'Conspiracy Theories' abound, but there is no denying the cold, hard facts!

When I first started looking into this case and researching the vast web footprint left by Luka Magnotta, I was under no illusions from the outset that the balance of probabilities clearly indicated Luka's involvement in this crime.

Nonetheless, I approached the known facts about this case and web content allegedly created by Luka Magnotta, with a degree of objective scepticism to consider if there was any credibility to alternative explanations of the facts and Luka's culpability for the crime.

I have now come to the conclusion that there just simply is no evidence of a 'smoking gun' conspiracy theory in this case, indeed the evidence against Luka Magnotta appears to be overwhelming - although much of the forensic evidence, video surveillance footage and particulars of the crime will not become known until the Trial commences because of due process - but quite properly it is for a Jury to consider and weigh up all the evidence and testimony before making a judgement on Luka's involvement in this heinous crime.

I think in many ways I have gone as far as I can in understanding  the criminology and psychology of Luka Magnotta.

A clear picture has emerged of a highly disturbed young man who has undoubtedly struggled for most of his life with serious mental health and personality issues - most probably stemming from a highly dysfunctional family unit and trauma experienced during childhood - that stifled much of his potential from a young age and defined many of his lifestyle choices, with a tendency towards grandiose fantasising to compensate. 

The ultimate dichotomy of Luka Magnotta is that here we have a young man who projects an image of himself that is self-assured and apparently highly narcissistic, but yet, I feel, that is not the true measure of Luka Magnotta and if you scratch beneath the surface a picture emerges of a person consumed by an identity crisis and struggling with issues of self-loathing and low self-worth; which has been compounded by years of exploitation and abuse because of his physical attributes and the lifestyle he has led.

In his heart I do not believe that Luka Magnotta is an evil person, it is his mind that has become corrupted and twisted; nor am I personally convinced that he is a deranged sociopath or psychopath motivated by killing, he just convinced himself that he is after developing a pathological association with serial killers and acted in accordance with this delusional state of thinking to achieve his ultimate goal of recognition and notoriety. I fear the murder of Jun Lin is almost incidental to obtaining this goal.

There are many tragic elements to this case, but I think one that stands out most for me is that this crime need never have happened, if only people had taken seriously the many warning signs that ultimately culminated in the murder of Jun Lin!

Disturbing Parallels

R.I.P. Hua Guang Liu

Hua Guang Liu, a 41-year-old single mother of Chinese descent, owner of Forget-Me-Not Spa in Scarborough, Toronto - which offered a range of beauty treatments and massage services to a male and female clientèle - was named today by Toronto Police as the victim of the latest dismemberment murder case to hit Canada.

Hua Guang Liu was last seen alive on 10th August 2012 leaving the Spa on Eglinton Avenue, Scarborough, and the first of her body parts was washed up on the Credit River on 15th August 2012.

Early on in the investigation Toronto Police were swift to rule out any connection with the murder of Jun Lin, for the obvious reason that the prime suspect for Jun's murder Luka Magnotta was safely incarcerated in Riviere des Prairies when the murder of Hua Guang Liu occurred.

This type of brutal killing is thankfully still a rarity in most Western societies, although increasingly commonplace in some Central and South American countries in relation to drug cartel killings.

If one takes the textbook view of serial killings it is highly improbable that these two murders could have been perpetrated by a single individual because of the gender and age profiles of the victims, so on that basis it is more likely the two crimes are completely unrelated and in the worse case scenario the latter could be regarded as a copycat killing.  

I just hope whoever did this is caught and caught soon! 

27th August 2012 - Peel Regional Police charge a former boyfriend, Chun Qi Jiang, 40, with the second-degree murder of Hua Guang Liu.  Story on CBC

If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!

A parody on a quote from Sherlock Holmes, but I prefer the 'Spock' version that I have quoted from Star Trek: Undiscovered Country!

My logic in entitling this blog entry with such a great literary axiom relates to a realisation about the way in which I have been approaching this case thus far.  It occurred to me yesterday that I have been placing a greater emphasis on trying to gain an understanding of the psychology of the alleged perpetrator in this crime, but not necessarily giving due consideration to some of the more obvious aspects of the criminology.

In the grand scheme of things this only really matters to myself and it has certainly never been my intention to claim to be able to resolve the murder of Jun Lin.  The simple reality is that I do not have all the facts at my disposal to reach such conclusions - indeed, none of us 'commentators' on this case have access to such information despite some elaborate claims to the contrary elsewhere on the internet - and responsibility for establishing burden of proof remains solely within the purview of the police investigation and criminal prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt!

However, whilst I was compiling a couple of updates to the Timeline relating to the disposal of the body parts it struck me that, not unlike a great Conan Doyle mystery, once you put aside the obvious assumptions about the crime - based predominately on an internet legend created around the prime suspect - what remains is largely circumstantial with several key elements of the criminology seemingly deficient in explanation at the present time.

Until such matters are resolved, even the improbable must remain possible in this case!