A man has confessed to murdering and eating another man who allegedly volunteered to be killed, in a case that has shocked Germany.
The 41-year-old - who was remanded in custody on Wednesday - videotaped the murder, prosecutors said.
The victim, also in his 40s, was chopped into pieces at the killer's home in the central German town of Rotenburg, near Kassel.
Prosecutors in Kassel said the accused and the victim were apparently homosexuals who shared cannibalistic tendencies.The German daily Bild reports that the victim, from Berlin, had seen an advertisement on the internet which said: "Seeking young, well-built men aged 18 to 30 to slaughter."
The victim, a computer engineer, then sold all his possessions including a car before disappearing, the paper reports.
The state prosecutor's office in Kassel said the man died from deep cuts to the neck. The killer then chopped up the body and kept the parts in his fridge.
Police believe the murder occurred in spring 2000.
They found deep-frozen human flesh, skeleton parts and video recordings at the scene.
Neighbour Joerg Paulusen, speaking to Reuters TV, said of the killer: "It was sort of clear to us that he had a different perspective on life than we did, but he was a normal person, to speak to him, drink a glass of beer with him - just like you and me."
The last alleged case of cannibalism in Germany was when a 33-year-old man on trial for robbery and murder in March 1995 claimed to have eaten his victim's innards, although his claim was never proven, the AFP news agency reports.
If, according to cultural relativism, we shouldn't judge someone's actions if their culture dictates it to be morally acceptable, should we be able to judge a German man who maybe agrees with those set of cultural morals, but happens to live in a society that doesn't share his views?
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2 comments:
This man should outright be thrown in jail and detained for a while. Yes, it's true that this man may have this notion in his twisted mind that cannabalism is acceptable, but that does not make it okay. According to cultural relativism, what he does in his society is okay, but it's deplorable in our society. Applying Kant's theories, this man should act as if he were following a universal law, and apply rule utilitarinism. As killing generally brings pain and suffering, among other things, one should not kill. This cannibal killing is looked down upon in most societies, and if this man has those canabalistic tendencies/desires, he should go live with pygmies somewhere, far away from proper civilization.
Personally i can't believe a man would actually eat human flesh. No matter if the person believed that it was alright to eat another human being, it is morally wrong in every way. The man should be sent to jail for such a crime or even an insane asylum if there is a belief in a need for it. Murder for the sake of it and to eat the corpse is just unforgivable and utterly unbelievable. In society it is morally wrong to kill another person, unless there are extenuating circumstances. And being hungry for human flesh certainly does not count.
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