The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment

Rafaeel Rehman

20899940

SOC/LS 227: Criminology (Fall 2021)

Dr. Allison Chenier

December 9th, 2021

The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment 1

The case of Luca Rocco Magnotta is a story of an individual who made it their goal to

have fame and stardom, regardless of the methods by which it is achieved. Magnotta is known by

many to have various labels, such as an animal abuser, a psychopath, and a murderer, but most of

all, he was an international media sensation at the time. It is understood that Magnotta’s goal and

focus was simply notability by any means, but in order to explain his crimes more deeply, it is

necessary to understand the criminological theories that can be applied to the case. The two

criminological theories that will be applied to the case are Merton’s Strain Theory and

Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory. Additionally, an assessment of the responses from

the public, media, and police is vital. These actors played a significant role in the developments

of the case, as the responses from all actors and parties were largely inadequate and

inappropriate.

Analyzing the crimes committed by Luka Magnotta, the application of Merton’s Strain

Theory sheds light upon Magnotta’s inner thought processes throughout the development of his

criminal tendencies. Merton’s theory argues that all modern societies have a set of common

values and that most of the people within these societies internalize these values (Winterdyk,

2020). He further posits that “The most significant values are those that channel energy toward

the achievement of certain success goals.” (Winterdyk, 2020), and, finally, that it is not the case

that all people within the society have equal opportunities to use socially approved means to

achieve the socially approved goals. The point that there is inequality in the opportunities

amongst individuals in a society is especially significant because it suggests that there must be

individuals who are incapable of achieving the socially approved goal through the socially

approved means.

Merton’s theory argues that individuals, when faced with these goals and means, often
The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment 2

follow one of the five modes of adaptation to the goals and means (Winterdyk, 2020). The five

modes of adaptation include conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion, the two

most commonly seen modes being conformity and innovation. Conformity is the primary

response of most people, which is to internalize both the socially approved goals and the means

necessary for achieving them. Innovation is another common response, which is to internalize

the socially approved goals, but to reject the socially approved means of achieving them. The

innovation typically entails illegitimate means, often behaviour that is deviant or criminal.

To apply Merton’s Strain Theory is very straightforward. In a modern capitalist society,

the values of the people within society align with neoliberal ideology surrounding capital. It is a

socially approved goal to attain large amounts of capital, but only through means that society

deems to be legitimate and within the law. Celebratism and stardom is a socially approved goal

because it upholds the neoliberal illusion of class aspirationalism (Wilkinson, 2014). In the

documentary series, Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer, it is clear that Magnotta

had a significant amount of exposure to film and celebrities that he might have been inspired by

(Lewis, 2019). This sustained exposure would suggest that he heavily internalized the goal of

becoming a famous person. It is also shown in the documentary through his relentless attitude

towards casting directors that he, at one point, had internalized the socially approved means of

attaining his goal. Following Merton’s theory, it was not until he exhausted every socially

acceptable means within his capability that he was to diverge from conformity. He had attempted

acting and modelling, and his career remained stagnant (Lewis, 2019). He made attempts at porn

and prostitution, but neither professions furthered his career (Lewis, 2019). He made attempts at

spreading false rumours about himself to make people talk about him and only continued to fail

(Lewis, 2019). A large issue with his entry into this field is that the modelling and film industry
The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment 3

both require great amounts of connections and pre-existing relationships with directors and other

higher-ups in order to get good roles (Gorji et al., 2020). Magnotta knew he was coming from a

less fortunate beginning, so he must have been well aware of the disadvantage he was at. After

his failures, Magnotta was faced with the choice between the modes of adaptation. Rather than

conform, he chooses to innovate. He abandoned the socially acceptable means to fame and opted

for the non-conventional means for gaining notability and fame.

Magnotta started out with home movies. Perhaps Magnotta’s first home movie, 1 boy 2

kittens, was an experiment of some sort, a way of gauging how much attention he could get

through a video. Unfortunately, the video took off, giving Magnotta the attention he had been so

desperately craving. Magnotta responded with another video of similar content, but with a

warning that one day his victims would be human (Lewis, 2019). Naturally, he gained even more

attention from people all over the internet. Of course, it was not long until he fulfilled his

promise, when he murdered a university student named Jun Lin.

