Cannibalism and the dark web in Germany | Forensic Files

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our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website reinhold sat stunned in the soft glow of
his computer screen it was approaching dawn on tuesday july 9 2002 and the 23 year old medical
student had been up all night on the internet what he had witnessed had disturbed him
measurably and reinhold had to tell somebody he opened up a new email template and
began typing ladies and gentlemen of the federal criminal bureau my name is reinhold
he went on to describe his experiences online the night before seeking horrifying thrills reinhold had
used widely popular search engines to explore the darkest recesses of the internet for content that would shock
him they led him to a forum where a small but active group of users interacted excitedly over their shared interests in
taboo and or forbidden fetishes reinhold thought that what he was reading was just erotic role play based
entirely in fantasy his attention was soon drawn to an advertisement posted by a user named
frankie titled boy's sought for butchering the accompanying text read hi i'm frankie from germany
i'm looking for young men between 18 and 30 to butcher if you have a normal build then come to
me i'll butcher you and eat your delicious flash driven by curiosity reinhold sent
frankie an email in it he mentioned his age and that he lived in the austrian town of innsbruck
[Music] how many boys have you butchered and eaten reinhold tight before clicking
sand he received a prompt response well let's say i have experience frankie wrote back
in any case you wouldn't be the first [Music] [Music] reinhold continued reading the email
from frankie in reference to reinhold's age of 23 frankie had written that's an optimal butchering age the
body has just matured and is still very tender he requested that reinhold tell him more
about himself specifically his height and weight before signing off his email with
your master butcher frankie [Music] reinhold was shocked the lions i have experienced and you
wouldn't be the first implied frankie wasn't just pretending wanting no part in what he had planned
reinhold replied i don't want to be butchered i want to live he then asked frankie what compels
someone to kill and eat other people [Music] the question is as old as humanity itself frankie answered
for myself i'm not interested in killing someone in cold blood because then i would be simply grabbing somebody and
eating him and i would be just a common killer i'm looking for people who have a desire
to die for whatever reason some of them dream of being butchered others simply want to end their lives
because they have no future prospects i then prepare for them a death such as they desire for themselves
my wish since childhood has been to have someone entirely to myself and then to absorb him into me by eating him
reinhold's response was swift and blunt you are not doing these people any favor
by killing them you look exclusively for young men and exploit someone's life crisis
everyone sometimes reaches a point where he can't cope with life sometimes they have no friends and no
family and no one they can talk with no what you do is not admirable but pathologically perverted
[Music] people who come to you and whose fate you feel would have done better to go to
a psychologist and you too should go to a psychologist for even if you won't admit it to
yourself you are a cold-blooded murderer [Music] by the time their correspondence had
ended the sun was beginning to rise reinhold had spent a sleepless night glued to his computer emailing back and
forth with frankie concerned by what he had uncovered he reached out to germany's federal
criminal bureau via email after detailing his interactions with frankie reinhold ended his email by
stating i don't know how to handle it at 5 49 am reinhold clicked sand it took 19 days before anyone at
the bureau addressed reinhold's email a chief criminal commissioner eventually looked into the matter by going
undercover online and contacting frankie directly feigning interest in the topic of
cannibalism they emailed frankie to obtain information that might lead to his real-world identity
the message read i stumbled on your post where you're looking for boys to butcher i find it
fascinating please write to me about how you imagine it [Music] frankie sent a long and detailed reply
later that night that began now as i say it you will come to me live with me for a week and during that time
i'll really get to know you one wants to know whom one is eating frankie then explained that during the
final two days of their encounter he would place his victim on a liquid diet to keep their intestines empty for the
butchering process that would begin on the last day or day x as frankie called it
he'd wake his victim early wash and shave them in the bathroom then take them to his slaughter room
he offered to kill the undercover commissioner in whatever way they'd like fully conscious or drugged
their choice i'll carve you up to prepare many delightful dishes from your delicious
flesh frankie told the commissioner who he thought was a 26 year old that lived in the german state of hesse
incidentally frankie wrote i am also from hesse near castle [Music] he ended the email as he had with
reinhold weeks prior your master butcher frankie [Music] at this point there was nothing to prove
that frankie had killed or devoured anyone with no evidence of a crime having taken
place the federal criminal bureau cast the case aside what he spoke of was so outrageous and
inconceivable it was easy to believe that he was just some imaginative deviant dramatizing his gruesome and
