A year ago virtually no one knew anything about a young man named Luka Magnotta. Then came the horrifying discovery of the body of Jun Lin in Montreal, followed by a feverish international manhunt and the arrest in Berlin. Luka Magnotta now stands charged with the murder of the young student from China.
But if Magnotta was unknown to the wider public, for 18 months before his arrest, a small group of internet sleuths had been tracking him—growing increasingly alarmed over postings they believed he had authored, which depicted the killing of kittens and apparent threats to do worse. Exclusive to the fifth estate, this group tells Mark Kelley about their fears and frustrations in Hunting Magnotta.
Hunting Magnotta airs on CBC News’ the fifth estate, Friday, Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV.
Luka Magnotta reveals much about his life growing up as Eric Newman in his online postings. But he would reveal much more to people who knew him personally, two of whom share their stories exclusively with the fifth estate. What was apparent to all is that Magnotta appeared to have an obsessive need to be noticed, and exhibited increasingly erratic, possibly threatening behaviour online, causing alarm bells to those who knew him in person or on the internet. On the fifth estate, we meet the online group that tried to stop him, and paint a psychological portrait of a disturbed young man who shocked the world to its core.
In advance of the broadcast, watch Hunting Magnotta online, for review purposes only, by contacting Corey Black ([email protected]) for the link and password. CBC News Network rebroadcasts the fifth estate on Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET and Sundays at 7 p.m. ET. For more information on the fifth estate, visit our website at www.cbc.ca/fifth, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Executive producer of the fifth estate is Jim Williamson.
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