Armin Meiwes.

Achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim in 2001, whom he had found via the Internet.

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Born in the German town of Kassel, he led a very lonely childhood. His father was a stern man who was largely disinterested in his son.

When the marriage broke up, when Meiwes was only eight, he abandoned the family, never to contact them again.

He later told the court during the murder trial that Meiwes had been a well-behaved little boy but had been obsessed with the story of Hansel and Gretel, in particular the chapter about fattening up Hansel to cook and eat him.

When Meiwes' father left, it fell to his mother to become the dominant parent, who would often admonish him in public and insisted in accompanying him everywhere.

Meiwes, lacking a father figure, created an imaginary brother called Franky through whom he vented his first cannibalistic thoughts, as Franky would 'listen' to Meiwes, something his mother never did.

At age 12 Meiwes began to fantasise about eating his friends so that they would become part of him and stay with him forever, a desperate solution for a very lonely and misunderstood only child.

In 1999, Meiwes' mother died and left him the family's large mansion house in Amstetten.

Totally alone for the first time in his life, without the demands of his controlling mother, he reportedly constructed a shrine in the house,

complete with a plastic mannequin that he would lay on a pillow each night.

After his mother's death he also developed an interest in internet pornography, particularly that featuring torture and pain.

And through these internet sites Meiwes found his way into his first chat rooms about cannibalism.

Looking for a willing volunteer, Meiwes posted an advertisement on the website The Cannibal Cafe (a defunct forum for people with a cannibalism fetish).

He asked for a “young, well-built man who wanted to be eaten”. He wanted to fulfill a fantasy and, well, someone answered.

And this is that story!.....

The thing about Meiwes is that he didn’t seem like the type of person to want to eat another.

Anyone who delves into the world of true crime will tell you that doesn’t mean much.

Meiwes had a fantasy about cannibalism. He craved human flesh.

So, like many people with a fantasy, he went online looking for someone who wanted to join him in it. So he went to a cannibal fetish website, which is a thing that exists, and posted an ad for a victim.

People answered, but many backed out when they realized that he was serious about it. 

An engineer from Berlin named Armando Brandes answered the ad. As much as Meiwes wanted to eat someone that was much as Brandes wanted to be eaten. 

On March 9, Brandes went to Meiwes' home where he took a fistful of sleeping pills & downed it with a half bottle of schnapps.

He then laid down in Meiwes bathtub where Meiwes filmed everything.

He started by severing Brandes’ penis & cooking it for them to share as Brandes wanted to try his own flesh.

He fried the penis in a pan with salt, pepper, wine, and garlic; but it was too burnt to be consumed.

He then chopped the penis up into chunks and fed it to his dog.

Brandes only had a bite of himself before the blood loss made him too weak to continue on.

Meiwes then drew Brandes a bath, read a book, and checked on periodically to see if he died.

When Brandes fell unconscious from blood loss, Meiwes stabbed him in the throat.

Brandes’s death took about four hours. Meiwes hung his body on a meat hook and got to work.

Over the next ten months, Meiwes devoured over 30kg pounds of Brandes flesh.

He kept making a delicious meal out of Brandes' flesh

He was finally caught in Dec. 2001 when a college student found a new ad Meiwes posted looking for a new victim.

Police were called. Body parts and the videotape were found in Meiwes’ home. 

Meiwes confessed to the murder and cannibalism.

Originally, Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter for the death of Brandes.

He was, however, tried for murder as the court felt the manslaughter conviction was not enough.

It was believed that Meiwes would re-offend as he still had fantasies about consuming flesh.

Meiwes was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006.

While in prison, Meiwes has become a vegetarian.

And he's still very much alive, eating green leafy vegetables and fruits

Thanks for reading