violent kink online but reinhold felt otherwise he remained convinced that he had
interacted with a real world killer five months after his interactions with frankie and upon realizing authorities
were no longer pursuing the matter reinhold filed a criminal complaint for the suspicion of murder
he addressed how the accused had expressed experience in the field of cannibalism which gave reinhold the
well-founded suspicion that at least in one case he had killed a person it took another 44 days before any
further action was taken by now the bureau had obtained frankie's internet provider address
this allowed them to locate the computer where he sent his emails as well as the
device's internet service customer information the computer was pinpointed to a residential address in the medieval town
of rottenburg in hesse specifically in the hamlet of woosterfeld the internet service it used was
contracted to a mr armin maivus the suspicion of murder complaint filed by reinhold was delegated to the
district court of rottenborg even though reinhold's accusations were based solely on text on the internet the
court ruled that frankie's online confessions constituted suspicion of presentation of violence
this was enough for them to issue a search warrant for the worsterfeld address where frankie had sent his
emails the three-story 36-room tudor style of worcesterfield home was an impressive
residence but it had seen better days built in the middle ages around 900 a.d the manor set on a 3 000 square metre
plot of land of mostly meadows with an outbuilding that was previously used as a stable
it's half half-timbered facade looked slightly askew as the doors windows and dormers were positioned without any
sense of symmetry the property was owned by the maivus family who had purchased the decrepit
manor with the intention of renovating it into a functioning boarding house having failed that the manor had been
permanently stuck in an unfinished worsening state of the five family members who had
settled in the home only one remained the front iron gate was open when the police arrived at the woosterfeld manor
on the morning of tuesday december 10 2002 they made their way up the gravel drive
and upon reaching the house banged the bronze lion's head knocker on the front door
a tall lean man with thinning dark blonde hair and pale eyes soon appeared it was the sole homeowner occupier 41
year old armin marvis he was in the process of getting ready for work and was surprised to see the
officers who handed him their search warrant the inside of the house was dark and
musky dust covered almost every surface wallpaper was peeling the carpets were stained cobwebs hung from the walls and
dead rodents were spotted in the corners most rooms were filled to the ceiling with furniture appliances clothing and
or computing equipment some were so cramped with junk that the officers couldn't even get into them
the bathrooms were equally filthy only a few rooms appeared lived in and semi-maintained including a kitchen
dining room and two computer work rooms that contained a plethora of tech equipment including a large collection
of video tapes and computer disks on the top floor of the building was a traditional smoke room once used to
store and cure meat and fish little remained from when the room was used in this manner aside from an old
oil stove and a thick layer of soot that covered the walls the metal frame of a single bed had
since been brought in and was rusting in one corner of the room against the back wall was a large wooden
cross in the shape of an axe and in the center was a long table adorned with three knives a meat cleaver and an axe
a butcher's apron also lay nearby patches of a dark red substance stained the concrete floor
in a kitchen downstairs was a freezer that at first glance held nothing more than a few frozen pizzas
upon closer inspection an officer noticed the freezer had a false bottom when she lifted it up she uncovered
large amounts of meat stored in several bags some of it minced and some cut into
steaks the police officer held the bags up to armin marvis and asked him what they
were wild pig meat he answered she looked at him incredulously she did a lot of cooking and the meat
looked like nothing she had ever seen before the bags were labeled with the word
kator [Music] case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
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deliver quality content [Music] hello kator the email began i read your ad i'll slaughter you but only if you
really want me to let me hear from you your master butcher frankie it was monday february 5 2001 and
frankie had just stumbled across an ad on one of the online cannibal forums he frequented
titled your dinner a user going by the name kator had written i offer to let myself be eaten alive
[Music] kator was pleased to receive frankie's offer i hope you're really serious about it he
emailed back i really want it and have already met enough cyber cannibals frankie had experienced similar
disappointment several men had expressed eagerness for him to eat them online only to back out
once they met in person unlike them kator was committed he was very clear about his expectations
telling frankie that he wanted his genitals to be bitten off then i'll be ready for slaughter he
declared the pair settled on a date on the ninth day in the following month of march
frankie would eat kator the act would take place at frankie's home in a soundproofed room he had
designed for this sole purpose as march drew nearer the frequency in which kator and frankie communicated
online increased as did their level of excitement they showed little interest in talking
about the mundane parts of their lives such as their jobs or relationships instead almost every night they chatted
