EDMONTON – The Edmonton Police Service confirms Mark Marek, the owner of a gore website which allegedly posted a horrific video connected to the murder of Montreal student Lin Jun, was arrested Friday near Leduc.
Police say homicide investigators received a tip from a member of the public on Thursday. That person recognized Marek’s photo after watching a newscast.
Officers converged on a Leduc storage facility. When Marek returned, police followed him to a nearby gas station and arrested him Friday afternoon.
The 38-year-old is scheduled to appear before a Justice of the Peace later Friday to address bail.
The EPS issued a warrant for Marek’s arrest on Thursday and was asking for the public’s help in locating him.
Police said Marek had breached a condition of his release.
He is Caucasian, 6 feet tall, weighs 230 lbs., originally has light brown hair, blue eyes, an earring in his left ear and speaks with a Slavic accent.
Edmonton police charged 38-year-old Marek with Corrupting Morals on July 16th.
The judge decided to release Marek on $7,500 bail on July 18th.
The Crown had opposed Marek’s release, saying he poses a flight risk, because when the bestgore.com owner was arrested, he was carrying a passport and $18,000 in cash. According to the Crown, he also stated to police that he did not have a fixed address and intended on returning to his native country of Slovakia.
Police had already seized his passport, and his release had a number of conditions – including not accessing the Internet.
The investigation, which began in June 2012, determined Marek was the owner and operator of bestgore.com, operated out of Edmonton.
“We started an investigation where I assigned two detectives… of the Homicide Section to investigate this website and try and track down the owner/operator of this website and determine if any criminal charges were warranted.”
The Homicide Section investigated the website and the video, which were linked to the homicide investigation into the death of Montreal student Lin Jun.
Magnotta was charged with first-degree murder in the brutal slaying. His trial is scheduled to begin in Montreal in September 2014.
“It is alleged that Marek posted the video online in Edmonton, knowing the video that was sent to him by Luka Magnotta was depicting a real murder,” said Clark.
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