MONTREAL - One of Canada's most publicized and shocking criminal cases resumes Monday when jury selection begins in the first-degree murder trial of Luka Rocco Magnotta.
Magnotta, 32, faces five charges in connection with the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin in May 2012.
He has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and the four others: 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.
The case began with the discovery of a human torso stuffed in trash behind a Montreal apartment building in May 2012. Body parts then began surfacing in different parts of Canada — first at federal political offices in Ottawa and, later, at two British Columbia schools.
A video that purportedly depicted a slaying was posted online around the same time and was linked by Montreal police to the discovery of the body parts.
Magnotta is a native of Scarborough, Ont., who, according to police, set up dozens of Internet user names and maintained 70 Facebook pages and 20 websites.
As the case progressed, Magnotta was discovered to have left the country, triggering an international police manhunt that Montreal police said was the largest in which they had taken part.
Interpol became involved and Magnotta was arrested without incident at a Berlin Internet cafe on June 4, several days after Lin's slaying.
He returned to Canada a few weeks later, escorted by several Montreal police major-crimes detectives aboard a Canadian government plane.
The proceedings have since wound their way through the courts, with the trial proper scheduled to begin Sept. 22.
The case involving Magnotta captured headlines around the world. He was named Canadian newsmaker of the year and news story of the year by editors across the country in 2012 in the annual poll of newsrooms by The Canadian Press.
During the preliminary stages of his case, court appearances generated a circus-like atmosphere at the Montreal courthouse. Even procedural hearings, which journalists rarely attend, were subject to extensive coverage by local and national media.
Magnotta's lawyer, Luc Leclair, repeatedly tried to limit what could be written about his client while awaiting trial.
Motions were tabled to limit the scope of coverage or forbid the public and media from attending proceedings altogether. The attempts failed, however, with various judges throughout the process expressing confidence Magnotta would still get a fair trial.
Leclair has kept his public comments to a minimum since Magnotta's arrest, but says his client returned voluntarily from Europe, choosing not to fight extradition.
"He decided to come back to Canada and to face the public in Montreal, in particular, who will be called to judge him...," Leclair said in April 2013. "He came, personally, to face the court because he has faith in the Canadian judicial system."
The preliminary inquiry heard from more than 30 witnesses from Montreal and elsewhere in Canada. In recent months, the court travelled to Europe to question witnesses in France and Germany.
Lin's family have also expressed faith in the justice system and say they don't want their son to be forgotten.
Jun Lin, 33, was born in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. He realized a long-standing dream by coming to Canada in 2011.
In interviews with the media in April 2013, his family recalled how Lin had a comfortable life working in IT at Microsoft's Beijing office, but had sought a move to Canada to study and to improve his life.
He was enrolled as a computer engineering student at Concordia University and worked as a part-time convenience store clerk.
Lin's parents said he was excited about his future in this country.
The family also described struggling mightily with the loss of their only son. His mother, Zhigui Du, talked of losing the will to live after Lin's death.
Lin was laid to rest in Montreal in July 2012, in the country and city his family said he loved.
The Lin family have been present throughout the proceedings via a Montreal lawyer. Recently, Lin's father, Diran Lin, formally asked the court to limit access to some of the exhibits considered to be obscene so they aren't widely published during the trial.
A Montreal lawyer for Lin's parents and sister said they don't expect to make any further comments until after the trial.
Prosecutor Louis Bouthillier will represent the Crown while Magnotta will be defended by Leclair, an Ontario-based lawyer.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer will oversee the trial.
Jury selection is expected to run about two weeks. Fourteen bilingual jurors will be chosen to hear the evidence, while 12 of them will eventually decide Magnotta's fate.
Timeline of events in the case of accused killer Luka Rocco Magnotta
Luka Rocco Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the dismemberment and slaying of Jun Lin in May 2012. Jury selection starts Monday and the trial itself is set for Sept. 22. Here is a timeline of events in the case:
2011
July: Chinese student Jun Lin arrives in Montreal.
