MONTREAL -- Accused killer Luka Rocco Magnotta pleaded not guilty once more on Wednesday to the five charges he faces in the death and dismemberment of Chinese student Jun Lin in May 2012.
Magnotta entered the pleas in a low voice in Montreal during a pre-trial conference involving the Quebec Superior Court justice who will oversee his trial.
He had already pleaded not guilty to the charges in a lower court in June 2012.
Standing up, Magnotta uttered "not guilty" five times as the charges, including one of first-degree murder, were read out loud.
The four other charges are: committing an indignity to a body; publishing obscene material; criminally harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament; and mailing obscene and indecent material.
His jury trial is set to begin next September and be presided by Justice Guy Cournoyer.
Magnotta, a former stripper and porn actor from Scarborough, Ont., was arrested in Berlin in June 2012 following an international manhunt that made headlines around the world.
Wednesday's hearing served in part to deal with some judicial housekeeping. Cournoyer will hear several motions over the next year before the trial begins.
The judge also heard arguments from defence lawyer Luc Leclair for a publication ban on certain aspects of the case. The Crown and lawyers representing media also weighed in. A decision is expected later Wednesday.
