MONTREAL -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's deputy chief of staff has testified at Luka Rocco Magnotta's first-degree murder trial about opening a parcel and being overwhelmed by a foul odour.

Jenni Byrne was the Conservatives' director of political operations when a partially opened package arrived at party headquarters in Ottawa on May 29, 2012.

Byrne testified today she proceeded to open the package completely and then instructed her assistant to call 911 after being overcome by a rotting smell.

The box contained a foot belonging to Jun Lin, the Chinese engineering student Magnotta has admitted to killing.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder in Lin's slaying and dismemberment.

He has admitted the physical acts he's accused of but has pleaded not guilty by way of mental disorder.

He faces four other charges: criminally harassing Harper and other members of Parliament; mailing obscene and indecent material; committing an indignity to a body; and publishing obscene materials.

Harper was notified of the situation, Byrne said.

She eventually spoke to his chief of staff at the time, Nigel Wright, once she was permitted to leave quarantine.

Byrne said Harper was in Ottawa on the day the package was delivered, but she was unsure where his wife, Laureen, was.

Late this afternoon, Sgt Detective Panagiotis Sarganis, from the technological crime division took the stand to reveal the content of a memory card found on a camera discarded among the garbage outside Magnotta`s apartment. The camera, he explained, was no longer functioning because it was wet and humid, but Sarganis was able to retrieve the data from the card, including many deleted files.

Sarganis says he was able to identify 505 pictures, and 15 video files.  He said at least 20 photos showed the crime scene, while 20 more considered “of interest.”

One video file showed a person on a bed, who was then dismembered.  The expert dated it May 25, 2012. 

Three of the 15 videos were filmed a week earlier on May 19. The same day surveillance cameras outside the apartment building caught Luka Magnotta entering the building with a man who has yet to be identified.

As the day wrapped up, the jury was told by justice Guy Cournoyer that Tuesday's first witness would testify “from a different time zone” without giving more details.

With a report from CTV Montreal's Stephane Giroux.