MONTREAL - The trial in one of Canada's most publicized and shocking criminal cases is set to begin Monday with evidence being heard in the proceedings against alleged murderer Luka Rocco Magnotta.
Magnotta, 32, has pleaded not guilty to five charges in connection with the slaying and dismemberment of Chinese engineering student Jun Lin in May 2012.
The charges 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.
Trial judge Guy Cournoyer questioned potential jurors earlier this month about whether they could stomach evidence that could be considered gruesome, graphic and possibly upsetting.
The 14 bilingual jurors who will hear the case will receive instructions from Cournoyer before prosecutor Louis Bouthillier begins presenting the Crown's arguments.
The investigation was launched after 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 a federal political office 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.
As the investigation 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.
Bouthillier has said up to 60 Crown witnesses could be heard at the trial, which is expected to last between six and eight weeks. Some Europeans could be called to testify.
The process of selecting the jury took eight days, with the court vetting about 1,600 people called to serve. That group was narrowed down to 16 people. Two will be dismissed when the trial begins and two of the remaining 14 will be discharged before deliberations.
The trial will take place primarily in English, although some parts are expected to be in French.
Magnotta will be represented by Toronto-based attorney Luc Leclair. The lawyer told reporters he was seeking jurors who were open-minded and intelligent and willing to listen to the case.
"He's (Magnotta) been waiting a long time, I've been waiting a long time, we've been waiting a long time," Leclair said on the first day of the jury selection process.
"There was a time that we never thought this day would come."
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.
The trial is likely to lure plenty of curious onlookers. During the preliminary hearing, the case attracted criminology students, legal junkies and even a handful of people who appeared to support Magnotta.
Proceedings will be heard in a special courtroom equipped with numerous screens and a large metal-and-glass enclosure behind which Magnotta will sit.
But seating is limited: five spots will be set aside for media and five others for the public. A few other seats are reserved for Lin's family, including his father Diran, who is in Canada for the trial.
The trial will otherwise be broadcast to an overflow room on a different floor.
Diran Lin has attended several days of proceedings since the case began and has said he hopes to see justice for his son.
Jun Lin, 33, was born in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. He had only been living in Canada since 2011, realizing a long-standing dream by coming to Montreal.
His family said in April 2013 that 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.
At the time of his death, Lin was enrolled as a computer engineering student at Concordia University and worked as a part-time convenience store clerk in south-central Montreal.
The 16 people selected as jurors and alternate jurors are:
1: Woman, auto parts analyst
2: Woman, assistant manager in a telecommunications firm
3: Man, works for a cleaning company
4: Man, web developer
5: Woman, stockbroker
6: Woman, public relations and translator
7: Man, university professor
8: Man, interpreter
9: Man, junior college professor
10: Woman, university employee
11: Man, retired financial analyst
12: Woman, call-centre employee
13: Woman, translator
14: Woman, works in administration at a butcher's shop
*15: Woman, geologist
*16: Man, auditor
Jurors 15 and 16 are alternates who will only sit if any of the first 14 jurors are unable to do so. Otherwise, they'll be discharged on Monday before the trial begins.
Timeline of events in the case of accused killer Luka Rocco Magnotta
MONTREAL - 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. The trial is set to start Monday. 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 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 begins.
Sept. 19: Jury finalized after eight days of hearings.
Sept. 29: Trial set to begin.
