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Armin MeiwesGerman murderer and cannibal
Date of Birth: 01.12.1961
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Biography of Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes, a 42-year-old computer specialist from Rotenburg, Germany, gained notoriety as a German killer and cannibal. He confirmed in court that in March 2001, he had killed and consumed a person. Meiwes revealed that he had harbored the desire to become a cannibal since the age of eight.
The Victim
According to the investigation, Meiwes posted an online advertisement in early 2001, seeking a "well-built candidate for consumption." Responding to his call, Bernd-Juergen Brandes, a 43-year-old resident of Berlin and a Siemens programmer, contacted Meiwes. The cannibal and his victim communicated for two weeks before Brandes traveled from Berlin to Meiwes' home in Rotenburg on March 10, 2001. Prior to visiting the stranger, Brandes sold his personal car and took leave from work to deal with "personal issues."
The Crime
As per the evidence, before killing Brandes, Armin Meiwes severed his victim's genitals, roasted them, and they both consumed the dish together. Brandes then pleaded with Meiwes for ten hours to "cut off something else" and ultimately be killed. Eventually, the Berlin programmer lost consciousness due to severe blood loss, and Meiwes finished him off with an 18-centimeter kitchen knife. According to expert reports, Brandes died from multiple neck strikes. The scene of the murder and subsequent consumption was recorded by Meiwes on a video camera, which later became part of the criminal case materials.
Aftermath
Following the murder, Meiwes kissed the corpse, asked for forgiveness, and then dismembered Brandes' body, storing the parts in a freezer, labeled as "cut," "fillet," and "steak." He also left Brandes' skull in the freezer. "Every time I took out the meat, I remembered him," the cannibal later confessed to investigators. Over the next few months, Meiwes consumed approximately 20 kg of his victim's flesh. The cannibal was arrested only in December 2002, thanks to an Austrian student who stumbled upon Meiwes' messages in an online conference.
During the search of the suspect's house, the police found a room equipped with all the necessary tools for butchering bodies. The first trial against Meiwes began on December 3, 2003, at the district court in Kassel. A psychiatric commission discovered some mental irregularities in Meiwes' functioning but deemed him fully accountable. One of the commission members, psychiatrist Wilmer, stated in court that Meiwes was "more concerned about himself while committing this act." The psychiatrist also mentioned that Meiwes began eating human flesh to stimulate his emotions.
The Trial
On the other hand, the defense insisted that Meiwes' main motivation for the committed murder was the desire to fulfill the victim's perverted request. Under German law, such an act could be considered unlawful euthanasia, punishable by three to five years of imprisonment. Prosecutors argued that Meiwes committed the murder by succumbing to his own unbridled desires. However, the state prosecution could not demand the maximum punishment of life imprisonment for Armin Meiwes, as the investigation established that the victim wanted to be killed and consumed. Meiwes pretended to express remorse for his actions but calmly recounted the shocking details of the murder.
Ultimately, in January 2004, Armin Meiwes was sentenced to just eight and a half years in prison.
