A year ago virtually no one knew anything about a young man named Luka Magnotta. Then came the horrifying discovery of the body of Jun Lin in Montreal, followed by a feverish international manhunt and the arrest in Berlin. Luka Magnotta now stands charged with the murder of the young student from China.
But if Magnotta was unknown to the wider public, for 18 months before his arrest, a small group of internet sleuths had been tracking him—growing increasingly alarmed over postings they believed he had authored, which depicted the killing of kittens and apparent threats to do worse. Exclusive to the fifth estate, this group tells Mark Kelley about their fears and frustrations in Hunting Magnotta.
Hunting Magnotta airs on CBC News’ the fifth estate, Friday, Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV.
Luka Magnotta reveals much about his life growing up as Eric Newman in his online postings. But he would reveal much more to people who knew him personally, two of whom share their stories exclusively with the fifth estate. What was apparent to all is that Magnotta appeared to have an obsessive need to be noticed, and exhibited increasingly erratic, possibly threatening behaviour online, causing alarm bells to those who knew him in person or on the internet. On the fifth estate, we meet the online group that tried to stop him, and paint a psychological portrait of a disturbed young man who shocked the world to its core.
In advance of the broadcast, watch Hunting Magnotta online, for review purposes only, by contacting Corey Black (corey.black@cbc.ca) for the link and password. CBC News Network rebroadcasts the fifth estate on Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET and Sundays at 7 p.m. ET. For more information on the fifth estate, visit our website at www.cbc.ca/fifth, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Executive producer of the fifth estate is Jim Williamson.
To view past episodes of the fifth estate, and other CBC programming, visit CBC Player, download the CBC App for your mobile devices, and download CBC podcasts.
For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the new CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre.
About CBC News
For more than 75 years, CBC has been the source Canadians turn to, to keep them informed about their communities, their country and their world. Through regional and national programming on multiple platforms, including CBC Television, CBC News Network, CBC Radio, CBCNews.ca, mobile and on-demand, CBC News and its internationally recognized team of award-winning journalists deliver the breaking stories, the issues, the analyses and the personalities that matter to Canadians.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages, plus five languages for international audiences. In 2011, CBC/Radio-Canada celebrated 75 years of serving Canadians and being at the centre of the democratic, social and cultural life of Canada.
For further information, or to request interviews, contact:
Corey Black, News and Current Affairs Publicist, CBC
o) 416-205-8710
c) 647-221-4133
