Canadian police have disclosed they are hunting a former porn actor in connection with the suspected murder of an acquaintance whose body parts were mailed to the offices of political parties.
Police said they believe the suspect, Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, recorded the killing and dismemberment.
"[Magnotta] is our No 1 suspect," commander Ian Lafrenière of the Montreal police said in a news briefing. Lafrenière said the suspect and victim "knew one another".
The crime was committed in Montreal, where the torso of the victim was discovered in a suitcase. At least two other body parts were mailed to Ottawa. Police said they believe all the body parts are from one victim, a white male.
An emergency call brought police on Tuesday to the Ottawa offices of the Conservative party, where they retrieved a package containing a left foot. A hand was recovered at a Canada Post outlet in a package apparently addressed to the Liberal party.
"Conservative party staff are very upset and disturbed by what happened yesterday. It was such a horrible odor I'm sure many of us will never forget it," Fred DeLorey, director of communications for the party, told the CBC.
A building maintenance worker discovered the torso in the suitcase on Tuesday.
"I'd seen the suitcase in the alley since at least Friday, with the trash," the worker, Michael Nadeau, told Montreal's La Presse. "This morning, I noticed that the smell was very strong. A neighbour and I decided to open it. There was a torso, but no arms, head or legs."
Magnotta, who legally changed his name from Eric Clinton Newman, is the subject of a lurid internet trail. He is reported to have uploaded videos to YouTube that showed him torturing kittens.
Police have said there could be more body parts in the mail.