2012
May 24: Lin last seen by friends.
May 26: Montana lawyer Roger Renville sees bizarre Internet video he believes is snuff film depicting bound man being stabbed to death and dismembered.
May 27: Renville alerts U.S. and Canadian police to Internet video but they dismiss it as a fake.
May 29: Montreal police called to low-rent apartment building after janitor finds dismembered torso in suitcase left in trash. Same day, foot is found in package mailed to Conservative party in Ottawa and hand is found in package in Canada Post warehouse. Package destined for Liberal party. Lin reported missing by friends.
May 30: Montreal police name Magnotta as prime suspect and say national warrant issued for his arrest. Interpol adds him to its wanted list, putting police in 190 countries on alert. Montreal police find video on Internet and try unsuccessfully to have it taken down.
May 31: Montreal police confirm they have video that apparently shows man tied to bed, being killed and then dismembered.
June 1: Montreal police identify torso victim as Lin, a 33-year-old Chinese computer science student at Concordia University. Warrant issued for Magnotta on upgraded first-degree murder charge. Police say Magnotta also charged with threatening Prime Minister Stephen Harper because of the foot mailed to the Conservative Party of Canada offices.
June 2: French police conduct "targeted" searches.
June 3: French media report that Magnotta stayed in a low-budget hotel in Paris. French media report police checking claims of two people who say they saw him. Chinese Embassy in Ottawa issues statement advising Chinese visitors to Canada to take safety precautions.
June 4: German police acting on tip arrest Magnotta in Berlin in an Internet cafe. He faces charges of first-degree murder, committing indignity to dead body, mailing obscene material and criminally harassing prime minister and several unidentified MPs. Harper, attending Queen's Jubilee in Britain, congratulates police on their quick work.
June 5: Two schools in Vancouver receive packages containing human remains: a hand and a foot. Meanwhile, in Berlin, Magnotta informs authorities he will not fight extradition. Lin's family arrives in Montreal.
June 13: Forensic tests allow Montreal police to confirm torso, feet and hands all belong to Lin. A Berlin court orders Magnotta to remain behind bars pending his extradition to Canada.
June 18: Magnotta arrives in Montreal aboard Canadian military plane. Video and photos provided by Montreal police show him handcuffed and surrounded by several armed guards as he gets off the aircraft.
June 19: Magnotta pleads not guilty after being formally charged with the first-degree murder of Lin, along with defiling his corpse, harassing Harper and members of Parliament, and publishing and mailing obscene material.
June 21: Magnotta makes in-person court appearance in Montreal in order to set future court dates (his previous appearance was via video conference). He is represented by Toronto lawyer Luc Leclair.
July 1: Tip leads Montreal police to a park in Montreal's west end, where they discover human remains near a pond.
July 4: Forensic tests allow Montreal police to confirm that body part found three days earlier was Lin's head.
2013
March 11: Preliminary hearing begins. Magnotta's lawyers argue, unsuccessfully, that courtroom should be closed to the public and media. Courtroom remains open and a more routine publication ban is applied to details of the hearing.
March 12: Jun Lin's father, Diran, leaves courtroom in tears after hearing evidence. Details of that evidence are subject to publication ban. Members of Lin's family from China are in Canada to follow the case.
March 19: Magnotta collapses in court during preliminary hearing while appearing distraught by evidence presented against him. Still handcuffed, he falls to his side in the prisoner's box and curls into fetal position.
April 12: Magnotta ordered to stand trial on five charges, including first-degree murder, in decision by Quebec court Judge Lori-Renee Weitzman.
April 29: Trial date set for September 2014.
Nov. 13: Magnotta enters fresh not-guilty pleas.
2014
Feb. 7: Judge grants order to allow witness testimony to be gathered in France and Germany.
July 21: Judge rules out blanket publication ban on trial evidence.
Sept. 8: Jury selection scheduled to begin.
Sept. 22: Trial scheduled to start.
