I MET Luka Magnotta six months ago — and I’m still feeling shaken by the encounter.
He was without doubt one of the most disturbed and disturbing individuals I have ever encountered.
I was asked to try to find him after his name came up in connection with a story about a vile video posted on the internet in which a kitten was fed to a python.
Then the 29-year-old Canadian — now wanted over a cannibal killing — turned up at The Sun’s London offices to deny something we had not yet asked him about. His behaviour was highly suspicious. After the visit we tracked him down to The Fusilier pub in Wembley, north-west London, where he had a £40-a-night single room.
He welcomed us in, looking decidedly strange. He was wearing a flat cap, leather jacket and tracksuit bottoms. On his face he had foundation and blue eye shadow.
I looked into his eyes — and did not like what I saw.
It wasn’t just his appearance that was weird — his behaviour was very odd as well. In a strange, high-pitched voice, he spent 20 minutes denying that he was involved in killing the kitten.
But behind the denials it seemed he was getting some sort of bizarre pleasure out of the attention. I suspected that pleasure was sexual.
After interviewing Magnotta we waited outside to see if we could quiz him again.
We were surprised when the police then turned up. We asked them if they were investigating the cat killings. But we were told to mind our own business.
Magnotta was escorted off the premises by two plain-clothed cops and the hotel manager.
He was put into the back of a mini-cab and was driven off. That was the last we saw of him.
We contacted the Met’s Press Bureau media office to tell them what we had been investigating.
I was shocked and confused when we were later told that the police had only gone to the hotel to help evict Magnotta — not to question him at all.
Two days later an email was sent to The Sun’s offices.
It described how the killer planned to move on from killing animals to human victims.
And I was chilled to realise it referred to me. The email described in lurid, horrifying detail the disgusting things he wanted to do to me — acts of the darkest sexual and violent nature.
The words are too vile to repeat. I can still recall my revulsion when I read these crazed threats.
The twisted author used the name of Moors murders victim John Kilbride as an email address. But I suspected it came from Magnotta.
In his sick reference to me, the writer said: “You have some very sexy journalists at your paper.
“I have one I’m very keen on now. He was very sexy.”
He then gloatingly described his warped sexual fantasies.
The sender, who described himself as a “genius”, signed off by saying: “You know, the fun part of all this is watching millions of people get angry and frustrated because they can’t catch me.
“It’s fun watching people work so hard gathering all the evidence, then not being able to name me or catch me.
“You see, I always win. I always hold the trump card and I will continue to make more movies.
“London is wonderful because all the people are so stupid. It’s easy.
“So, I have to disappear for a while, until people quit bothering me. But next time you hear from me it will be in a movie I am producing that will have some humans in it, not just pussies.
“Things I have seen and the things I have done, you can only imagine.
“Well, it was fun f****** around with everyone, so have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I know I will.
” The original email was littered with spelling and punctuation mistakes, which we have corrected.
I felt sure that the threats it contained should be taken seriously and contacted the police. Unfortunately it did not result in Magnotta being detained.
I received the vile email on a Saturday. On the following Monday morning I went into Limehouse Police Station in East London and reported my suspicions.
My complaint was filed as a malicious communication and the case was passed to Islington Police in North London.
I gave them all the information I had discovered in my inquiries.
After an initial response from the officer in the case I then heard nothing more about it. If the police had stopped investigating Magnotta, then I was not told.
I showed the letter to my partner, who was very concerned.
I reassured her that I was not afraid and that the man behind this was a coward who would never dare try and hurt us.
But I did have a niggling fear at the back of my mind.
Now, with police fearing he has fled a murder probe in Canada for Europe, I hope he is caught soon — so I for one can relax