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Judge begins delivering final instructions to jury at Luka Rocco Magnotta trial

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Dec, 2014 10:41 AM

    MONTREAL — The judge at Luka Rocco Magnotta's murder trial is delivering his final instructions to the jury.

    When Justice Guy Cournoyer is finished, 12 jurors will be sequestered to decide the fate of the 32-year-old Ontario native.

    They will have to decide a verdict on each of the five charges Magnotta faces in the slaying and dismemberment of Jun Lin in May 2012.

    The Crown has argued Magnotta should be found guilty of first-degree murder and the four other charges.

    Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to the five charges.

    He has admitted to the killing but his lawyer has asked the jury to find him not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.

    Experts testified on Magnotta's behalf that he is schizophrenic and was psychotic the night of the slaying.

    But Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier reiterated in his final statement the crime was planned and deliberate.

    He says the killing fulfilled a promise Magnotta made several months earlier to take the life of a human being.

    Fourteen jurors heard the evidence but two will be sent home once the judge's instructions are complete.

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