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Diran Lin, father of victim Jun Lin, walks to the courtroom for the murder trial of Luka Rocco Magnotta in Montreal, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014.Ryan Remiorz

There will be more pictures of a young man's desecrated body as the trial of Luka Magnotta resumes Tuesday, and in a small chamber just off the main courtroom a grieving father will do his best to avert his eyes while asking why his son died this way.

Lin Diran, the father of Jun Lin, has pledged to be present throughout the trial and has seats reserved for him in the tiny courtroom. Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer has also set up a small anteroom with a television monitor where the father can watch proceedings without being in the same room as the man who killed his son.

"The court has been very sensitive to the needs of the parents. They've done more than they needed to do in a gentle and humane way," said the family lawyer, Dan Urbas, with the father standing by his side.

Mr. Magnotta's defence will rest on whether mental illness prevented him from understanding the gravity of killing and dismembering Jun Lin. On Monday, Mr. Magnotta admitted it was his hand that killed the 33-year-old Chinese student, his hand that put some body parts in the mail and others in the garbage. But Crown prosecutors still have to present the evidence to make their case.

The Crown showed jurors more than 150 photographs Monday afternoon accompanied by a spare narration by the crime scene photographer who took them. Some of the photos left much to the imagination: Knives, an angle grinder commonly used to cut metal, a wardrobe's worth of men's clothing, a shower curtain, rubber gloves, the body of a small black dog inexplicably disposed of along with some of Mr. Lin's body.

Others left less room for inference: Pieces of arms and legs, a bloodstained T-shirt, a torso packed into a grey suitcase on wheels.

In the courtroom, the judge wrapped up proceedings a bit early Monday, recognizing enough was enough, on just Day 1. The father of the victim had already retreated to his sanctuary where a lawyer and translator kept him apprised of what was going on in Mandarin and strategically placed sticky notes on the TV screen so he would not see the photographs on display.

"When they were going through the descriptions of the bags they found, we put post-it notes when we knew this was not something he needed to see himself, but we could tell him about it," said Mr. Urbas. "It was very difficult to start the day it got better when he left the room and could watch evidence in private."

The difficulty of watching the trial was etched on Mr. Lin's pained face. His eyes teared up and his legs became shaky as he stood by the lawyer. Anna Liu, his volunteer translator, stood at his side, bracing him.

Jun Lin's mother and sister stayed in China for the trial. They attempted to attend the preliminary hearing but could not even bear to enter the Montreal courthouse, Mr. Urbas said.

"Every time the mother discusses it, it's like it happened yesterday," he said. "If they're going to be suffering and going to be unhappy, they might as well be at home. There's no point. The father is here, he wants his questions answered."

Father, mother and sister are able to work right now, Mr. Urbas said.

Mr. Urbas said he and several volunteer translators are doing their best to give Mr. Lin some normalcy, taking him to the city's Chinese restaurants and putting him in touch with Chinese community members who share his language and interest. "We had a nice lunch and it seemed to put him at ease," Mr. Urbas said. "But let's face it, this will never get better for him."

At the family's request, the judge has imposed a publication ban preventing any of the photo and video exhibits showing the body of young Mr. Lin from ever leaving the courtroom. It's a solace much appreciated, the lawyer said.

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