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Cops Eye Magnotta in Hollywood Decapitation

He may have been in California when victim was dismembered

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 7, 2012 11:36 PM CDT | Updated Jun 8, 2012 12:27 AM CDT

(Newser) – Was Luka Magnotta a serial killer who only filmed his latest murder? Police are probing a possible link between the Canadian murder suspect to an unsolved slaying in his hometown of Montreal—and further afield, including in Hollywood, where a headless body was found near the famous sign earlier this year. Magnotta is known to have spent time on the West Coast, and police are trying to determine whether he was in California during the murder of the Hollywood victim, 66-year-old former flight attendant Hervey Medellin, reports the Toronto Star.

The man Magnotta is currently accused of murdering, dismembering, and mailing to assorted locations in Canada has been identified as his lover—and the LAPD has confirmed that Medellin was gay, notes the Los Angeles Times. Police discovered Medellin's body after his head and severed hands and feet were found in LA's Griffith Park. Facebook posts suggest Magnotta may have been in the area at the time. "It's an open investigation. Our detectives are trying to see if there is a connection," said an LAPD spokesman. Magnotta is currently in Germany, awaiting extradition to Canada.

A plastic bag containing a human head was discovered on a hiking trail near the Hollywood sign earlier this year.
A plastic bag containing a human head was discovered on a hiking trail near the Hollywood sign earlier this year.   (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)
Luka Rocca Magnotta is facing charges he killed and dismembered his lover.
Luka Rocca Magnotta is facing charges he killed and dismembered his lover.   (AP Photo/Montreal Police Service via The Canadian Press)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
prf_isleR
Jun 8, 2012 8:31 PM CDT
I wouldn't be surprised if they tie him to other bodies.  This murder (in Canada) is pretty sophisticated to be a "first".  Even worse, Canada not only doesn't have the death penalty, they don't even have 'life w/o'.  In Canada, when someone is sentenced to life they automatically come up for parole after 25 years (not that they'll get it, but Canada is known to be lenient).  It is also very difficult to extradite to a death penalty state/country from Canada without a guarantee that the death penalty won't be imposed.  So even if they tie him to the California murder, he may not get more than life w/o there. (If anyone recalls the Leonard Lake/Charles Ng murders, it took over 12 years to extradite and try Charles Ng after he fled from California to Canada.  Fortunately he eventually got the death penalty after being found guilty of 11 murders.) 
XYandZ
Jun 8, 2012 10:41 AM CDT
Real crime is he won't be executed since he's from that wimp country called Canada.
Muffin
Jun 8, 2012 8:42 AM CDT
THey "eye" Magnotta. I get it. Ha...ha
 

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