“I kissed him then ate him”, man tells court
The trial of a self-confessed cannibal began in Germany yesterday.
The “cannibal” is accused of murdering a man who was apparently a willing accomplice in his own death, dissection and consumption.
The cannibalism was performed in front of a video camera in March 2001.
Armin Meiwes, a 42-year-old computer expert, said his victim responded to an advertisement he had placed on the internet looking for someone to be willingly killed and eaten.
Mr Meiwes told the court in Kassel, western Germany, that he kissed 43-year-old Berlin engineer Bernd Juergen Brandes then ate him.
“I kissed him again, I prayed, I prayed for forgiveness for him and for me, and then I ate him,” he told the court.
Adding, “I had the fantasy, and in the end I fulfilled it.”
Mr Meiwes told the court he ate about 44 pounds of the flesh, defrosting it bit by bit.
The legal ramifications of the case may set new legal precedent in Germany, where cannabalism is not listed as a crime.
Mr Meiwes has admitted to killing the man, but denies murder, arguing that he was only doing what he was asked.
Legal experts say Mr Meiwes may receive a maximum five-year sentence for “killing on demand.”
He has been charged with murder for the purposes of sexual satisfaction and “disturbing the peace of the dead” for carving up the body.
A psychiatrist has declared him fit to stand trial. The trial continues.