The second criminological theory that can be applied to the Luka Magnotta case is

Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory. Sutherland explained crime and criminal

behaviour as something that is taught and learned by any individual in any culture. However, he

believed that the way people learned criminal behaviour the most was through intimate social

contact. The more intimate the contact, the higher the likelihood of learning the behaviour

(Winterdyk, 2020). This theory works on the micro level, connecting concepts between symbolic

interactionism and psychological operant learning, suggesting that even mere interactions with

criminals may predispose an individual to criminal behaviour.

One thing repeatedly emphasized with Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory is

that there must be a direct and intimate relationship between the individual and the criminal that
The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment 4

they are learning from. The third principle of Sutherland's theory states that “3. The principal

part of the learning of criminal behaviour occurs within intimate personal groups. Vicarious

exposure (e.g. through TV shows) may provide the “script,” but the motivation comes from

intimate personal relationships.” (Winterdyk, 2020). The third principle has immense relevance

to the Magnotta case because they explain how Magnotta perceived relationships in his life.

Sutherland’s theory talks about direct interaction with other persons, but the way in which

Magnotta had interactions was somewhat unique. In the documentary series about Luca

Magnotta, it is revealed that he was bullied in his youth and did not have many friends (Lewis,

2019). The documentary series further elaborated that Magnotta grew up without a father, and

recent studies are finding that children raised in single-mother households are at a greater risk for

psychopathy (Daryanani et al., 2016). Additional studies find that bullying in childhood can have

a severe impact on how individuals interact in their adult relationships (Strøm et al., 2018).

Considering everything, it is very likely that Magnotta has a significantly warped perspective on

relationships as a whole. As mentioned earlier, Magnotta has had a fascination with movie

characters such as Catherine Tramell from the film Basic Instinct and Frank Abagnale from the

film Catch Me If You Can, so much so that he acted based on their actions in their respective

films (Lewis, 2019). A 2021 study found that “antihero media narratives and characters are more

appealing to viewers with higher levels of antisocial traits such as aggression, Machiavellianism,

and psychopathy.” (Greenwood, 2021). For Magnotta, it was not simply just a fascination akin to

a child who views themselves as their favourite comic book superhero, but rather a deeply

intimate parasocial relationship with these characters. Magnotta’s relationships to these

characters were personal relationships to him, or at least what he perceived to be “personal”.

Thus, the third principle of Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory is applicable to

The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment 5

Magnotta, as the violent and deviant behaviour expressed by these characters was likely enough

to motivate him to commit such heinous acts. Additionally, Magnotta was actively learning from

these individuals, as he wrote a blog post on “How to completely disappear and never be found,”

When writing this blogpost, he was supposedly influenced by an array of films.

Finally, it is very important to assess the response from the public, the media, and the

police, as their responses can play a significant role in the outcomes of situations such as the

Luca Magnotta Case.

In terms of public response, organized action and responses is not possible, therefore it is

irrational to try and blame the public for their collective responses. In regards to the Magnotta

case, there was mass public outrage and moral panic, which was primarily due to media

sensationalism. The issue is that Magnotta was doing what he was doing solely for attention. As

mentioned earlier, Magnotta’s primary goal was to achieve stardom and fame, regardless of his

means. Of course, there was no possible way for the public or individuals to know this, and even

if it was the case that many regular people knew of Magnotta’s motives, again, there is no way

for a random mass of people to act collectively.

