Magnotta murder trial hears from son of Chretien, sister of Homolka

A judge will rule later this afternoon whether there is sufficient evidence to send Luka Rocco Magnotta to trial.

MONTREAL - The Luka Magnotta trial veered into discussions with the relatives of famous and infamous Canadians on Friday, as the Crown called for testimony from Hubert Chretien and Lori Homolka.

Hubert Chretien's name and return address were listed on one of the packages Magnotta sent to a Vancouver school in May 2012.

It contained body parts of Jun Lin, the Chinese engineering student Magnotta has admitted to killing.

Magnotta is charged with first-degree murder in Lin's slaying and dismemberment.

Chretien testified today through video link, saying he doesn't know Magnotta and that he never sent any packages to Vancouver in May 2012.

Hubert Chretien said he doesn't know Magnotta and never mailed the package, which misspelled his first name as "Hurbert."

Chretien, who runs a non-profit organization, said his family links are well established and his biographical information is easily found on the Internet.

"My father is a lot better known than I am," he testified from the courthouse in Gatineau, Que. "But by extension, I'm well known, yes."

Chretien said he received a call about two years ago from a police homicide detective.

"It wasn't really pleasant that my name was used," he said. "I was pretty surprised. It was something that was strange. I didn't understand."

Lori Homolka - aka Logan Valentini

After Chretien, Lori Homolka, who now goes by the name Logan Valentini, was questioned.

Her name was on the return address of a package sent to False Creek Elementary school in Vancouver, but she testified that she had nothing to do with the package.

Homolka said she was shocked when she learned from police that her name had been used.

"I was kind of stunned, I didn't know why I would be dragged into something again that had nothing to do with me," she told the court.

The jury heard that Karla Homolka is living in Quebec with her spouse. Valentini said she'd seen her sister recently.

She said it is common knowledge she is Homolka's sibling.

"Everybody knows," she said. "It's been in the media that I've changed my name and what I changed it to.

"I didn't want to change my identity, I just didn't want to be associated with something and get a bad rep for something I didn't do or have knowledge of. I just wanted to be able to live my life, quietly and free."

Stephane Giroux reports on Twitter

With a file from The Canadian Press