RDK Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 (edited) How odd... German cannibal in murder trial says victim was willing Wed Dec 3,11:25 AM ET Add Top Stories - AFP to My Yahoo! KASSEL, Germany (AFP) - A self-declared cannibal told a German court in chilling detail how he killed and ate a man he says consented to be dissected and consumed in front of a running video camera. In matter-of-fact tones in front of a hushed court Wednesday, Armin Meiwes explained how an obsession with cannibalism developed as a child and eventually led him to kill and eat a fellow human being. "I had the fantasy, and in the end I fulfilled it," he said. He had the chance to kill and feast on other apparently willing victims, he added, saying "hundreds and thousands are out there looking to be eaten," but passed up the opportunity because they were not the right type. The macabre case is unprecedented in German legal history. Meiwes, a 42-year-old computer technician who says he regrets what he did, admits killing, but insists it was not murder as he was only doing what he had been asked. Testifying on the opening day of his trial for murder, he said his fantasy began between the ages of eight and 12, when he would imagine killing, carving up and eating schoolfriends he liked. Meiwes, dressed smartly in a dark jacket and tie, said he felt lonely as a child after his father and two older brothers abandoned the family. He longed for a younger brother. "But then I realised one day that was not enough." He soon began imagining a friend he could keep for ever by consuming him. "Slim and blond, that would have been the type," he said. It also aroused him sexually, Meiwes admitted, although he denied that sex was linked to the alleged murder. "I didn't want to have sex with the partner I chose to slaughter. That had nothing to do with it." Horror films and seeing animals slaughtered fuelled his imagination. Cannibalism is not a crime under German law. Meiwes is charged with murder for the purposes of sexual satisfaction and "disturbing the peace of the dead" for carving up the body. State prosecutor Marcus Koehler claimed Meiwes had always intended to kill and that he took advantage of a mental disorder in the dead man, Bernd Juergen Brandes. If convicted, he faces life in prison. A verdict is due early next year. Defence lawyers say Meiwes is guilty at worst of "killing on demand," which is punishable by up to five years in jail. Meiwes, who has admitted killing, said he contacted Brandes, a 43-year-old Berlin engineer, after advertising via the Internet for someone willing to be eaten. The whole scenario was recorded on video, reportedly by mutual agreement. Brandes travelled to his house in Rotenburg, near Kassel, after settling up his personal affairs. At one point he demurred but was persuaded to carry on, the prosecution said. After Brandes downed sleeping tablets and whisky, Meiwes cut off Brandes' penis which they planned to eat together, but found that due to its consistency, it was inedible "even when fried." After a while Brandes became unconscious. "Spurred by sexual motives," said Koehler, Meiwes laid him on a bench, stabbed him and hung his body from a hook in the ceiling of his kitchen. The accused said he kissed his "friend" first, "then I did it." He dissected the corpse, slicing off 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of the flesh which he stored in a freezer. He later ate two-thirds of it. "With every bite, my memory of him grew stronger." The case did not emerge until an Austrian student spotted another Internet advertisement by Meiwes and alerted police. Officers who examined a mass of computer equipment and videos found at his home tapped into a hitherto hidden cannibal scene. Meiwes said he later met five other people who had also offered themselves via the Internet. One wanted to be beheaded, but Meiwes did not like him and thought him too fat. Another backed out when the accused told him, "if you come here, you have to realise that it will be for the last time." http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._cannibal&ncid= Edited December 5, 2003 by RDK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Ah, there's nothing like having good friends over for dinner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 (edited) I think you'd need a specialty brew to bring out the flavour of a grilled torso.......something like a Bamberg 'Rauchbier' with its distinctive smoky taste. Edited December 5, 2003 by Son-of-a-Weizen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 This is really gross. Can I suggest a link to the article instead of posting it, with a warning that it's rather... unsettling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 (edited) he added, saying "hundreds and thousands are out there looking to be eaten," Seems to me that hundreds of thousands of people are willing to do just about anything. Edited December 5, 2003 by connoisseur series500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted December 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 This is really gross. Can I suggest a link to the article instead of posting it, with a warning that it's rather... unsettling? The link's there - feel free to delete the text if you want. But the thread is about cannibalism, so any reader should expect something unsettling, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris olivarez Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 One should digest the article on an empty stomach-yuk!