Diran Lin, father of Jun Lin, leaves the courtroom at the murder trial for Luka Rocco Magnotta, on Thursday, in Montreal. Magnotta is charged in connection with the death and dismemberment of university student Jun Lin in a case that made international headlines. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan RemiorzRyan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
The Globe and Mail's Les Perreaux (@perreaux) is covering the Magnotta trial in Montreal. Follow him for updates. Warning: Story contains graphic details.
The security video showed Luka Magnotta and his date sauntering into his apartment building at 10:16 p.m. and exchanging glances like any young couple who had just met and arrived home for a one-night stand.
Exactly 24 hours later, Mr. Magnotta was recorded taking out his last garbage bag after a long night and day disposing of most of the contents of his apartment. Among the refuse was much of the body of Jun Lin, the man who was supposed to be his lover.
On one of his last trips, Mr. Magnotta struggled to wrestle a grey suitcase containing Mr. Lin's torso to the curb. "It was the only time he took the elevator," said Sergeant Detective Claudette Hamlin, a veteran homicide investigator of the Montreal police.
The jury in Mr. Magnotta's first-degree murder trial on Thursday viewed security camera video taken from his apartment on Decarie Boulevard over the 24 hours after the two men arrived. The evidence marks the first time jurors have had a direct glimpse of Mr. Magnotta's actions over the hours Mr. Lin was inside the apartment.
Other videos to come, Sgt.-Det. Hamlin said, will show Mr. Lin working at a convenience store, Mr. Magnotta purchasing certain items at a pharmacy and postal outlet and finally a video that shows Mr. Lin's body and Mr. Magnotta desecrating it.
Mr. Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder and a host of other crimes linked to dismembering the body and sending parts around the country, including to federal political parties. Mr. Magnotta has admitted the acts. The video will form one component of deliberation as the jury decides whether Mr. Magnotta is not guilty because he was mentally incapacitated, or whether he killed Mr. Lin in a planned and premeditated way.
After the two men arrived, there was a four-hour lull. And then Mr. Magnotta began coming and going repeatedly, a dozen times methodically taking out trash, and nearly as often leaving the building to parts unknown. He almost always had a bag in his hand. At least four times he changed clothes. Twice he preened in the mirror to fix his hair before carrying on with the business at hand.
Some of the garbage, mostly pillows and bottles and cloth, went into some basement barrels. A janitor was later filmed bagging some of the garbage. He testified he didn't notice anything out of place.
Several bags were taken directly to the curb. Some of the items police later found in the garbage appeared in the video: The yellow T-shirt worn by Mr. Lin as he went into the apartment showed up on Mr. Magnotta's back four hours later. A little black dog found dead in the trash was alive and in Mr. Magnotta's arms around 4 a.m.
About 18 hours into Mr. Magnotta's busy day, he paused to order pizza. Twenty-four hours later, he landed in France.
Les Perreaux