MONTREAL – A Crown witness says evidence presented at Luka Rocco Magnotta’s murder trial suggests his actions after Jun Lin’s slaying in May 2012 were highly organized.
Dr. Gilles Chamberland said Thursday that way of functioning is highly inconsistent for someone suffering from schizophrenia.
He testified that Magnotta, over a 48-hour span, dismembered and disposed of Lin’s body, emptied his apartment and prepared for a trip to Europe.
The psychiatrist said schizophrenics are typically very disorganized, while he described the accused as “ultra-organized.” Chamberland noted that Magnotta even found time to set up an online escorting profile and meet a client while in Paris.
“That’s a lot in 48 hours and to do all that, you’ve got to be very organized,” he said. “The gentleman appeared able to do all of it.”
Magnotta, 32, is charged with first-degree murder in Lin’s slaying. The native of Scarborough, Ont., has pleaded not guilty by way of mental disorder.
Defence psychiatrists have testified they believe Magnotta was psychotic, had been untreated for schizophrenia for at least two years and was unable to tell right from wrong the night Lin was killed.
Chamberland, a Crown rebuttal witness, says he believes Magnotta was aware of what he was doing and that a likelier scenario is that he suffers from a personality disorder.
He suggested Magnotta’s schizophrenia diagnosis appeared quickly in his medical file in 2001 and that to remove such a diagnosis requires a lot of observation.
Chamberland noted that a German prison psychiatrist who diagnosed Magnotta in June 2012 as being psychotic was given information by the accused to ensure such a diagnosis.
Magnotta also downplayed drug and alcohol consumption in his interview with Dr. Thomas Barth.
Chamberland says given the information Magnotta offered in Germany, it would be difficult to come up with a diagnosis other than schizophrenia.
“Depending on who Magnotta’s speaking to, we get different opinions,” he said. “What’s certain, by minimizing substance abuse (to Barth), you have no choice but to confirm a schizophrenia diagnosis.”
Magnotta faces four other charges: criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.
Justice Guy Cournoyer said evidence is expected to wrap up early next week and he told jurors they wouldn’t be deliberating until the end of the week beginning Dec. 8.
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