Cannibal killer ate victim’s penis with him served on ‘best china and cutlery’

Armin Meiwes, a computer technician from Germany, became obsessed with killing and eating men. He met victim Bernd Brandes online and carried out the gruesome murder at his home before consuming his flesh over ten months

To people living in the tranquil German village of Wüsterfeld, Armin Meiwes appeared to be the ideal neighbour. He maintained a low profile, tended to his garden, and would even lend a hand with car repairs.

Yet within the confines of his home, Meiwes was pursuing a disturbing obsession that would, once exposed, create worldwide horror.

The computer technician from Rotenberg had developed a twisted fixation with murdering and consuming men during his youth.

This macabre fascination began, by Meiwes’ own account, following a childhood visit to a slaughterhouse, after which he contemplated asking classmates whether he could slice off and devour portions of their bodies, restraining himself only through fear of social rejection.

As a technologically adept adult, Meiwes accessed numerous disturbing fetish websites where participants discussed consuming and being consumed by others. It was through one such platform that he established contact with his future victim, reports the Mirror.

Bernd Brandes, a 43-year-old engineer from Berlin, consented to being murdered and eaten by Meiwes in exchange for severing and eating his penis, in an arrangement that would shock and bewilder even experienced criminal investigators.

After extensive, detailed online correspondence, Brandes journeyed to Meiwes’ home. Remarkably, the horrific events that unfolded were recorded by Meiwes, providing investigators with precise knowledge of what transpired.

Brandes agreed to being sedated, mutilated and ultimately stabbed to death, following the amputation and consumption of his penis by both men. He was given sleeping tablets before the duo consumed the horrifying starter – Brandes’ penis.

The following ghastly dish was Bernd’s back, as he revealed to a documentary titled Docs: Interview With A Cannibal: “I took out my best dinner service, and fried a piece of rump steak – a piece from his back – made what I call princess potatoes, and sprouts.

“The first bite was, of course, very strange. It was a feeling I can’t really describe. I’d spent over 40 years longing for it, dreaming about it.

“And now I was getting the feeling that I was actually achieving this perfect inner connection through his flesh. The flesh tastes like pork but stronger.”

Bernd subsequently had a bath whilst Meiwes read him a Star Trek novel before delivering a fatal stab wound to his neck.

Meiwes proceeded to butcher the corpse, suspending sections on meat hooks whilst preserving much of the flesh in his freezer. During the following ten months, he prepared and consumed substantial portions of Brandes’ body, devouring an estimated 20 kilograms of human flesh.

Authorities later disclosed that Meiwes approached these meals with a chilling sense of routine. He employed his finest silverware, and even arranged candles and sipped red wine whilst dining.

Officers discovered frozen human remains stored beside ordinary groceries, as though they formed part of his regular meals. The case sparked significant legal quandaries in Germany, where cannibalism was not explicitly outlawed.

Prosecutors instead sought to indict Meiwes on charges of murder for sexual pleasure and desecration of the dead.

During interrogation, some of Meiwes’ statements sent shivers down the spines of even the most seasoned detectives.

Describing his feelings whilst consuming his victim, he uttered a haunting nine-word phrase: “With every bite, my memory of him grew stronger.”

Psychiatric professionals informed the court that Meiwes had been plagued by violent fantasies from a young age, which escalated following his mother’s passing. Initially handed a manslaughter verdict, he was ultimately found guilty of murder after a retrial.

Meiwes continues to serve his sentence behind bars, with his crime remaining one of the most macabre and disturbing cases ever presented to a European court.