Did Accused Canadian Cannibal Strike in Hollywood?
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Montreal Police(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles police are in contact with Canadian authorities to determine if Luka Magnotta, suspected in the murder and cannibalism of his gay lover, was also involved in a gruesome decapitation in Hollywood earlier this year.
“We are in touch with the Montreal police,” an LAPD spokesman told ABC News. “We’ll see if there’s any connection.”
Magnotta, 29, is currently in a German jail awaiting extradition to Canada, where police say he allegedly murdered Chinese student Jun Lin around May 24. Magnotta is accused of killing Lin with an ice pick and dismembering his corpse, some pieces of which he had sex with and others he ate. Magnotta is also accused of sending Lin’s severed limbs in the mail to schools and government offices.
Los Angeles police are investigating if Magnotta may also be connected to the murder and dismemberment of Hervey Medellin, 66, whose decapitated body was discovered under the iconic Hollywood sign in January.
Magnotta and Lin were gay lovers, according to Montreal police. Los Angeles police confirmed Medellin, a former Mexican Airlines employee, was openly gay.
Medellin’s head was discovered in Bronson Canyon Park on Jan. 17 when a dog discovered a plastic bag that contained a head. The accompanying dog walker called the police, who discovered severed hands and feet during the course of a two-day search.
Citing privacy concerns, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency would not confirm if Magnotta, a gay porn actor, was in the United States at the time.
However, posts on one of several Facebook accounts attributed to Magnotta, and which bears his name, date from February and suggest he was in Los Angeles at the time. In those bulletins, first discovered by the New York Observer, the poster appears to be arranging appointments to offer massages and includes a phone number with an L.A. area code.
“Raymond and I are doing massages at his place on La Bra, pick me up at his place after we’re done and we’ll go out. I NEED A JOINT,” reads one post, dated Feb. 19.
In addition to the sexuality of both victims, the crimes appear to bear some resemblance. In each case the head, hands and feet were severed.
The killers in each case also appear to be seeking some publicity. Medellin’s killer placed his head near the Hollywood sign, guaranteeing discovery. Montreal police confirm that Magnotta is the man seen killing, dismembering and eating his victim in a video posted online.
On May 29, a human foot was found by a receptionist who received a blood-soaked package at the Ottawa headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada. A second package containing a hand was seized at a post office in Ottawa later in the day. The parts were later confirmed to belong to Lin.
On Tuesday, packages containing another foot and hand, also believed to belong to Lin, were received by two Vancouver elementary schools.
Lin’s head is still missing.
Magnotta is expected to be extradited back to Canada before the end of June.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio