Armin Meiwes

Background

Armin Meiwes was a German man who became known as the “Rotenburg Cannibal” or “Der Metzgermeister” (The Master Butcher). He achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim that he had found via the Internet.

Meiwes was born in Germany in 1961, with the date “December 1, 1961” also given. The trial materials and reporting described him as a computer technician.

Meiwes was described as having grown up in a large house with his mother near Kassel and as having a difficult relationship with her. He claimed he created an imaginary brother called Franky. He also described childhood fantasies about eating, including fantasies connected to “Hansel and Gretel.”

The case became part of a wider public debate about whether a person could be convicted of murder when the victim had voluntarily participated.

The offence

Meiwes posted an advertisement on the Internet looking for a willing victim. He posted the advertisement at a cannibal-themed website, including a reference to “The Cannibal Cafe” and other advertisements or postings on the Internet. His post described seeking a well-built 18 to 30-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed, and a later quoted phrasing included: “looking for a well-built 18 to 30-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed”.

Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes (also given as Bernd-Jürgen Brandes and Bernd Juergen Brandes) replied to the advertisement and they arranged to meet so Meiwes could kill and eat Brandes. Brandes was described as bisexual and as having mutilation ideas in the homosexual prostitution scene of his home city.

The meeting took place in March 2001 at Meiwes’ home in a small village of Rotenburg, with a more specific date given as March 9, 2001. The meeting included sexual activity and then an arrangement under which Meiwes amputated Brandes’ penis, after Brandes had insisted that Meiwes would bite his penis off. The attempted biting did not work.

Meiwes used a knife initially that was too blunt, and then a sharper knife to slice the penis off. The penis was then treated before eating. It was described as being sautéed in a pan with salt, pepper, and garlic. There was also reporting that, by then, it was too burned to be consumed in that account, and that Brandes apparently tried to eat his share raw but could not because it was “chewy,” with the quote “chewy” attributed to Brandes. Another account described Broiling and then that it was too tough and “chewy,” with Broiling leaving the organ too tough to eat.

Meiwes was described as giving Brandes large quantities of alcohol and pain killers, and as giving 30 sleeping pills and a bottle of schnapps in one account. Brandes was also described as reading or swallowing pain or sleeping substances to cope with the situation, including references to “sleeping pills,” “schnapps,” cold medicine, and painkilling tablets.

Brandes was killed in a room installed or set up in Meiwes’ house for this purpose, described as the “Slaughter Room” and also as a slaughter room in the house. One account stated that after stabbing Brandes to death in the throat, Meiwes hung the body on a meat hook and tore hunks of flesh from it, and that Meiwes even tried to grind the bones to use as flour. The entire scene was recorded on videotape, described as a four-hour video with 19 minutes shown at trial in one account, and as a two-hour video tape in another account.

Meiwes then ate the body over subsequent months, storing parts in a deep freezer. One account stated storage over the next few months, another described eating over the next 10 months, and another described consuming up to 20 kg of flesh. Another account described 44 pounds of flesh and organs over several months. Parts were also described as being kept under pizza boxes and the skull being kept in the freezer or buried in the garden, with accounts differing on disposal details.

Meiwes continued to post new advertisements for victims on the Internet after the killing, including a later mention of advertisements seen in December 2002.

Investigation

Investigators searched Meiwes’ home after his arrest and found body parts and the videotaped killing. Police also found meat parts and evidence that included deep-frozen human flesh, skeleton parts, and video recordings.

Police were tipped off after new advertisements for victims were seen on the Internet, including by a college student in Innsbruck phoning police, and by an Austrian student reporting the advertisements and details about the killing on the Internet.

Investigators went through Meiwes’ computer to trace evidence of correspondence over previous years and found thousands of images of torture and pornography in one account.

Arrest

Meiwes was arrested in December 2002. In one account, police raided his house on December 11, 2002 and found 15 lbs of Brandes’ flesh under pizza boxes in his freezer, as well as the video of the killing.

Another account stated police arrested him after receiving a tip from a web user and that they discovered meat in a freezer with a false bottom. He was described as having confessed to what he had done soon after his arrest.

Trial

Conviction of manslaughter and sentence

On January 30, 2004, Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. In the description of the verdict, the sentencing included the quotation attributed to Judge Volker Muetze:

“seen legally, this is manslaughter -- killing a person without being a murderer.”

It was also described that the jury or court rejected the prosecution argument that Meiwes murdered Brandes for “sexual gratification.” Another quote attributed to Judge Volker Muetze included:

“We have opened up a door, which one is inclined to close again immediately.”

Meiwes’ closing statement and comments during trial were also included. In one account his closing statement included:

“Bernd came to me of his own free will to end his life. For him, it was a nice death.... I had my big kick, and I don't need to do it again. I regret it all very much, but I can't undo it.”

Another account included Meiwes’ remarks during trial:

“My friend enjoyed dying, death. I only waited horrified for the end after doing the deed. It took so terribly long.”

Meiwes testified and maintained the position that the killing followed the victim’s wishes. German lawyers faced the issue that cannibalism itself was not illegal in Germany at the time, so prosecutors relied on a charge of sexually-driven murder and a charge of “disturbing the peace of the dead,” while the defence argued for “killing on demand,” described as illegal euthanasia carrying a maximum sentence of five years in one account.

During the trial, reporters and the public were removed when 19 minutes of key moments from the video were shown.

Retrial ordered and evidentiary focus

In April 2005, a German court ordered a retrial after prosecutors appealed his sentence. Prosecutors believed Meiwes should have been convicted of murder, not manslaughter, and given a life sentence.

