‘Okay you got me’ – Magnotta to German police
Posted June 4, 2012 11:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
“Okay, you got me.”
German police have confirmed they’ve arrested Canadian fugitive Luka Rocco Magnotta in Berlin, ending the international manhunt. Police in Berlin told 680News in Toronto, Ont., that Magnotta told them “okay you got me,” after an internet cafe owner recognized him.
Magnotta, who was positively identified using his fingerprints, is now in a German jail and is scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday.
CAUTION: GRAPHIC CONTENT MAY DISTURB SOME READERS.
Magnotta was wanted in Montreal, Que., on five charges including first-degree murder in the slaying of Chinese exchange student Jun Lin.
Lin’s torso was found in suitcase in a Montreal alley last week, and other body parts, including a hand and foot, were mailed to the offices of political parties in Ottawa.
Police said Magnotta fled Canada on May 26, the day after they believe Lin was killed.
Jun was reported missing on May 29, the same day a torso was discovered stuffed in a suitcase in a heap of garbage behind a Montreal apartment building.
That same day, a foot was found in a package mailed to the Conservative party headquarters in Ottawa, and a hand was later found in a package at a postal warehouse in the city.
The package with the hand was addressed to the Liberal Party of Canada, and tests show the three body parts came from the same victim.
Montreal police said Magnotta knew Lin and they had some sort of relationship.
Lin was reported missing on May 29, but police believe he was killed several days before.
“The last time he was seen was May 24th and we believe the homicide took place between the the 24th and 25th,” Montreal police commander Ian Lafreniere said.
According to Montreal newspaper La Presse, his identity was matched to the severed torso found in the suitcase in Montreal after following up on a request from the Chinese Consulate General to be on the lookout for Lin, whose family in China lost touch with him on the May 24 — just a day before the gruesome murder video was posted online.
The paper reported that Lin, who is from the east central Chinese city of Wuhan, arrived in Montreal in July 2011.
On June 3, the Montreal Gazette reported that the manager of a cafe in Paris said Magnotta had a drink in his bar on Thursday. There were reports that French police have found items in a Paris-area hotel that they believe may belong to Magnotta, according to Agence-France Presse. As well, recent photos released by Interpol appear to show Magnotta walking through security at an unknown airport.
A Canada-wide arrest warrant for Magnotta was issued last Wednesday, and he was added to Interpol’s wanted persons’ list.
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Police said Magnotta is also known as Eric Clinton Newman and Vladimir Romanov, while a Google search says he may go under Thierry Bordalis as well. He is originally believed to be from Scarborough, Ont., and only moved to Montreal a few months ago.
Police combed through an apartment complex in Montreal where it’s believed the suspect and possibly, the victim lived. On Tuesday, a severed torso was discovered in a suitcase among other body parts.
Magnotta was not known to Montreal police prior to this incident.
According to various sources on the Internet, Magnotta is an amateur gay porn star who may have dated serial killer Karla Homolka. He is the writer behind a blog entitled “How to Completely Disappear and Never Be Found.”
In 2007, Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington spoke to Magnotta about rumours linking him to Homolka. Rogers radio reporter John Stall spoke to Warmington, Thursday, about his impressions of Magnotta at that time. Listen here
In Toronto, Magnotta was convicted of four counts fraud under $5,000 in 2005.
CTV News reported it has learned that a note found with one of the packages revealed that six body parts were placed in the mail and that Magnotta planned to kill again.
There are also videos posted of Magnotta committing gruesome acts, such as suffocating cats, and police believe a clip of him killing and dismembering a body is linked to this case.
CityNews reported via sources that the suspect allegedly videotaped the crime and posted it on a snuff website.
In the video, someone repeatedly stabbed a young man with an ice pick. While both killer and victim lay naked, he dismembered the corpse and committed sexual and cannibalistic acts on it. The video is now being reviewed by Montreal police.
There could be more body parts within the Canada Post system, Lafreniere said. Canada Post said it was collaborating with police and said it couldn’t comment further as a police probe was underway.
There’s also another video shot inside the apartment that has been released, showing blood stained sheets and a pool of blood in the fridge.
According to Ottawa police, the body parts sent to Ottawa were both mailed from Montreal.
Ottawa police Sgt. Steve Hodgson said the first package was sent to the party’s offices on Albert Street, just blocks from Parliament Hill, on the 12th floor. The package was opened by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s campaign manager Jenni Byrne. She saw the blood and smelled a foul odour and called police, according to a Conservative party statement.
