The case of the German cannibal Armin Meiwes is one of the most horrific criminal cases in modern European history. A man from Rotenburg has been sentenced to life in prison for killing and then eating Bernd Jürgen Brandes, a 43-year-old engineer from Berlin.
At first glance, Meiwes appeared completely ordinary to the inhabitants of the small village of Wüsterfeld. He took care of his house, kept a neat garden and mostly did not draw attention to himself. But in fact, according to his own admission, he hid a dark obsession for a long time. He stated that he had been obsessed with thoughts of killing and eating people since he was young. According to his words, he connected this interest with experiences from his childhood, when he visited a slaughterhouse and became interested in slaughtering and processing meat.
As a teenager, he even considered asking his classmates if he could cut off and eat parts of their bodies. But in the end he didn’t do it for fear of rejection. Years later, the Internet allowed him to enter closed communities where people openly discussed cannibalism. It was there that he met Bernd Jürgen Brandes.
After several weeks of intense internet communication, the two men agreed on a terrifying plan. Brandes was supposed to come to Meiwes’ house and agree to be killed and eaten. Part of the deal was that Meiwes would amputate Brandes’ penis and the two would try to eat it together.
Brandes arrived in Rotenburg in March 2001. He also agreed to take sleeping pills and alcohol before the procedure. Meiwes then cut off his penis with a knife. He then fried the meat in a pan and served it, however, according to later findings, neither man was able to eat it. Meiwes recorded the entire process in detail on video. As Brandes gradually weakened from blood loss, Meiwes finally stabbed him. He then cut up the body, hung some of the parts on butcher’s hooks, and put the large pieces in the freezer next to regular food.
Over the next 10 months, he gradually thawed, cooked and ate the meat. Paccording to the investigators, he thus consumed approximately 20 kg of human flesh. Investigators said he prepared his meals almost like gala dinners for one. He used the best cutlery, lit candles and drank red wine. When police asked him how he felt about eating his victim, he responded by saying: “With every bite, my memory of him grew stronger.”
The case caused legal complications in Germany because cannibalism was not a separate crime at the time. Meiwes was initially convicted of manslaughter, but after a new trial the court ruled that it was a murder committed for the purpose of sexual gratification. Since then, he has been serving a life sentence in prison.
