MONTREAL - The jury in Luka Rocco Magnotta's first-degree murder trial is hearing from the man the accused stayed with after arriving in Berlin in 2012.
Frank Rubert says he met Magnotta on a chat website called GayRomeo while looking for a roommate.
He testified through a translator today that Magnotta showed up at the Berlin bus station from Paris with no luggage, a few thousand Euro and said he was looking for a fresh start after a breakup.
Rubert says they spent much of their time together shopping, eating and drinking but did not have sex. They communicated over the four days using Google Translate as neither spoke the other's language.
Rubert told the jury he snapped some photos of Magnotta at his request as the latter wanted to begin working as an escort in Berlin.
The 32-year-old Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to five charges in the murder and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin in late May 2012. He was ultimately arrested in the German capital on June 4 that year.
Magnotta has admitted to the acts he's accused of in Lin's death, but is arguing he is not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.
The Crown contends the killing was planned and deliberate and says it plans to prove that.
The charges against Magnotta are first-degree murder; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.
