Magnotta helpful, lawyer says
Defence may push for lesser murder charge
MONTREAL — Luka Magnotta’s defence lawyer may challenge the Quebec Court ruling that Magnotta stand trial on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Lin Jun, rather than seconddegree.
After a brief court appearance Monday in which the start date for the highly publicized trial was set for Sept. 15, 2014, lawyer Luc Leclerc held a news conference to say his client cooperated with authorities.
Magnotta, who was arrested in June in Berlin, did not fight his extradition, Leclerc said, which he had the right to do, and voluntarily came back to Canada.
“With very stringent German rules, he would have been there for four or five years and during that time, witnesses that are essential for the Crown’s case might have left the country,” Leclerc said.
“The evidence would have become stale and it’s clear the Crown’s case would have been weakened. However, he decided to come back to Canada and to face the public in Montreal in particular, who will be called to judge him.”
Magnotta, 30, who is charged with the first-degree murder of Chinese national and Concordia University student Lin, 33, has faith in the Canadian judicial system, Leclerc said. Lin was killed May 25. The trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks.
After an 11-day preliminary hearing, Quebec Court Judge Lori-Renee Weitzman ruled that there was enough evidence to send Magnotta to trial on the charge of firstdegree murder, meaning his actions were planned and intentional.
Leclerc, who had wanted his client to be tried for seconddegree murder, said he is still awaiting the transcript of the judgment before deciding whether to file a motion in Quebec Superior Court to have the judgment quashed. He maintains the evidence against his client is circumstantial.
The Crown also announced Monday that it will file a motion to hold a rotatory commission during the trial, in which the judge, defence and Crown travel abroad to question witnesses, then the recorded testimony is played at the trial.