Five years ago, Luka Magnotta conducted one of the most infamous murders in the internet age.
In May of 2012, Magnotta killed and dismembered an international student named Lin Jun in Montreal. The murder itself was brutal, but what pushed Magnotta’s crime to the point of international spectacle was a video clip of the act and its aftermath—which contained elements of cannibalism, dismemberment, and necrophilia—which was posted online under the name ‘1 Lunatic 1 Ice Pick.’
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After dismembering Jun, Magnotta sent body parts to several political headquarters across the country, including that of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and fled the country, setting off an international manhunt. The then 29-year-old got as far as Germany where he was apprehended by Berlin police while reading news about himself at an internet cafe. After a trial that was covered extensively by media, Magnotta was found guilty of murdering Jun and various other crimes—including committing an indignity to a dead body—and was sentenced to life in prison and is serving his time at the Port-Cartier institution in Quebec.
Now, several years later, Magnotta is getting married.
Earlier this week, it was reported by TVA Nouvelles that the 34-year-old Magnotta is engaged to 26-year-old Anthony Jolin, who himself is also an inmate at Port-Cartier prison—and their wedding is to take place on June 26.This wedding is going to be, obviously unique. In general, prison weddings aren’t that weird, but two inmates getting married is a little out of the ordinary and it raises some questions on how the situation of inmates marrying each other would and will work—like will they be allowed to consummate the marriage?
Well, the short answer to that line of questioning is simple: no.
“CSC does not facilitate in any way marriages being consummated or accommodate any requests to cohabitate,” a spokesperson with the CSC told VICE in a statement. “Sexual activity between offenders is not permitted in federal correctional facilities. Correctional Officers observing this type of activity are instructed to separate and isolate the inmates.”
There is, however, a process that allows the couple to get married. The two either have or will have to go through their parole officers on their case management team with a request to marry. Once the request is made, the management at the institution will assess it to “make sure it does not pose a risk to the public, staff or institution.” If the assessment works in the favour of the inmates, well, they got themselves a wedding to plan—although, it may be sparsely attended.
“Inmates can marry while in custody so long as a ceremony poses no risks to the safety of the persons concerned and the security of the institution,” reads the statement provided to VICE. “Other inmates and staff members are not eligible to participate in visits with inmates.”
The statement went on to say that the possibility of co-habitation between the couple is technically possible, but highly unlikely. In the statement, CSC said that the typical practice at maximum security is single occupancy cells but, in some situations, “there may be two inmates assigned to a cell when required, as a temporary measure.”
This isn’t the first time that Magnotta has been in the news post-murder for romantic reasons. In 2015, it was found that the man had an ad on a prisoner dating website stating he wanted to find his “Prince Charming.” Shortly after being found the ad was taken down, because the creator said Magnotta “found what he was looking for.”
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