MONTREAL — The preliminary hearing for accused dismemberer Luka Rocco Magnotta got underway Tuesday after he lost a bid to bar the public and media from the courtroom.
Det.-Sgt. Michel Bourque from the Montreal police major crimes unit, testified under a publication ban. Bourque, the chief investigator on the Magnotta case, was questioned by defence lawyer Luc Leclair.
Earlier on Tuesday, Quebec court judge Lori-Renee Weitzman rejected Magnotta's claim that intense media coverage of the former small-time porn actor's arrest and incarceration jeopardizes his right to a fair trial.
She said her publication ban, issued on January 9, protects potential jurors from hearing incriminating information.
