MONTREAL - The jury in Luka Rocco Magnotta's first-degree murder trial took a closer look on Tuesday at photos of parcels that were mailed to political offices in Ottawa and schools in Vancouver.
Montreal crime-scene technician Caroline Simoneau testified about items they received from counterparts in Ottawa and Vancouver in June 2012.
The evidence gathered consisted of four Canada Post boxes and some of their contents.
The two parcels mailed to Ottawa were destined for political offices: one was addressed to the Conservative Party of Canada and the other to Liberal party headquarters in Ottawa. The others were sent to St. George's School and False Creek Elementary School, both in Vancouver.
Simoneau was required to photograph the contents of the packages and all four had different return addresses.
One of the boxes had a heart drawn in black marker at the bottom while another contained dark stains.
Among the items recovered from the boxes were pink tissue paper, gift bags and handwritten notes, including at least one bearing the name of "Lauren Teskey." While the name is misspelled, it refers to Laureen Harper, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's wife, whose maiden name is Teskey.
Two of the five charges Magnotta is facing are criminally harassing Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material. Those are in addition to first-degree murder; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene material.
The jury of eight women and six men will hear evidence over several weeks in connection with the slaying and dismemberment of Jun Lin in Montreal in May 2012.
The trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks and feature some 60 witnesses.
On Monday, Magnotta pleaded not guilty to the five charges. He has admitted to committing the crimes, but his lawyer has indicated they will mount a mental disorder defence.
Magnotta's lawyer, Luc Leclair, told the court his client has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder shortly before the slaying and that he suffered from schizophrenia.
The jurors also heard from Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier, who told them he will show evidence that Magnotta had been planning a murder for six months.
