Dong Dong Xu, a friend of victim Jun Lin, arrives to testify at the murder trial for Luka Rocco Magnotta Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014 in Montreal.

Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

MONTREAL - CAUTION: GRAPHIC CONTENT MAY DISTURB SOME READERS

A friend of Jun Lin's searched online for "One Lunatic, One Ice Pick" after hearing about a so-called murder video days after his disappearance, Luka Rocco Magnotta's murder trial heard Tuesday.

Dong Dong Xu said Lin had been missing for several days at that point in late May 2012 and his searches had been fruitless. He then looked for the video after hearing of its existence.

The first online image that surfaced was a still photo of a severed head.

"I identified him instantly," Xu told the jury as he detailed his frantic search for the missing Chinese engineering student.

He described Lin as shy and quiet when he first met him in September 2011 and said he was well-liked by everyone.

Xu testified he was pressed into action on May 27, 2012, after a call from Lin's ex-lover, Feng Lin, who hadn't heard from the victim in nearly 60 hours.

Xu said he first went to Jun Lin's apartment in Montreal and then a convenience store where he worked part-time. He immediately called police after the store owner told him Lin hadn't turned up for two shifts.

"I was afraid something unpleasant happened, so I called the police," said Xu, who knew Lin as Justin.

Xu continued his search at Concordia University, where the 33-year-old victim was enrolled as a student. He also called the Chinese consulate in Montreal to report a missing person.

At Feng Lin's behest, he went looking through Jun Lin's computer for clues. Lin's school bag was in the corner of his living room and his cash and personal identification were at home.

It was on May 29 that Xu heard people chatting online about a video depicting what he called the "murdering process" and with the title "One Lunatic, One Ice Pick."

"I saw a severed head on the Internet but I didn't look at the video at first," he said.

It was only later that day that he glanced at the video, which he described briefly for the jury.

"At the very beginning, a living person bound to the bed, a male, blindfolded, struggling," Xu said, adding the person was not Lin.

In later scenes, a body was severed and there were images of someone with a knife trying to cut pieces off. There were also images of a dog licking severed body parts.

Xu said one Montreal police officer told him he'd never seen a video of a crime scene like that in his career.

"I didn't watch the video again after that," Xu said.

Lin was last seen alive walking into Magnotta's apartment building on the night of May 24, 2012. His torso was discovered in trash behind the building on May 29.

Magnotta, 32, has pleaded not guilty to five charges. He has admitted to the acts he's accused of in Lin's death, but is arguing he is not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.

The Crown contends the slaying was planned and deliberate and that evidence suggests it was planned up to six months in advance.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Montreal police homicide detective wrapped up her testimony.

Defence attorney Luc Leclair questioned Claudette Hamlin about surveillance videos of Magnotta seized by authorities at a Paris bus station and an Internet cafe in Berlin where the accused was arrested on June 4, 2012.

The jury watched Magnotta walking into the cafe. About 90 minutes later, an employee is seen motioning to Berlin police on the street. They enter, arrest Magnotta and leave with him in tow.

The charges against Magnotta are first-degree murder; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

JURY WATCHES MORE EUROPEAN VIDEO ON DAY 6 OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER TRIAL

MONTREAL - The jury in Luka Rocco Magnotta's first-degree murder trial is continuing to hear from a Montreal police homicide detective on Day 6 of evidence being presented.

Defence attorney Luc Leclair is questioning Claudette Hamlin about videos of Magnotta seized by authorities at a Paris bus station and an Internet cafe in Berlin where the accused was arrested in June 2012.

At Leclair's insistence, the jury has been watching lengthy segments of video even though Magnotta appears only in snippets.

The 32-year-old Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to five charges. He has admitted to the acts he's accused of in Jun Lin's death, but is arguing he is not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.

The Crown contends the killing was planned and deliberate and says it will prove that.

The charges against Magnotta are first-degree murder; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2014