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Judge tells jury that Magnotta has admitted to crimes in first-degree murder case

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Sep, 2014 01:52 PM

MONTREAL - The judge hearing Luka Rocco Magnotta's first-degree murder trial has told the jurors that the accused has admitted to the slaying of Chinese student Jun Lin.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer advised the jurors this morning their task will be to determine Magnotta's state of mind when he committed the murder.

The judge's comments came shortly after Magnotta pleaded not guilty again to five charges in connection with Lin's death in May 2012.

The pleas came in a Montreal courtroom this morning as his first-degree murder trial began.

A bilingual eight-woman, six-man jury is hearing the case and a dozen of them will be chosen to deliberate on a final verdict.

The charges against Magnotta are first-degree murder; committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.

Lin's father, Diran Lin, is in the courtroom this morning along with a lawyer and translator.

Magnotta is wearing a grey sweater, dark pants and dark-rimmed glasses. He appears heavier than when he was arrested in June 2012.

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