Armin Meiwes – Euthanasia By Cannibalism
Saturday, January 31st, 2004(I can NOT believe we haven’t mentioned this story on lies.com before)
Armin Meiwes was found guilty of manslaughter in a German court this week, and sentenced to 8.5 years in prison. Armin recieved this sentance for castrating his victim, eating his flesh while the victim bleed to death, and then butchering and freezing his body to eat over the course of several months — all of which he recorded on video for later sexual gratification.
Now brace yourself — none of that is the bizarre part.
The bizarre part is that the victim was a willing participant in the whole experience — and even choose to eat some of his own flesh before dying. (I know, it sounds like i’m plagiarizing “Hannibal” but I’m not.) Like Meiwes, his victim “Bernd-Juergen Brandes” was a cannibalism fetishist, with a Hansel and Gretel obsession, who prepared a very detailed will, and sold most of his property before going to Meiwes’s house and asked to be eaten. The two met had met online, when Brandes responded Meiwes’s Internet chat room post: “Gay male seeks hunks 18-30 to slaughter.”
This all happened back in 1995. Meiwes wasn’t arrested until December of 2002 when police were tiped off by chat room users after Meiwes posted again, looking for another victim.
The German news organization “DW World” seems to have the most comprehensive coverage, so Here’s a breif timeline of their articles…
- Dec13, 2002: German Police Investigate Alleged Cannibal Murder
- Dec14, 2002: German Cannibal Victim’s Will Found
- Dec3, 2003: German Cannibal Trial Opens in Complexity
(RealAudio interview with psychology professor) - Jan16, 2004: Cannibal Victim Was Willing To Pay To Be Eaten
- Jan30, 2004: Cannibal Convicted of Manslaughter
(RealVideo of reporter covering trial)
(That last video link includes a great straight faced delivery by the News anchor asking the reporter why legal experts are saying that this case is so “unique”).