At the retrial, questions focused on whether Brandes agreed to the killing and whether Brandes was legally capable at the moment of killing, taking into account mental problems and intake of alcohol and drugs. The retrial also considered whether Meiwes killed to satiate his own desires, including sexual desires, rather than because he was asked to, a point Meiwes repeatedly rejected during testimony.

A psychologist stated that Meiwes could reoffend and still “had fantasies about devouring the flesh of young people.”

Murder conviction and life imprisonment

On May 10, 2006, a court in Frankfurt convicted Meiwes of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Reporting also described that the sentence could allow parole after serving a mandatory 15 years.

At the retrial, Meiwes renewed a detailed confession and testified about the killing. In one account, Meiwes told the court:

“I wanted to eat him — I didn't want to kill him.”

Another account included his statements to the court about regret and autonomy, including:

“Everybody has the right to decide themselves about their own life and their body.”

Additional quoted material attributed to Meiwes included:

“I killed a man, slaughtered him and ate him. Since then, he's always with me.”

Sentencing

Meiwes received an initial sentence of eight and a half years in prison following his manslaughter conviction on January 30, 2004.

After a retrial, Meiwes was convicted of murder on May 10, 2006 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Appeals

Prosecutors appealed the manslaughter conviction and sentence, resulting in a retrial ordered in April 2005. Reporting stated that federal appeals court action overturned the initial manslaughter conviction to allow prosecutors to seek a tougher sentence and that prosecutors believed the sexual motive behind the killing had not been sufficiently considered.

Outcome

Meiwes was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murder on May 10, 2006.

Aftermath

After entering prison, Meiwes became a vegetarian in reporting. He also worked in the prison library and joined a prisoners’ group associated with Green Party politics.

A report by Bild-Zeitung in October 2007 said Meiwes was reportedly helpful in analysis of two suspected cannibal murders from 1998 and 2000, involving two young boys found horribly mutilated and possibly by the same murderer.

Meiwes rejected substantial offers from film companies and publishers to bring his story to the big screen and assigned global rights to his story to Stampfwerk for no charge on condition it gave an accurate and full account of his case.

A cultural impact discussion included multiple artistic references and adaptations. The song “Mein Teil” by German Tanz-Metall band Rammstein was described as inspired by the case. Other songs referenced included “The Wüstenfeld Man Eater” by American heavy metal band Macabre, “Eaten” by Swedish death metal band Bloodbath, “Let me Taste your Flesh” by Spanish death metal band Avulsed, “Cannibal Anthem” by German electro-industrial project :wumpscut:, “Cannibals of Rotenburg” by the dirge-country band Sons of Perdition, and “Menschenfresser [Eat Me]” by electro-industrial act Suicide Commando. Rock artist Marilyn Manson identified Meiwes as inspirational in the titling of his album “Eat Me, Drink Me,” and quoted Manson as saying:

“Although I can't relate to the relationship those two had, I found the story very compelling in a romantic way. I think a lot of people wouldn’t look at it as romantic, but it was to them in some sick way, and it is to me in some sick way, too.”

Multiple films were also described as being made or scheduled, including Rosa von Praunheim’s “Dein Herz in Meinem Hirn” and “Butterfly: A Grimm Love Story,” which was described as scheduled for German release in March 2006 but banned in Germany after Meiwes complained that his “personality rights” had been violated. The American film was described as fictionalized and as starring Keri Russell and Thomas Kretschmann, and it was described as having won multiple awards at the 2006 Festival de Cine de Sitges, including Best Director, Best Actor for the two male leads, and Best Cinematography.

A 2005 Australian horror/thriller film “Feed” was described as containing a short scene depicting Meiwes and his victim sitting in a blood-filled bathtub. In 2005, a farce by Olivier Lejeune titled “Dévorez-moi (Devour me)” was described as loosely based on the case. The IT Crowd was described as parodying the story in an episode where characters pretended interest in being eaten to watch a film on the cannibal’s television.

Hip-hop artist Necro was described as briefly making reference to the case in “Human Consumption,” with the quote:

“it's legal in Germany, believe me, cannibals are celebrities”

A film titled “Cannibal,” directed by Marian Dora and starring Carsten Frank, Victor Brandl, and Manoush, was described as released in 2006 and banned in Germany.

A book by Neil Strauss, titled “Emergency,” was also described as referencing Meiwes.

People

Armin Meiwes

Armin Meiwes was a German computer technician who killed and ate Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes. He posted advertisements online seeking a willing victim and recorded the events on video.

Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes / Bernd-Jürgen Brandes / Bernd Juergen Brandes

Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes was the victim of Meiwes’ killing and cannibalism. He replied to Meiwes’ advertisement, travelled to Meiwes’ home, and participated in the penis amputation. He was described as having a will or desire for his life to be ended, and as having been legally incapable at the moment of killing in one set of questions addressed at retrial.

Other details

Meiwes was associated with pseudonyms in the accounts, including “Franky” used in an Internet posting under which Brandes travelled.

The case attracted considerable media attention and led to debate about whether the legal system could convict given the victim’s apparent participation and consent.

A separate “timeline” style listing included “Born 1 December 1961,” “The Victim 9 March 2001: Bernd-Jürgen Brandes,” “Arrested 11 December 2002,” “Trial 3 December 2003,” “Convicted 30 January 2004,” “Sentenced Eight and a half years in prison,” “Re-Trial 12 January 2006,” and “Sentenced Life in prison.”

Additional quoted remarks attributed to Meiwes included statements about consent and personal responsibility. Another quote attributed to Meiwes was:

In one account, Meiwes said:

“Today I know that what I did was wrong,”

And another included:

“The wishes, the fantasies you have, that these could never be fulfilled. That these things you dream about could only be a dream.”