Luka Magnotta felt voices controlling him, forcing him to kill: psychiatrist

More details have emerged about the night that Luka Magnotta killed Jun Lin, in a 127-page report submitted by a psychiatrist.

• Luka Magnotta in a psychotic state when he killed Jun Lin, doctor says
• Luka Magnotta case: The challenges of a 'not criminally responsible' defence
• Grisly video evidence could take a toll on jurors

Forensic psychiatrist Marie-Frédérique Allard ​was asked by the defence to meet with Magnotta and evaluate whether, under Section 16 of the Criminal Code, he was responsible for his actions.

Magnotta, on trial for the murder of Lin, has acknowledged in his defence that he committed the acts that killed the university student but says he is not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

In her report, Allard recounts how Magnotta said a "weird energy" came over him, forcing him to cut and stab Lin, who he was convinced was a spy sent from the government

The psychiatrist concludes Magnotta was in a psychotic state on May 25, 2012. She writes that he was aware of his actions, but could not determine they were wrong because he had lost contact with reality.

Magnotta related, over several sessions with the psychiatrist, that he had put an ad on Craigslist for a partner interested in bondage and Lin had answered.

They met at a nearby metro station and once inside the apartment, Magnotta said he began to feel anxious during intercourse and wanted to slow down.

He went to the window and noticed a black car, which he told the psychiatrist he took as a sign he was being spied on.

Lin drank some wine, and Magnotta said he shared a couple of his temazepam anti-anxiety pills, at Lin’s request.

Voices 'like a radio'

Magnotta reported something was controlling him, and said he heard voices in his head, "like a radio," all telling him to "do it, he's from the government".

After cutting the victim’s throat, the voices told him to "give it back," and Magnotta said he took that as a sign to send body parts to political parties.

In his sessions with Allard, Magnotta couldn’t explain why he chose to send packages to Vancouver schools, but he said he thinks it’s because he and Lin had talked about that city.

Magnotta reported he did not remember the specific names he chose or how he found the return addresses, but they simply "popped into his head."

The accused told Allard the sequence of events was scrambled in his head, and he felt confused and scared when he recalled the events of that night.

Accused said he felt like he was 'inside another person's body'

Posting the edited video showing parts of the crime online was done to scare the voices away, Magnotta said.

The accused also told the psychiatrist he didn’t sleep for more than 36 hours, as he threw things out, booked a flight to Paris and ordered a pizza.  

The days following the killing, as Magnotta moved from Montreal to Paris to Berlin, were dominated by anxiety and confusion, Allard reported he said.

When he saw his photo in a newspaper report at the internet cafe where he was later arrested, he reported feeling like he was blacking out.

"I felt I was inside another person’s body," Magnotta said to Allard.

The report concludes Magnotta was in a psychotic state when he committed the crime, and notes that at the time, he hadn’t been taking antipsychotic medication for almost two years.

Medical history

Allard explained in detail to the court the steps in Magnotta’s medical history, starting in 2001 when he was not yet 20 years old and still going by his birth name, Eric Newman.

He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and visited different hospitals complaining of symptoms associated with the illness, such as hearing voices and feeling people were watching him or stealing his thoughts, Allard said.

Magnotta saw the same Ontario psychiatrist for six years, who noted in 2003 Magnotta was "full of paranoid delusion" but was not violent and did not, to his knowledge, abuse alcohol or drugs.

That same year, Magnotta showed paranoid feelings toward his father, saying his dad was jealous because his son was "going to be a celebrity, a superstar."

Magnotta faces five charges, including first-degree murder and committing an indignity to a body. He has pleaded not guilty due to mental illness.

The Crown alleges the killing was premeditated.