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So far, there is little evidence Luka Rocco Magnotta was a prominent gay porn star, a legitimate model or that he ever dated serial killer Karla Homolka. Instead, beyond the murder suspect’s highly crafted Internet persona is evidence of a boy, little noticed by classmates during his tumultuous Southern Ontario upbringing, slowly descended into petty crime, purported animal cruelty, and now, alleged murder and dismemberment.

The apparent descent was fueled by, as one relative called it, “delusions of grandeur.”

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Little evidence Luka Rocco Magnotta was a prolific gay porn star or many of the other things he called himself Back to video

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He came into this world as Eric Newman on July 24, 1982, born to Anna Yourkin and Donald Newman, both of whom were reportedly still teenagers. In an online journal penned in 2007, Mr. Magnotta described his parents as “high school sweethearts,” and claimed that his mother named him after American actor Eric Roberts.

Much of his childhood was spent in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, where he attended Charlottetown Junior Public School. Former classmates, calling into Toronto news radio stations this week, remembered him showing up to class wearing slicked-back hair and gold-coloured rings. He was alternately described as “always happy” or quick to violence, with one former student remembering him throwing a chair at his Grade 6 teacher.