German police have arrested fugitive Canadian porn actor Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, who is accused of murdering and dismembering his lover, then mailing body parts to Canada's top political parties. How much do investigators know about this shocking and bizarre case? Here, a brief guide:
Who is Magnotta accused of killing?
The victim was Jun Lin, a 33-year-old Chinese university student Magnotta had dated. Police believe Lin was killed on May 24 or 25. His torso was found stuffed in a suitcase that was discovered in an alley near Magnotta's Montreal apartment. Other remains were reportedly found in the garbage, and in Magnotta's apartment. A hand was found last week in a package addressed to Canada's Liberal Party. A foot was sent to the headquarters of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party in Ottawa. Police also suspect Magnotta of eating some of the remains.
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What evidence do investigators have?
Part of the attack was reportedly videotaped and posted online. In the gruesome 11-minute clip, a man believed to be Magnotta stabs a naked and bound Lin with an ice pick. The attacker allegedly indicates that he has slashed the other man's throat, then dismembers and sexually abuses the corpse. All the while, a song from American Psycho plays in the background.
How did police catch up to Magnotta?
Interpol launched what Montreal police are calling one of the largest manhunts in history, issuing a call for Magnotta's arrest in 190 countries. Magnotta fled Montreal on a flight to Paris on May 26, the day after the video appeared online. Magnotta — who was born Eric Clinton Newman and has also gone by the name Vladimir Romanov — was reportedly spotted several times in Paris, but kept a step ahead of police until he got to Berlin. His luck ran out when he went into an internet cafe on Monday to look up stories about himself online.
Then what happened?
An alert employee recognized Magnotta from news reports, and ran outside to alert police, who happened to be nearby. Officers burst in, guns drawn, and apprehended Magnotta. "He tried at first giving fake names but in the end he just said: 'You got me,'" Berlin police spokesman Guido Busch said. "He didn't resist." Now police are interrogating him to determine whether he can be linked to other unsolved crimes. The Sun, a British tabloid, reports that Magnotta may have been behind gruesome online videos of kittens being killed. The Sun says it interviewed Magnotta about the cat abuse six months ago, and that he warned in an email: "I'll be back — and this time the victims won't be animals."
Sources: Associated Press, BBC News, New York Daily News, The Sun
