MONTREAL — The jury deciding Luka Magnotta’s fate wrapped up its first day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.
The eight women and four men sequestered late Monday afternoon were neither seen nor heard from Tuesday as the victim’s father, journalists and interested onlookers awaited any sign of a decision at the Montreal courthouse.
The jurors can send word through a courthouse official either to ask for legal advice and clarification on an issue or to tell the court they’ve reached a decision.
On Tuesday, Magnotta’s jury did neither, only alerting the court when they took three breaks and of their intention to return Wednesday.
READ MORE: What does the Luka Magnotta jury have to decide?
The defendant, 32, faces five charges including first-degree murder in connection with killing 33-year-old Jun Lin in May 2012. Magnotta admitted to the “physical acts” of his crimes but pleaded not guilty by way of mental disorder, seeking a verdict of not criminally responsible.
This means the jury has to reach a unanimous decision of whether Magnotta, in Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer’s words, was “more likely than not” suffering a mental disorder at the time, rendering him incapable of appreciating the severity of his actions and understanding they were wrong.
A finding of not criminally responsible would need to apply to all charges, Cournoyer said. The four other charges are: committing an indignity to a human body, publishing obscene material, criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament, and mailing obscene and indecent material.
READ MORE: Not criminally responsible myths, debunked
If the jurors do not believe Magnotta was in a state of psychosis they need to unanimously determine his guilt for each of the five charges.
For the murder charge, they have three options: first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter.
Take a look at some high-profile cases in which there was a finding of not criminally responsible or such a finding was sought:
With files from The Canadian Press
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