The mother of a Chinese student murdered and dismembered in Canada announced Saturday that she has converted to Christianity and was recently baptized in the wake of the gruesome case.
Occasional porn actor and escort Luka Rocco Magnotta is believed to have used an ice pick to stab Lin in late May before carving up his body, sexually abusing the corpse, filming the act and posting the video online.
"Last Sunday, I decided to get baptized," Lin's mother Du Zhigui said in emotional remarks at a religious service in a Montreal church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, an evangelical organization that includes 400 congregations and 120,000 members around the country.
In her speech, occasionally interspersed by sobs, she said the pastor of the church, Philip Cherng, approached her when she first came to Canada upon news of her son's killing, adding "the voice of God comforted me."
Du, who had her first contact with Christianity in Taiwan at the age of seven, told the audience of roughly 100 people that she still felt "much grief," according to a French translation of her Chinese comments.
At times, she addressed her deceased son directly, recalling his kindness, the respect he had for his parents and his love for Canada.
"Why did the devil come toward you? I don't understand!" she said, repeatedly wiping tears from her eyes as a friend held her hand to comfort her.
Lin's father also attended the gathering but did not address the crowd.
Du said she intended to found a charity to "help parents who have lost their children" and thanked the Chinese community, Concordia University and various other Canadian institutions for their support.
Lin's funeral is set for July 26, she said.
Days after the killing, Montreal police discovered Lin's torso in a suitcase by the trash outside an apartment along a busy highway.
His severed hands and feet were also sent through the mail to federal Conservative and Liberal parties in Ottawa and to two schools in Vancouver. The head was found in a Montreal park.
Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and other charges, including committing indignities to a body. His next court date is scheduled for early next year, and a preliminary hearing is expected for March 2013.
