect in body parts case returns to Canada
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A Canadian porn actor suspected in the dismemberment of a Chinese student arrived in Canada on Monday via military transport from Germany, where he was arrested this month.
Luka Rocco Magnotta, dubbed as ‘Canadian Psycho’, 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 Magnotta where it is.
Investigators say Magnotta posted a video online showing him having sex with the dismembered corpse.
Montreal police Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere said Magnotta's plane landed at Mirabel airport just outside Montreal.
A convoy of police vehicles with flashing lights rolled out to meet the suspect. Half a dozen men escorted him down the stairs of the plane and into a minivan. Armed guards stood by.
Lafreniere said Magnotta will appear in court on Tuesday. A lawyer will likely be designated then, said Rene Verret of Quebec's prosecutors' office.
"We're extremely happy with the result today," 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."
Rene Verret of Quebec's prosecutors' office said a lawyer will likely be designated on Tuesday.
Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said in a statement that Magnotta was removed from Berlin on Monday by a Canadian military transport.
"The Government of Canada thanks the Government of Germany for their swift and decisive action in this matter," Nicholson said, adding that they would have no further comment.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews noted that 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. Magnotta's court-appointed lawyer during the extradition proceedings, Evelyn Ascher, could not be reached late on Monday.
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.
Lin's torso was found last month in a suitcase at a garbage dump in Montreal outside Magnotta's apartment building.
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.
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.
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 Lin's family remains in Montreal, but he hasn't heard any reaction from them to Magnotta's return. The family traveled to Canada from China upon learning of Lin's death.
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