MONTREAL — Gay porn actor Luka Rocco Magnotta, dubbed the “Canadian Psycho” for allegedly dismembering his Chinese lover and eating and mailing the body parts, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five charges including first degree murder.
Magnotta entered his plea before a judge via videoconference from a Montreal detention center that lasted about three minutes. He was arrested at a Berlin Internet café on June 4 after a global manhunt.
This was Magnotta’s first hearing since being extradited to Canada under security from Germany.
During the hearing he reportedly stood silently between two guards, handcuffed and wearing a brown shirt. He said just one word to his defense lawyer Pierre Panaccio, who said that he hoped to speak with him later Tuesday.
"If you wish to call me at home tonight, I'd be pleased to talk about this," Panaccio said.
"Okay," the suspect replied before being led away to detention.
Panaccio requested that Magnotta be given a psychiatric evaluation to determine his criminal responsibility. The court will consider the request on Thursday.
Magnotta’s porn career included a number of aliases and changes in appearances and performances as both a bisexual and gay actor.
The 29 year-old is suspected of killing Jun Lin, a 33-year-old a computer science student at Concordia University and posting a video online showing him dismembering and then having sex with the corpse.
He then sent Lin’s feet and hands to Canada's top political parties and two schools, but the victim’s head is still missing. Prosecutor Helene DiSalvo said finding the head is important to both the case and the victim's family.
Magnotta faces charges including first degree murder, defiling a corpse, threatening the prime minister and using the mail system for delivering "obscene, indecent, immoral or scurrilous" material.
Authorities are scheduled to meet with Lin's family in Canada.
