'Perfect' neighbour's gruesome advert for man to kill and eat

People living in the small German town of Rotenburg recalled Armin Meiwes as a quiet yet eccentric loner who lived in a local farmhouse, offering to mow their lawns, fix their cars and, on occasion, extending dinner invitations to neighbours.

He appeared to be the ideal neighbour.

Their horror was therefore palpable when authorities detained the 42-year-old computer engineer and charged him with the brutal slaughter of a man he had encountered online.

Meiwes had posted numerous online advertisements seeking a “well built” young man he could kill and consume.

In a deeply disturbing twist, Meiwes found a willing participant in Bernd Brandes, who permitted him to sever and cook his penis for both to eat, reports the Daily Star.

Meiwes subsequently stabbed Brandes through the throat before dismembering his body, storing portions of his flesh in a freezer to defrost, cook and consume over a period of 10 months. He reportedly likened the taste to pork.

Meiwes encountered the 43-year-old electrical engineer, who harboured an intense sexual desire for castration, on an internet chat forum in February 2001.

The pair spent a month corresponding via email, during which Brandes consented to being killed and eaten provided Meiwes fulfilled his castration fantasy.

On March 9 2001, following a month of meticulous planning, the two convened at Meiwes’ home, where he had laid out six knives, a hatchet, a meat grinder and a video camera.

Brandes consumed 180ml of cough syrup, half a bottle of schnapps and swallowed 20 sleeping pills to steady his nerves.

Meiwes then severed Brandes’ penis and cooked it with salt, pepper, garlic and wine for them both to eat. Brandes, bleeding profusely, attempted to eat the appendage but was unable to. He subsequently ran a bath while Meiwes read a Star Trek novel.

Between 2 and 3am, in the early hours of the morning, Brandes appeared to lose consciousness due to severe blood loss.

Believing him to be dead, Meiwes kissed Brandes, drove a large kitchen knife through his throat before dismembering him, storing his flesh in the freezer alongside frozen pizzas.

The entire ordeal was filmed, with a brief excerpt from the four hours of footage being screened during the trial. The recordings have never been made available to the public.

Meiwes consumed up to 20 kilograms of Brandes’ flesh over the subsequent ten months, frequently accompanied by a bottle of South African red wine, and buried his skull in the back garden.

“With every bite,” Meiwes told prosecutors, “my memory of him grew stronger.”

The horrific crime was only uncovered when Meiwes boasted of the killing to a 23-year-old university student online, who subsequently reported the exchange to police.

Despite the extensive footage of the killing, the case proved challenging for German prosecutors as Brandes had repeatedly given his consent to be slaughtered and because cannibalism is not a crime in Germany.

Meiwes’ lawyers contended that their client had committed “assisted suicide”, while prosecutors maintained there was an unmistakable sexual motive behind the killing.

He was ultimately convicted of manslaughter and “disturbing the peace of the dead.”

Authorities have repeatedly rejected parole requests, citing that Meiwes “still had fantasies about devouring the flesh of young people” and therefore posed a risk of reoffending.

During the trial, Meiwes told prosecutors that his desire to consume human flesh first emerged during his childhood at the age of eight, when family acquaintances in rural Wüstefeld introduced him to the home slaughtering of cattle, poultry, hogs, deer and rabbits.

He portrayed an isolated upbringing, made worse by a neurotic and abusive mother. As a coping mechanism, he conjured an imaginary younger brother he named “Franky”.

Over time, however, Meiwes began harbouring sexual fantasies about “Franky”, developing a desire to “become one” with his imaginary sibling by consuming him entirely, ensuring he could never leave.

Tales such as Hansel and Gretel, along with a film adaptation of Robinson Crusoe, further fuelled his disturbing obsession.

The latter proved particularly compelling, notably a scene in which the character Friday chooses to “show his reverence” for his fellow tribesmen by consuming their remains.

From 1998 onwards, Meiwes began frequenting online “cannibal fetish” forums under the alias “Frankie”, openly expressing his desire to kill and eat another man.

He stated he was “looking for a well-built 18- to 30-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed.”

He received numerous replies, all of whom withdrew once they realised Meiwes was in earnest.

Meiwes had even built a “slaughter room” in his attic, complete with a hatchet, whip and soundproofed walls, which he would display to inquisitive respondents.

Despite expressing his “condolences” for the killing, he has also referred to it as a “beautiful death”.

He claims that Brandes spoke fluent English and that, since consuming him, his own English has notably improved.