MONTREAL — Nearly a week after Luka Magnotta was convicted of murdering his son, the father of Jun Lin held an emotional press conference Monday morning.
Speaking via a translator, Diran Lin described how he felt during the trial and shared how he felt about the loss of his son.
READ MORE: Luka Magnotta guilty of first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison
He said he was satisfied with the verdict, although he mentioned he didn’t understand why Magnotta did not speak at all during the trial.
WATCH: Diran Lin, Jun Lin’s father, says he was satisfied with the verdict and considers Canada’s justice system fair.
He also acknowledged the toll the murder of his son had on his family and their lives, saying he had to quit his job in order to come to Canada and follow the trial in person.
“Losing my son meant losing everything to me,” he said.
READ MORE: Jun Lin’s father describes devastating loss, seeing no remorse from Luka Magnotta
He said that his primary concern for his son when he came to Canada had been his safety.
He said that he didn’t know anything about Montreal before his son moved there to study at Concordia University, he had only heard of Toronto and Vancouver.
“For me, most of Canada is good,” he said. “I told my son many times to be careful. Any society will have evil people.”
READ MORE: Timeline of the Luka Magnotta case
He also talked about the challenges he faced, living in the city during the trial, as he doesn’t speak French or English. He described how people would recognize him and come up and embrace him.
“So we communicated by heart,” he said.
When asked if he could forgive Magnotta for the murder of his son, Lin said that for now that was not possible.
“But it may be better after time passes.”
A fund has been started by the law firm representing the Lin family members so that people can make a donation and share their support for the family.
“As friends of the family, we have created a secure website that allows you to make a donation and demonstrate your empathy and support to the family of Lin Jun. Your donations will help ease the harm that was caused to them.”
Daniel Urbas, a lawyer helping Lin navigate Canada’s legal system, said on Monday he has so far collected $15,000 in donations.
Tuesday would have been Jun Lin’s 36th birthday. If there’s no snow, Diran Lin said he would like to visit his grave.
Lin expects to return home to China next week.
— With a file from The Canadian Press
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