TORONTO (AP) — Police found what appears to be a human head in a park in Montreal and are investigating whether it is the missing head of a Chinese student who they say was dismembered by a Canadian porn actor, an official said Sunday.
A police official said it appears to be a human head. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the details.
Luka Magnotta is accused of dismembering his lover Jun Lin and mailing the body parts to political parties and schools. He pleaded not guilty last month. Lin's head is the only remaining body part unaccounted for.
Montreal police spokesperson Anie Lemieux said investigators made their way to Park Angrignon on Sunday afternoon after the major crimes unit received a tip. The park is located a few miles (kilometers) south of Magnotta's apartment.
Lemieux said they must wait for tests results over the next few days to confirm if there is any link and whether it is in fact a body part.
Police have been questioning Magnotta with the hope that they would find out the location of the head. The family of Lin has been seeking closure.
Investigators say Magnotta, 29, posted a video online showing him having sex with the dismembered corpse. A second, unedited version of the video seen by police shows him eating parts of the body. Police say Magnotta and Lin were in a relationship.
The case became known when a package containing a severed foot was found at Canada's ruling Conservative Party headquarters on May 29. That same day, a hand was discovered at a postal facility, addressed to the Liberal Party of Canada.
Lin's torso was found in a suitcase at a garbage dump in Montreal outside Magnotta's apartment building.
About a week later, a missing foot and hand were found mailed to two schools in Vancouver. Police said notes were included in most of the packages but declined to say what they said.
Magnotta, who fled to Europe before the body was discovered, spent a few days partying in Paris before moving on to Berlin, where he was caught last month as he read stories about himself at an Internet cafe. He did not contest his extradition from Germany and arrived in Montreal last month on a Canadian military plane.
Lin's family arrived in Montreal last month and attended a memorial service last week. Lin, 33, studied computer science student at Montreal's Concordia University.
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Associated Press Writer Phil Couvrette in Ottawa, Ontario contributed to this report.
