Netflix
Manny Lopez is the name of a man who, according to Luka Magnotta and his mother, Anna Youkin, allegedly forced Magnotta to kill various kittens and, eventually, Chinese student Lin Jun. There is no proof that Lopez is a real person, to begin with, let alone that this man was involved with Magnotta’s crimes.
To Netflix, Yourkin shared that a man named “Manuel Lopez” became involved with Magnotta by paying him for his male escort services. She said that Magnotta was making a lot of money with his clientele, but that he soon became involved with a “darker, more elusive crowd.” She added, “They were into fetishes, abuse, and they liked to dominate…around this time, a client was becoming more than a client. More like his…keeper. A client by the name of Manny. Manual Manny Lopez.”
Yourkin continued, “Luka told me Manny would follow him, he was a stalker, and that [Luka] had moved but he would continually find him…he would continuously say, ‘I have connections, you’ll do what I say.'”
Some people, like Magnotta’s mother, believe that this person is real. Others believe he’s simply a voice that Magnotta heard in his head, a product of his schizophrenia diagnosis.
Here’s what you need to now:
Magnotta Has Accused ‘Manny Lopez’ of Taking Away His Medication, Forcing Him to Create His Infamous Videos, & More
NetflixAnna Yourkin believes that the hands seen above, in the end of a Luka Magnotta video, are the hands of “Manny Lopez.”
Magnotta blamed Manny Lopez for the murder of Lin Jun, during his murder trial. Though he never took the stand, he told multiple psychiatrists this belief. Many doctors and an attorney have since suggested that “Manny” could have been a voice in Magnotta’s head. Magnotta was diagnosed as a schizophrenic during his trial.
In 2014, Magnotta was assessed by psychiatrist Dr. Joel Watts as a part of his murder trial. Magnotta told Watts, and other psychiatrists, that he killed Lin after Manny told him that Lin was a government agent sent to assassinate him. Magnotta also claimed that this man, Lopez, was present when he killed Lin. Watts explained to the jury why Magnotta stopped “hearing” Lopez after he killed Lin: “The level of tension anxiety goes down after … they feel the persecutor is no longer a danger to them.”
Five years later, Yourkin still maintains that Manny Lopez is a real person, and that her son was forced to do terrible things by this man, Lopez. She also says that Lopez was selling videos of people torturing animals on the “dark web,” and making money doing so. She claims that you can see the “hands of Manny” at the end of one of the animal torture videos.
Attorney Romeo Salta, who was approached for representation by Magnotta once, reiterated the Lopez myth. “He said that he was forced to [kill a cat] by this person, and his name was Manny,” Salta said to Netflix. “I told him, ‘Manny has to be reported. You have to go to the police.’ He said that Manny is always there. Manny is torturing him and forcing him to do these things. Later in the day, I got an email from Luka, the title of which is ‘List of abuse from Manny.'” Salta listed the alleged abuses Magnotta had sustained from “Manny”, including being forced to have sex with animals, being forced to eat puppies, and more.
Many of the internet sleuths crediting with breaking the Magnotta case have since alleged that “Manny” is a direct reference to the film Basic Instinct, of which Magnotta was obsessed. That film, like Magnotta’s crimes, also features murder via an ice pick, and a reference to a character named “Manny.”
Authorities have never found any proof that this person is real at all, or that he helped or hurt Magnotta in any way.