Luka Magnotta trial: Jun Lin's friend details frantic search

The jury in the Luka Magnotta murder trial is hearing about the search efforts made by a friend of Jun Lin after the 33-year-old Concordia student disappeared in late May 2012.

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Dong Dong Xu, a close friend of the victim, described Lin as timid and reserved, and often in the company of his boyfriend Lin Feng, who testified before the court last week.

Lin Feng told the court the two had broken up in the weeks before Lin's death, but remained friends. 

Xu told the court he received a call from Lin Feng, who was vacationing in China, on May 27, 2012, asking him to investigate because Jun Lin had been out of contact for "more than 60 hours."

Xu, 31, testified he went to Lin's apartment, where he found a lone hungry cat and an oily frying pan with eggs on the counter.

After not finding his friend at the home, Xu tried Lin's workplace, a convenience store in Montreal's Verdun neighbourhood. He told the court he discovered that Lin had not shown up for work for two days.

Xu testified he was afraid "something unpleasant had happened" and went immediately to inform police, who asked him to inquire with the university.

The witness told the court he returned numerous times to his friend's apartment to search for clues, and found his schoolbag and personal identification documents left behind.

On the evening of May 29, 2012, Xu said, he searched online after hearing rumours about a video posted called "1 Lunatic,1 Ice Pick."

Xu testified he "glanced through" the images and recognized his friend in the second half of the video, but he could not identify the man seen at the beginning.

Xu told the court the unidentified man is seen alive, but blindfolded and bound to the bed.

New witness used Magnotta as escort 

After a testy cross-examination by Magnotta's lawyer, Xu was dismissed and the Crown called its next witness, Thomas Murphy.

Murphy was asked if he knew the accused. He said he did, but did not recognize him in court, a reference to Magnotta's significant weight gain.

The witness told the court he met the accused several times through a website advertising escorts. He called Magnotta a "plain, simple young kid" who didn't do drugs and seemed friendly. He told the court he was "scared out of his wits" once he realized Magnotta had been arrested.

Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to five charges, including first-degree murder. However, he has agreed to the facts of the case, including that he killed Lin.

His lawyer told the court in his opening statement that he intends to prove that his client was not criminally responsible for his actions because of mental illness. He told the court Magnotta suffers from schizophrenia.

The Crown prosecutor in the case told the court he will present evidence that shows Magnotta had documented a plan to kill someone six months before Lin's death.