By Ian Johnston, msnbc.com
Police in Canada investigating the horrific murder and dismemberment of a student have been contacted by Los Angeles police officers about the slaying of a 66-year-old man, whose body was found under the famous Hollywood sign, according to reports.
The Toronto Star reported that the suspect in the killing of Chinese student Jun Lin – 29-year-old porn film actor Luka Rocco Magnotta – may have lived in Los Angeles at one time. Montreal police told the paper that he had lived somewhere on the U.S. West Coast.
Lin, 33, who was studying computer science at Concordia University, was killed and his body was cut up. His hands and feet were sent in the mail to schools in Vancouver and political offices in Ottawa, while his torso was found in a suitcase in Montreal. His head has not been found.
Canada police: Notes mailed with body parts
Investigators say Magnotta, who was Lin's lover, videotaped the killing and dismemberment in his apartment and posted it online. The video also shows the suspect eating parts of the body, police said.
After two Vancouver schools received packages in the mail containing body parts, authorities are investigating whether there is a connection with Luka Magnotta, the Canadian porn star arrested in Berlin for allegedly murdering and dismembering an acquaintance. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
Magnotta was arrested in Berlin, Germany, on Monday in connection with Lin's murder and is expected to be extradited to Canada.
Canadian police: Body parts delivered to Vancouver schools
The body of Hervey Medellin, a retired airline worker, was found by dog walkers near the Hollywood sign in January after one of the dogs found a plastic bag containing his severed head.
Dep. Chief Warren Lemcke provides details on the police investigation of human remains that were sent to two Vancouver, British Columbia schools.
"The body parts are the common denominator here," Los Angeles police spokesman Officer Lyle Knight said, according to the Star. "That's why our investigators want to talk to the Canadians. We want to know if his whereabouts included Hollywood because we understand he was in the acting field and Hollywood being the acting and movie mecca, we want to know."
Victim identified in Hollywood severed head case
Los Angeles police told ABC News that Medellin was openly gay, and noted that Medellin's hands and feet had also been cut off.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- China summit seen as counterpunch to US moves
- UN: Monitors shot at trying to reach Syria 'massacre' village
- Tiananmen activist found dead under suspicious circumstances
- London's hipsters embrace the original creative, Shakespeare, after rare theater find
- Elderly Italian arrested over deadly school bomb
- Manhunt for Greek lawmaker who hit female rival on live television
- Report: Egypt's Mubarak in declining health
- Mexican presidential candidate becomes poster boy for infidelity
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
