Luka Magnotta withdraws appeal of 1st-degree murder conviction

Luka Magnotta has withdrawn the appeal of his conviction in the first-degree murder of Montreal engineering student Jun Lin, a day after the impending move was reported by CBC News.

Magnotta appeared before theQuebecCourt of Appeal viavideo conference from jail on Wednesday.

A judge asked him if he was dropping his appeal voluntarily, and Magnotta replied that he was.

• Luka Magnotta files appeal of murder conviction
• Jun Lin's family still haunted by horrific death
• What the jury didn't see or hear

The withdrawal of the appeal comes a day after CBC News reported that the killer planned to abandon the appeal.

In December, a jury found the32-year-oldguilty of the 2012first-degree murder of Lin,a Chinese national who was studying engineering in Montreal.

Magnotta was also found guilty of:

• Committing an indignity to a body.
• Publishing obscene material.
• Mailing obscene material.
• Criminal harassment.

Magnotta admitted to committing the acts, but his lawyer LucLeclairargued he should have beenfound not criminally responsible because ofmental health issues.

Leclair had filed two appeals in January seeking a new trial.

Both were dropped on Wednesday.

One appeal cited judicial errors, and another was seeking leave to appeal on a number of other issues.

Jun Lin's family 'rebuilding lives'

Daniel Urbas, the lawyer representingLin's family, said the victim's mother, sister and father were notified through a translator in China that the appeal had been dropped.

"They're going to be proceeding now,rebuilding their lives with the money that's been collected and will continue to be collected on their behalf," he said.

More than $70,000 has been donated to the family to help with some of the costsincurred in the wake of Lin's murder, including their travels to Canada for the court proceedings.

Urbas said Lins father, Lin Diran, remains steadfast in his desire to hear an apology from his sons killer.

"He wants to hear something some kind of response, remorse from the killer of his son and he would like to learn more about what happened that night and how it came to happen," Urbas told reporters outside the Montreal courthouse.

Leclair said Magnotta is open to meeting with Lin Diran.

"Mr. Lin's father's lawyer and I were talking about it, about whether the two of them can meet and talk, but while the appeal was going on that could not happen," he said.

"I could not advise him to go ahead with this, but now that's over he does want to talk to him."

Magnotta did not testify in his own defence during the lengthy trial, nor did he address the court duringhis sentencing hearing.

The first-degree murder charge carries a sentence oflife imprisonment with no chance of parole for25 years.

RAW: Luka Magnotta's lawyer Luc Leclair speaks after appeal dropped

10 years ago

Duration 2:02

Luc Leclair says his client Luka Magnotta would like to meet the father of the man he killed, Jun Lin. Magnotta withdrew the appeals of his first-degree murder conviction.