Killer Luka Magnotta transferred from maximum-security prison

Luka Rocco Magnotta is pictured in Berlin in a court photo. (Supplied Photo / The Canadian Press)

Convicted killer Luka Magnotta has been transferred from a maximum-security prison to another institution, CTV News has confirmed.

Magnotta, 41, is currently serving a life sentence for the brutal killing and dismemberment of Chinese student Jun Lin in Montreal in 2012.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) did not say where Magnotta was transferred to when contacted by CTV News on Monday. The CSC would only say that Magnotta met the criteria for a transfer to a medium-security facility in 2022, "which has a well-defined perimeter with high-fences, is strictly guarded 24/7 and is patrolled by armed officers."

Spokesperson Kevin Antonucci said "there are no recent changes pertaining to this offender’s situation."

The CSC would not confirm a media report that stated Magnotta was transferred to La Macaza, a medium-security institution. 

Since his conviction, Magnotta had been held at the maximum-security Port-Cartier Institution, on Quebec's north shore. In documents filed in Federal Court in January 2022, Magnotta argued that the government had denied a request for a transfer to a medium-security institution and had taken the CSC to court to compel his relocation.

"This offender has been securely behind bars for close to a decade. They continue to be in a secure institution, serving an indeterminate sentence. Our ultimate goal is to keep the public safe – and that’s exactly what we continue to do," the CSC said in a written statement on Monday about the Magnotta file.

"In Canada, our correctional system is fundamentally based on the rehabilitation of offenders, even if some remain incarcerated for the rest of their lives. This is our legislated mandate. We are constantly balancing many factors, including public safety risks; safe, secure and humane treatment; and victim rights. In accordance with policy, CSC must review an inmate’s security classification at least every two years for medium and maximum-security inmates and we must place inmates in the corresponding institutions."

Magnotta will be eligible for day parole on June 4, 2034, and for full parole on June 4, 2037, according to the CSC. "To be clear, eligibility dates do not guarantee an offender will be released on parole should they be granted a hearing," the statement read. 

Magnotta was convicted of first-degree murder in 2014 and given an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. The case shocked the country and made international headlines following a global manhunt that ended with his arrest at an internet cafe in Berlin in 2012.