Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Case 'far from' over: Canada to seek extradition of dismemberment suspect













Alleged 'body parts' killer caught in Berlin internet cafe




STORY HIGHLIGHTS



  • Extradition could take months of years, expert say

  • Berlin police trainees arrested Luka Rocco Magnotta at an Internet cafe in Berlin

  • "You got me," police say he told officers

  • Authorities in 190 countries were on the lookout for Magnotta





Berlin (CNN) -- While the international manhunt for the porn actor accused of killing and dismembering a man in Canada ended Monday in a Berlin Internet cafe, the investigation is far from over, authorities said.

Canada will have to request for Luka Rocco Magnotta's extradition from Germany, and many of the body parts of the victim he allegedly dismembered are still missing.

Montreal Police Cmdr. Ian LaFreniere told reporters that investigators would begin looking into possible links to other crimes and that authorities have much work ahead of them in bringing Magnotta back to Canada to face trial.

"This is far from being over," LaFreniere said.

Magnotta faces first-degree murder and other charges in the killing last month of Jun Lin, 33, a Concordia University student from China.

Authorities accuse him of dismembering the student, mailing the body parts to Canadian police and politicians, and then taunting authorities by posting a video of the grisly act on the Internet.

For days, officers in 190 countries -- alerted by the global police agency Interpol -- looked for Magnotta.

But, in the end, it was the keen eye of an Internet cafe employee in Berlin that helped police nab their suspect.

Kadir Anlayisli said he recognized the slight man who walked into the nondescript Helin Spatkauf Internet Cafe on Monday -- but he couldn't quite figure out why he did.

But as Magnotta surfed the web, poring through news accounts of the case in which he himself was the suspect, the realization dawned on Anlayisli.

"I looked in the papers and said 'That's him who they're looking for, the porno killer,'" Anlayisli told reporters.

The cafe worker flagged down a carload of German police trainees.

Magnotta initially denied his identity, police said. Then he gave up without a fight, stating simply: "You got me."

The next step in the case is for Canada to send an extradition request to Germany for Magnotta's return.

If Magnotta does not fight the extradition, he will be back in Montreal quickly to face the charges. Otherwise, it could take months.

"If he wanted to delay the proceedings, it could take as much as a year or more," Daniel Brown, a Toronto defense attorney told CNN affiliate CBC. "You have to have the resources to be able to sustain those types of appeals and things of that nature. I'm not sure Mr. Magnotta does."

The case began last week when a package containing the severed foot addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived at his majority Conservative Party headquarters. A hand was later found at a post office addressed to the minority Liberal Party, authorities said.

Authorities quickly traced the address on the packages to the Montreal apartment of Magnotta, where they discovered a torso in a suitcase in a trash bin.

Lin's death and dismemberment were allegedly captured on a graphic video posted to the Internet, according to Montreal police. It features a man -- who authorities believe is Magnotta -- killing another man, dismembering the corpse and performing sexual acts.

"We believe he filmed himself," Lafreniere said last week. "It's gross. ... This is a very deranged person. He is looking for attention, and he got it, but not in a positive way."

Authorities believe Magnotta killed Jun on May 24 or May 25, posted the video, and on May 26 fled the country by plane to Europe.

Since the grisly killing became the most talked about international crime story, more has come out about Magnotta's alleged past.

The self-proclaimed gay porn actor, stripper and escort promoted himself through a graphic website that showcased his a chameleon-like quality: the ability to change his appearance, authorities said. In one picture, with dark hair, he resembles a teenager. In another, with blond hair, he looks rough. In most of the pictures, whether clothed or half-naked, Magnetta sported a distinct runway pout.

Authorities allege he even changed his names, using the aliases Eric Newman or Vladimir Romanov.

He was also notorious among online animal rights activists, who pegged him as a serial kitten killer who used cat carcasses in sexual acts.

A Facebook group started in December 2010 dubbed him the "Vacuum Kitten Killer," after a video was posted on YouTube showing kittens being killed by suffocation and drowning.

Several Canadian newspapers also reported that Magnotta had dated notorious Canadian killer Karla Homolka, who years before was arrested for the rapes and murders of three Ontario girls, including her own sister. As part of a plea bargain, Homolka served 12 years in prison. LaFreniere said he could not confirm any links and Homolka is not part of the investigation.

There have also been recent reports that Magnotta threatened to kill as early as six months ago during an encounter with a reporter at the Sun.

The British newspaper implicated Magnotta as a suspect in the videotaped killing of a kitten, which it reports he initially denied.

Then, according to the newspaper, it received an e-mail describing how the writer planned to move on from killing animals to people. The writer, the newspaper reported over the weekend, was Magnotta. The newspaper informed police.

"We're talking about a very strange, unhinged individual," said the Sun's Neil Millard.


Source & Image : CNN World

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