MONTREAL, March 11 (UPI) -- Luka Rocco Magnotta appeared in court Monday for a preliminary hearing in the death and dismemberment of Lin Jun, court observers in Montreal said.
Magnotta, who was held in a glass enclosure during the hearing, avoided eye contact with anyone in the courtroom, CTV News reported.
There is a publication ban that prevents the media from reporting some of the specifics about what occurred in the courtroom Monday. Additionally, defense lawyers have asked the judge to bar the public and media from attending the pre-trial hearings. A decision on a complete ban, however, will not made until Tuesday, CTV said.
Prosecutors are presenting evidence this week to demonstrate they have enough material to proceed to trial.
Magnotta, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in the death last May of Lin, a Chinese national who was studying engineering at Concordia University in Montreal. Lin's head, arms and legs were cut off and his torso was found in a suitcase beside a pile of trash on a sidewalk. Two Canadian political parties in Ottawa and two schools in Vancouver received parcels in the mail containing Lin's hands and feet. His head was later found in a Montreal park.
Magnotta, a native of Ontario, was arrested last year in Germany after an international manhunt.
