MONTREAL - As alleged killer Luka Rocco Magnotta awaited extradition in a Berlin jail cell, the focus of the Canadian investigation into the body-parts case shifted Tuesday to Vancouver, where two schools received packages containing human remains.
Magnotta is wanted in Canada on several charges — including first-degree murder — in connection with the ghastly Montreal killing and dismemberment of Chinese national Jun Lin. The porn actor, who grew up in the Toronto area, was arrested Monday at an Internet cafe in Berlin.
CAUTION: GRAPHIC CONTENT MAY DISTURB SOME READERS.
Magnotta, the prime suspect in a crime that has shocked people worldwide, declined Tuesday to fight his extradition from Germany, and authorities now believe he could be on his way back to Canada in a matter of days or weeks.
But as the extradition proceedings moved forward, investigators in Montreal said they are still looking for some of Lin's body parts.
The Concordia University student's torso was found locked in a suitcase on May 29 in an alley behind the seedy, west-end Montreal apartment building where Magnotta lived.
That same day, one of the 33-year-old's hands and one of his feet were discovered after being mailed in separate parcels to the offices of political parties in Ottawa.
Vancouver police said Tuesday that a human hand and foot had been delivered to two schools earlier in the day. Police told a news conference the body parts had been discovered by school staff when they opened the packages.
Police said they can't confirm whether the packages are connected to the Montreal case but they have contacted police there.
At a Montreal news conference earlier Tuesday, Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere said more body parts had been recovered from a garbage heap behind Magnotta's building.
But he said one of Lin's hands, one of his feet and his head are still unaccounted for.
"Were they shipped to different locations?" Lafreniere asked.
"We've got no indication (of this) whatsoever, but we're not taking any chances... We're working closely with the postal services to see if there could have been something (else) shipped."
A Chinese consulate spokesman said four of Lin's family members, including his parents, arrived in Montreal Tuesday night. Zheng Xu said they will meet with Montreal police and then with the media at an opportune time.
Across the Atlantic, Magnotta spent his first night in custody alone in a 1.5-metre-by-five-metre cell at Berlin police headquarters, said a city police spokesman.
Magnotta, dubbed "Canadian Psycho" by some foreign media, had a wooden bed with a mattress, a window overlooking a yard and a small table for meals, said Chief-Supt. Stefan Redlich.
His dinner Monday consisted of bread and cheese and his breakfast Tuesday was toast with jam and a cup of tea.
"It's not a comfortable hotel room," said Redlich, adding that Magnotta's cell did have a bell to contact the guards.
He said Magnotta rang the bell once to ask if someone would light his cigarette. The guards were willing to oblige the detainee.
"He was otherwise very calm and quiet, so it was a night without any situations, any disturbances," Redlich said.
He could not immediately say whether Magnotta had been in touch with family or friends after his arrest.
Magnotta was appointed a German lawyer and, following his hearing, was taken to a prison in central Berlin where he will likely stay until his extradition.
Authorities said his return to Canada could happen as soon as the coming days.
"This may speed up the (extradition) process, but on the other hand, he may change his opinion any day," said Redlich.
"So we will see."
When asked Tuesday about the extradition proceedings, Montreal police said there's no rush to get him back to Canada.
"At least, he's detained — he's stopped," Lafreniere said, adding there is still considerable police work to do.
"The largest manhunt of the Montreal police history is over for us."
The suitcase containing Lin's torso had been put out with the rest of the trash, but the building's manager said it was left behind after garbage collectors, uncharacteristically, only picked up some of the waste that day.
Montreal police said they have video footage from the apartment building that allegedly shows Magnotta carrying bags to the complex's garbage pile.
Lafreniere said investigators have surveillance video of Magnotta allegedly mailing the gruesome packages from a Canada Post outlet in his Cote-des-Neiges neighbourhood.
Montreal police also spoke out about an infamous video they believe shows Lin's death. The footage was posted online.
In the video clip, a person is seen repeatedly stabbing a naked young man with an ice pick. The killer later dismembers the corpse and appears to commit sexual and cannibalistic acts on it.
Lafreniere was asked whether there is evidence the killer in the video ate part of the victim's body.
"As gross and as graphic (as) it could be, yes, it was seen on the video," he said.
"But again we've got to confirm this."
Police allege the horrific incident took place in Magnotta's bachelor apartment, which was soaked with blood following Lin's death.
Due to the modus operandi surrounding Lin's death, Lafreniere also said his department is looking for possible links to unsolved local crimes.
He added that Montreal police are in contact with other forces to discuss potential connections to cold cases in their jurisdictions.
The international manhunt for Magnotta ended with Monday's arrest after he was recognized inside the Berlin cafe where he was reading online news articles about himself. Magnotta maintained a prolific online presence for years.
Police said he initially tried to give officers called to the scene fake names, but then gave up, saying: "OK, you got me."
German officials said Magnotta arrived in Berlin on Saturday on a bus from Paris. He fled Montreal for the French capital after Lin's death, which occurred sometime overnight between May 24 and May 25.
Lin, who studied computer science, was reported missing by an acquaintance the same day his torso and the mailed body parts were found.
The part-time cashier, who sometimes used the first name Justin or Patrick, was remembered as a reliable and friendly cashier by his boss, the owner of a Montreal convenience store.
Zheng Xu, a spokesman for the Chinese Consulate in Montreal, said Lin's family wants to come to Canada as soon as possible.
Lin's disturbing death has rattled people on several continents.
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa even issued a statement advising Chinese visitors to Canada to take safety precautions.
Magnotta also faces other charges in Canada, including corrupting morals; causing an indignity to a body; using the mail system to deliver "obscene, indecent, immoral or scurrilous" material; and harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and some MPs.
Some of the charges are tied to an incident that saw a parcel containing a severed foot delivered to the Conservative party's Ottawa headquarters. Another package, carrying a hand, was addressed to the Liberal party, but was intercepted at a Canada Post warehouse before delivery.
— with files from Lia Levesque in Montreal and The Associated Press
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CP | By Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press Posted: 06/05/2012 4:00 am Updated: 06/08/2012 9:24 pm