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 But the thread is about cannibalism, so any reader should expect something unsettling, no? Oh, no! This isn't one of those nice cannibalism threads at all!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 This is really gross. Can I suggest a link to the article instead of posting it, with a warning that it's rather... unsettling? The link's there - feel free to delete the text if you want. But the thread is about cannibalism, so any reader should expect something unsettling, no? I think the thread is fine, RDK. Cannibalism is considered fine in some societies; although, I don't know if this is so anymore. I've got a book about Cannibalism. I oughta read it sometime and post comments about it here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 This is really gross. Can I suggest a link to the article instead of posting it, with a warning that it's rather... unsettling? Well, b3, if you feel... ...unsettled... ...after a meal like that, might I suggest: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Do they have "Cannibal Strength" Pepto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 It was the whole cutting off his willie and wanting to eat it together that got me. Did they really need to write that? Yuk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 It was the whole cutting off his willie and wanting to eat it together that got me. Did they really need to write that? Yuk. Man, you got further in the story than I did, Jim -- before I gave up. Quick, somebody hand me the Pepto!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 It was the whole cutting off his willie and wanting to eat it together that got me. Did they really need to write that? Yuk. I don't know why they were surprised it was inedible. I don't know how many times I've heard "You're not putting that thing in my mouth".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 I wonder if cannibalism is per se illegal anywhere. It tends to be understood & accepted in severe matters of life & death, after those to be consumed are dead. If you kill someone to eat them, then you are tried for murder. However, there is an unwritten code of the sea which even allows for the drawing of straws for the killing of one person to keep the others alive. Just read about the whale ship Essex. As one is likely to be in international waters, one wouldn't be able to be brought to trial anyway (as I understand it, but I could be wrong on this), as no state would have jurisdiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Interesting points Adam. The other famous examples of cannibalism performed under duress that I can recall offhand was what occured in the Greeley Arctic expedition at the turn of the century and the crashed airliner in the Andes in the 70s. I find this topic rather interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 cannibalism performed under duress Unlike cannibalism performed underdressed. I don't know about you, but I hate showing up to a cannibalism party dressed casual dressy when everyone else is FORMAL dressy. Very embarassing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 got it jim "eating raoul" right. there was another, "the cook, the thief, his wife and her lover" or something like that. it had quite a shocking ending as i recall. and of course there was that famous song "Timothy" yuk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 I find this topic rather interesting... ...but hopefully also unappetizing?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Paul, don't scare me, man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 cannibalism performed under duress Unlike cannibalism performed underdressed. I don't know about you, but I hate showing up to a cannibalism party dressed casual dressy when everyone else is FORMAL dressy. Very embarassing. Sounds like something out of a Far Side cartoon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Paul, don't scare me, man! Just wait till I start digging into my book on cannibalism. Let me go find it and read the title.... (pause) It's called, "Cannibals: Shocking True Tales of the Last Taboo on Land and at Sea," edited by Joseph Cummins (published 2001.) I'll start quoting long passages... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 About the cannibalism in the Andes-that book, Alive, was one of my favorite books growing up! Seriously. But the "regular" cannibalism you guys are talking about is totally different from this nut job. I mean, he wanted to eat his playmates from a young age, to "have them with him forever" and then solicited a volunteer to be killed and eaten! I can't believe this guy is even on trial-I think if it happend hear you'd say "not guilty by reason of insanity" pretty damn quick. Moose, that was the funniest thing you've ever posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 It was the whole cutting off his willie and wanting to eat it together that got me. Did they really need to write that?. The crime happened already a few years ago, but was discovered only in december last year (BBC Story). While the killer was in jail waiting for the trial he gave an interview to the german magazine Sterndescribing his fantasies about canibalism and details of the crime. The magazine got reprimanded for publishing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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