Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 22, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A15 winnipegfreepress. com CANADA WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2012 A 15 HURRY IN NOW! LIMITED QUANTITIES! Expedited delivery on in- stock items Proud sponsor & supporter of our local Ronald McDonald House Charities � 1425 ELLICE AVENUE 783- 8500 . DISCONTINUED ITEMS . FLOOR SAMPLES . CLOSEOUTS . CANCELLED ORDERS . OVERSTOCKS . SPECIAL PURCHASES . SHOWROOM ONE- OF- A- KINDS . QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED! SAVE $ 500! 50 % OFF! SAVE $ 300! Monday- Friday 10am- 9pm, Saturday 10am- 6pm, Sunday 12pm- 5pm www. lazyboy. com/ winnipeg VAIL ROCKER RECLINER $ 399 SAVE $ 150! MORGAN ROCKER RECLINER $ 499 SAVE $ 200! LARSON ALL LEATHER ROCKER RECLINER $ 999 SAVE $ 300! ASTOR TALL MAN ROCKER RECLINER $ 699 SAVE $ 300! CANADEL SOLID WOOD DINING SETS ASSORTED PIECES LAUREL STATIONARY SOFA $ 799 REX 3 PIECE SECTION WITH 2 RECLINERS $ 2399 3 COLORS MONTREAL - So who will defend Luka Rocco Magnotta - the man accused of mailing a severed foot to the Conservative Party of Canada? A Conservative. Toronto attorney Luc Leclair will lead the legal team representing Magnotta, who is accused of first- degree murder in the gruesome death of Montreal university student Jun Lin. Leclair's client allegedly mailed Lin's body parts to different Canadian cities, including a foot to the Ottawa offices of the federal governing party. The package was opened by a senior Conservative figure who was Prime Minister Stephen Harper's 2011 campaign manager. Police also allege the 29- year- old mailed separate parcels containing Lin's hands and his other foot to two Vancouver schools and the federal Liberals. As a result, Magnotta faces charges for distributing something obscene through the mail and for harassing Harper and MPs. On Thursday, Magnotta made a brief court appearance in person to tie up a few loose ends until his preliminary hearing next March. While Magnotta looked sleepy, he appeared to follow the proceedings attentively. Wearing a plaid shirt and dark blue jeans, Magnotta kept his eyes on the judge during the brief appearance. He didn't say anything, save a few brief discussions with a lawyer. Magnotta has opted for a trial in front of a jury. Leclair, who did not ask for a psychiatric evaluation, expressed concern about the treatment Magnotta is getting at the detention centre where he's being held. He said he wants to ensure his client gets the medication he needs. Details related to that request are covered under a publication ban. Leclair, who has described himself as a lifelong Tory voter, has worked on leadership campaigns for several prominent Conservatives. He helped organize campaigns for Defence Minister Peter MacKay, in his successful bid for the Progressive Conservative leadership in 2003; Belinda Stronach, when she ran for the leadership of the new federal party and lost to Prime Minister Stephen Harper; and John Tory, when he won the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives. The bilingual Leclair told the court Thursday he's received special dispensation from the Quebec bar to represent Magnotta in the case. - The Canadian Press Highly connected Tory lawyer represents Magnotta By Andy Blatchford T ORONTO - She horrified the country with her role in the torture and killing of Ontario schoolgirls two decades ago. Now she has three children of her own. Years after her case gripped the country, Karla Homolka has been found living in the Caribbean under a different name with a husband and three young children. The details of her life after 12 years in prison are revealed in a 46- page ebook, Finding Karla, by journalist Paula Todd . " No matter how much we might want to forget Karla Homolka, she never really goes away, she hovers in any courtroom, if you think about it, where somebody is on trial for any kind of child abuse," Todd told The Canadian Press. " We needed these answers." In the early 1990s, Homolka and her then- husband, Paul Bernardo, were convicted of raping and slaying two schoolgirls, Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. While Bernardo was sentenced to life in prison, Homolka struck a deal in 1993 to serve 12 years in prison for manslaughter. She had claimed Bernardo abused her and made her a reluctant accomplice. Videotapes later surfaced showing Homolka had a far more active role in the slayings than she had claimed. Little has been known about Homolka's life since she was released from prison in 2005. For Todd, that lack of information drove her to figure out what had become of the notorious killer. After mining the Internet for any scrap of information, Todd decided to follow an obscure lead that led her to the island of Guadeloupe in May. " The reason I went is because I think it was in the public interest for people to know what had happened to what is widely considered a huge police bungle," she said. Todd spent days roving the island until she tracked her down. When she appeared on Homolka's doorstep unannounced, a day after the convicted killer's 42nd birthday, Todd was allowed inside and spent a tense hour in the apartment. " The tension started from the moment I realized I had actually found her, and it continued like a tight, tight string, all the way through until I left about an hour later," Todd said. " Canadians are worried that she's gone on to repeat the horror. I can't say for sure what she's doing, but I can tell Canadians that she seems to have made a life somewhere else, she has a family and she's still living in confinement." The confinement refers to the closed life Homolka lives. " She said to me, ' What makes you think I feel safe?' " Todd recalled. " She knows that Canadians and the world continue to despise her for what she did." Todd said the woman living under the name Leanne Bordelais didn't want to discuss the past. " Even though she doesn't want to talk about her life... I thought it was interesting that I was allowed to observe." Those observations included a tidy home, a seemingly harmonious relationship with her husband and a healthy relationship with her three children, one of whom Homolka breastfed while Todd was in the room. " She presented as a very good mother, but who knows. I have no reason to believe those kids are not well- cared for." It is in the hopes of keeping those children happy Todd said she would not reveal Homolka's address, nor publish the names of her children. " Do I have warm feelings towards her? Absolutely not," Todd said. " I was completely neutral. There's so much opinion about this, it's so caustic and it's so painful that I didn't want to get in the way of reporting to Canadians." - The Canadian Press THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES Karla Homolka, interviewed in Montreal in 2005, appeared to be a good mom, journalist Paula Todd says. Homolka married, a mother of three Book details killer's new life By Diana Mehta A_ 15_ Jun- 22- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A15 6/ 21/ 12 9: 26: 44 PM ;