CONTENT WARNING: cannibalism, sexual themes
Also known as the Rotenburg Cannibal or Der Metzgermeister, he was a bisexual german man who consensually killed and ate Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes. Receiving life in prison for his crime, his name is...
ARMIN MEIWES
Meiwes was born on December 1st, 1961, the youngest to 2 older half brothers. The family lived together until Meiwes' father left him with his abusive mother, who would loudly and publically beat him. Meiwes would later say to interviewers that this situation left him feeling lonely. His mother, even in the future, would still not leave him be. She would follow him on dates and even follow him on troop outings when he participated in the german army in the early 1980s. He became so stressed that he eventually thought of an imaginary brother named Franky. Not only was this an outlet to feel listened to, it was probably also due to missing his older brothers, who he was close to.
Meiwes developed a fascination with the story of hansel and gretel, which shows an obvious start to his sexual desires. From living out in the countryside, he also was exposed to animal slaughter often, which desensitized him to death and gore. He also enjoyed watching movies where flesh would be eaten.
Meiwes was often described as a polite, helpful, and introverted man. He would repair classic cars as a hobby. When being psychologically evaluted in prison, it was declared he had a schizotypal personality disorder, which for whatever reason apparently did not count as "mentally ill" since he could control himself, and he only needed therapy.
He worked for a tech company, repairing ATMs and computer screens for work. He liked to repair classic cars as a hobby. On a more alarming end, he would also dismember barbie dolls and film himself being "slaughtered", using ketchup as blood. He would also often view violent pornography.
BERND JÜRGEN ARMANDO BRANDES
Something interesting I find about both of these men is that they had trauma relating to their mothers. I don't personally think that a traumatizing situation with a maternal figure means anything, but it is an interesting note. Some psychologists speculate that it's possible Brandes blamed himself for his mother's death. At 12 years old, his mother died in a car crash, but Brandes' father often called it a suicide, possibly indicating that there was more to this than just an accident.
Brandes was bisexual, living with a man and seeking out sex with women. He would often seek out a male prostitute who he would request violent sex from. Brandes would admit that he was addicted to sex, but did not want to be. He would often request that the prostitute bite off, cut off, or eat his penis. The prostitute would play along, even bringing a knife at some point, but never thought Brandes would genuinely seek it out.
The prostitute who knew Brandes would appear in court as a witness, although he disguised his identity for the public. He was vocally and visibly upset over the death of Brandes, wishing he could've done something to help him.
THE CRIME
The website Meiwes used to find Brandes, "Cannibal Cafe", was only ever used for roleplays, where humans would be described like livestock, but he wanted to fulfill the fantasy. Meiwes and Brandes would exchange emails, where Brandes would say things like "I'm your meat" (I hope to find more of these emails and possibly translate them but i'm still researching the small details of this case). Meiwes would go by the name "Franky", asking for a "well-built man, 18-30" to be eaten.
Meiwes would put out these requests and responded to around 200 people. Some would turn down coming, others would say they were coming and not come at all. Some members would go into his murder room and even allow themselves to be hung up and marked, but would ultimately back out. Meiwes would cooperate and release them, insistent on only wanting a wholly consensual and willing victim.
Part of the reason behind the controversy of the case was due to the consensual nature. 42-year-old Meiwes met 41-year-old Brandes on this forum, where the two formulated a plan for Brandes to be eaten. Brandes wished to be stabbed and dismembered after consuming a bottle of cold medicine to lose consciousness. On March 9th, 2001, the crime was executed inside a designated room within Meiwes's house in Rotenburg, Germany. His home was described as rural, with meadows surrounding it.
Meiwes stored Brandes' body in his fridge and ate parts of it throughout the rest of 2001. He would report the meat tased like pork, and he accompanied it with African red wine. He believed with every piece of Brandes he ate that he became closer, even that he was gaining himself a "soulmate". Meiwes also seemed to believe that he learned to speak english through consuming Brandes.
Months later, Meiwes put out another request for a victim. This time, police were alerted, and he was arrested.
THE TRIAL
Meiwes's trial was held during 2003. During his trial, Meiwes confessed. He would state "With every piece of flesh I ate I remembered him," And that "I always wanted someone to be part of me." Throughout the trial Meiwes would remain calm and collected.
Notable pieces of evidence included: A videotape of the slaughter, ground (human) bones, bags of frozen (human) meat.
The defense (lead by Harald Ermel) would focus on the fact that the crime was consensual. In fact, on the aforementioned videotape, Brandes would affirm that the act was consensual. The videotape showed both men carrassing and holding one another and joking, and even dissappointment that Brandes's penis was too tough to eat, even after being cooked. The tape also showed Meiwes hesitating to kill Brandes and praying after. Meiwes claims that he regrets this, but I personally do not believe this as nothing he said before indicated he ever felt like this. He is now a vegatarian and he is reportedly a well-behaved prisoner.
IMAGES
Untranslated forum post by Meiwes
Image of the kitchen Meiwes ate Brandes
Some chats between Cator99 (Brandes) and Antrophagus (Meiwes)
Another chat between Brandes and Meiwes
CITATIONS