The media’s response to criminal behaviour is easily the most important, and the media’s

response to Luka Magnotta was wholly inadequate and sensationalized. This, of course, is no

surprise. As it stands, news media outlets are owned by private corporations whose priorities are

to produce a profit. The fact is that news media outlets have control over what the majority of the

population will believe and perceive about current events. This is made apparent just by looking

at news media outlets in the 1960s, following the sudden increase in crime rates. Most news

media outlets were aware that the dramatic surge in crime rates was not literally an increase in

crime, but rather a change in recording crime data. However, the issue was sensationalized in
The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment 6

order to sell more papers. This is precisely what happened regarding the Luka Magnotta. Media

sensationalized him, causing public outrage and moral panic. On top of that, the reporters

covering Magnotta’s story almost definitely knew that he was doing everything for attention,

assuming they researched in good faith, but still sensationalized the story for clicks. Even the

regular people leading the search for Magnotta knew that he was just seeking attention (Lewis,

2019).

Lastly, the police response was also far from sufficient. Both the Toronto Police Force

and the Montreal Police Force were very dismissive about the case when it was brought up to

them by the individuals running the investigation Facebook group. Not to mention, the Toronto

Police actually admitted that they could have done more (MacCharles, 2012). Their

incompetence and failure to take the case seriously resulted in Luka taking the life of Jun Lin.

There was clear evidence to support the fact that the cat killer was Luka Magnotta and the

location of where he was was also sent to the police but they decided not to take it seriously. The

Facebook group had already done the work and all clues lead to Luka being the suspect and there

was sufficient evidence that he was going to harm a human which should have been a clear

indicator for the police to look into these tips. Had they paid attention to public outcry on this

matter, they could have been able to apprehend Luka before he committed the murder. Jun Lin’s

life was lost based on the fact that police failed to take this case seriously which shows that their

response was completely inadequate and moreso that they hold some responsibility for the

murder. The police should look at their mistakes from this case and apply them to future cases so

that something like this doesn't happen again. They should be inclined to investigate any tip they

get no matter how “silly” they think it might be.

To conclude, the case of Luka Magnotta demonstrates how an individual can take
The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment 7

advantage of the emotions of the public to further their own selfish and irrational goals.

Magnotta wanted fame and attention, and that is precisely what he was given. The public and the

news media outlets essentially handed it to Magnotta on a silver platter, and it pushed him to act

more. The two theories used to explain the causes of his crimes both highlight the role that an

individual’s interactions have an impact on them, as both theories utilize psychodynamic

learning techniques, as well as symbolic interactionism. Further, the assessment of the response

from the public, the media, and the police should serve as a reminder of how not to respond to

situations such as these.

The Magnotta Case: Theories and Response Assessment 8

References

Daryanani, I., Hamilton, J. L., Abramson, L. Y., & Alloy, L. B. (2016). Single mother

parenting and adolescent psychopathology. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,

44(7), 1411–1423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0128-x

Gorji, Y., Carney, M., & Prakash, R. (2020). Indirect nepotism: Network sponsorship, social

capital and career performance in show business families. Journal of Family Business

Strategy, 11(3), 100285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2019.04.004

Greenwood, D., Ribieras, A., & Clifton, A. (2021). The Dark Side of Antiheroes: Antisocial

Tendencies and Affinity for Morally Ambiguous Characters. Psychology of Popular

Media, 10(2), 165–177. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000334

Lewis, M., (2019). Don't F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer. Netflix.com. Retrieved

2021, from https://www.netflix.com/title/81031373.

MacCharles, T. (2012, June 1). Luka Magnotta: Toronto police admit they "could have done

more" when U.S. lawyer flagged disturbing video. thestar.com. Retrieved December 10,

2021, from

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/05/31/luka_magnotta_toronto_police_admit_

they_could_have_done_more_when_us_lawyer_flagged_disturbing_video.html.

Strøm, I. F., Aakvaag, H. F., Birkeland, M. S., Felix, E., & Thoresen, S. (2018). The

mediating role of shame in the relationship between childhood bullying victimization and

adult psychosocial adjustment. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9(1), 1418570.

https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2017.1418570

Wilkinson, G. (2014). Fetishising Pippa Middleton: Celebrity Posteriors, Whiteness and class

aspirationalism. Celebrity Studies, 6(2), 149–163.

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https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2014.941887

Winterdyk, J. (2020). Canadian criminology. Oxford University Press.