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“I can say that he’s a very different individual. He has some thoughts that a lot of our investigators were shaking their heads at.”

He has some thoughts that a lot of our investigators were shaking their heads at

The website opens with a content warning and advertises that it is for adults only. “Videos and images posted on Best Gore are bloody, gut wrenching, teeth grinding, offensive and upsetting. Just as the life itself,” it says. “Best Gore exposes the truth about the humans as a whole and the truth is not always nice.”

The website also says it has been reviewed by both Canadian and U.S. lawyers and is “100% legal in both jurisdictions.”

In May 2012, the site posted a video titled “1 Lunatic 1 Ice Pick.” It showed a naked man tied to a bed in a dimly lit room. Another man wearing a dark hoodie stabbed the individual and a series of edits showed the body eventually dismembered.

The video stayed online for eight days. After Magnotta’s arrest, Marek told The Canadian Press in an email that he removed the video once police identified Magnotta as a suspect.

Clark said the investigation into Marek and his website began at that time but it was difficult to track him down. Officers contacted government and private agencies and businesses, but all had Marek listed with just an Edmonton post office box.

It took investigators until February to find him, but police still didn’t have enough evidence to lay charges, Clark said. Marek then travelled to Hong Kong and police put out alerts trying to locate him.

He updated his website regularly while on the road, said Clark.

Officers have flown to Vancouver with warrants for Marek’s computer equipment. Clark said the suspect could face additional charges, including hate crime offences, related to other items posted on the website.

He described the site as racist and disturbing, with “violence above and beyond anything normal.” It’s also unsettlingly popular, with as many as 10 million viewers, said Clark.

He said he doesn’t think police have the authority to shut down the website unless Marek is convicted in court.