Cannibal: The True Story of the Maneater of Rotenburg

Cannibal: The True Story of the Maneater of Rotenburg

German native Armin Meiwes placed this ad in an internet chatroom catering to cannibals. He received 430 responses. Among them was Bernd Juergen Brandes, who arrived at Meiwes’s isolated country home literally to be eaten alive. Escorted to the “slaughtering room”—equipped with meat hooks, a cage, and a butcher’s table—Meiwes assisted Bernd in a gourmet candlelight dinner of his own cooked flesh. Meiwes then stabbed his victim in the throat—bringing the ghastly videotaped ordeal to an end.   From a childhood perverted by unhealthy obsessions to his notorious trial that ended in a stunning verdict, Cannibal discloses for the first time the true story of a real-life Hannibal Lecter and his victim. And with details never before divulged to the public, it takes readers step-by-step through the unspeakable crime that fascinated and revolted the world.   INCLUDES PHOTOS Table of Contents   Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Acknowledgements   Chapter 1 - Preparations for Dinner Chapter 2 - Armin’s Childhood Chapter 3 - Armin’s Dominant Mother Chapter 4 - Armin’s Life as a Young Man Chapter 5 - The Impact of His Mother’s Death Chapter 6 - Looking for a Well-Built Man for Slaughter Chapter 7 - The Slaughter Room Chapter 8 - Bernd, the Meal Chapter 9 - I Hope You’ll Find Me Tasty Chapter 10 - The Slaughter Room Chapter 11 - You Have My Word and My Permission to Kill Me Chapter 12 - To Test the Limits of Pain Chapter 13 - Back from the Station Chapter 14 - The Castration Chapter 15 - Bernd Continues to Live Chapter 16 - The Difficult Part Chapter 17 - The Gein Configuration Chapter 18 - The Biggest Kick in My Life Chapter 19 - I Hope I Won’t Be Lonely Anymore Chapter 20 - Bernd’s Absence Is Noticed Chapter 21 - Looking for Another Slaughter Boy Chapter 22 - Franky Boasts Chapter 23 - Have You Eaten Human Flesh, Mr. Meiwes? Chapter 24 - Listen, I’m in Trouble Chapter 25 - The Cannibal of Rotenburg Chapter 26 - No Signs of Psychiatric Illness Chapter 27 - A Complicated Matter Chapter 28 - Manslaughter Chapter 29 - Appeals Chapter 30 - Maybe It’s Going to Happen Again THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4V 3B2, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa   Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England   CANNIBAL   A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author   PRINTING HISTORY Berkley mass-market edition / January 2005   Copyright © 2005 by Lois Jones   All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.   eISBN : 978-1-101-01049-5   BERKLEY® Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. BERKLEY is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. The “B” design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.       This book is dedicated to Barnaby and my family for their love, support and belief in me. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank many for their help in creating this book.   For their love and support, I thank Barnaby, my parents and Howard and Gayle. A special thanks goes to Clive for his eternal encouragement and daily cheer.   I am also grateful to Flavia, Rachel, Lynne and Bartlin for their sound advice.   For her careful attention to the manuscript, professionalism and positive words, I thank my editor, Allison McCabe.   I am also grateful for the assistance provided by Frank Thonicke, HNA; Channel Four and Stern.   All the names in this book are real. The events in this book are real, or as close to real as humanly possible. The story that follows is based on hours of research, interviews and first-person accounts of the participants. 1 Preparations for Dinner The sun shone down on the half-timbered farmhouse, nestling in the rolling hill