excessively about the upcoming slaughter in gory and sexually explicit detail offline neither man spoke a word of what
they had planned to anyone no one among their family friends or colleagues even knew of their forbidden
sexual fetish they had become masters at living a double life in reality both men lived unassuming
lives and worked in the tech sector frankie was considered a nice fellow who mowed his neighbor's lawns without
payment and happily watched his friend's children cator dutifully looked after his
grandmother and paid the bills for friends who were struggling with money both men were known to have an avid
interest in computers though they only logged into the cannibal forums when those around them were asleep
as to how frankie and kator came about the paths were different but the destination was the same
the man behind the username frankie felt his cannibalistic urge develop as a child and it turned sexual by the time
he was a teenager the underlying cause was abandonment issues in his own words his goal was to bind to
someone in a way that they would always be with him and to feel the hollow empty
feeling he had inside for the man behind the username kator the longing to be eaten coincided with
puberty a masochist kator derived sexual gratification from his own pain or humiliation
as an adult he had explored this side of himself consensually with sex workers but none were willing to eat him like he
wanted desire has lasted a long time kator wrote to frankie and will last until it finally comes
true 28 hours before the slaughter was scheduled to take place kator and frankie messaged each other for the
final time they tied up the loose ends of their plan including what would become of
kator's quote unprocessed fleshy parts like his tendons skin organs and bones giddy with excitement for their meeting
kator ended their communications by typing i'll bring myself as breakfast frankie replied
i'll have an appetite it was a drizzly winter morning on friday march 9 2001 as frankie stood on
a platform at the castle wilhelm sphere train station the 1014 train arrived and frankie's
attention was drawn to one of the first passengers to disembark he was a slender man of average height
with grey green eyes he was wearing dark clothing and a baseball cap which partially hid his
streaked grey and balding black hair it was kator the men recognized each other immediately from the photos they had
traded online they exchanged a brief hello let's get off the platform kator said
there are too many people around frankie led him to a nearby lot where he had parked his car
driving away from castle city frankie tried to keep his focus on the road but kator started caressing him from the
passenger seat stop it frankie told him wait until we're in my home it's only 60 kilometers
they arrived in woosterfeld an hour later frankie pulled up to his expansive though severely neglected manner and the
two headed inside upon returning from the kitchen with coffee frankie was confronted by a stark
naked cator who said i want you to be able to admire your food within minutes he was ready to get
started come on show me the room he demanded frankie then led him upstairs to his slaughter room
inside kator remained in a heightened state of arousal he ordered frankie to tear the flesh off
his body with his teeth but frankie was reluctant this was not how he envisioned their
encounter firstly he hated violence secondly he expected it to be a week-long affair
allowing time for the men to get to know each other before any blood was spilled
the slaughter process wasn't supposed to be frenzied it was meant to be slow and
methodical kator's vision was far more spontaneous than savage he wanted to die that very day
unable to go through with kator's demands frankie left him disappointed you're too soft kator remarked
you can't inflict pain the way i'd like it you can't slaughter me at all he asked to be taken back to the train
station the man hardly spoke during the drive once they reached the station frankie
apologized he reiterated that it was his life's wish to consume someone but they wanted
different things from the experience it just wasn't going to work kator purchased a train ticket intent on
going home then suddenly he had a change of heart if i go back to berlin now i'll be
facing a showdown he said while frankie didn't know what that meant whatever was playing on kator's
mind had led him to compromise he still wanted to die that day but he was willing to prolong the experience
and scale back the violence frankie would no longer have to literally eat him alive though he still
wanted his genitals to be removed kator came up with a new plan he would be drugged then once he was
drowsy enough frankie could go through with a far more intricate slaughter frankie was glad kator had reconsidered
and headed to a nearby pharmacy where he purchased liquid cold medicine and sleeping pills
kator took 10 of the pills and washed it down with the entire bottle of cold medicine
the potent combination took effect on the drive back to woosterfeld the two men returned to the slaughter
room kator removed his clothes laid on the bed in the corner and guzzled down half
a bottle of schnapps to become tipsy as well as drowsy by now it was just past 6 pm
i can't stand it any longer kate or barked do it now cutting off kator's penis was a painful
and messy process as the initial knife used was found to be too blunt it took several slashes of a larger
sharper knife to completely sever the organ from kator's body all the while he screamed in agony
though once it had been removed kator was astonished and thrilled and within minutes he reported feeling no pain at
all he sought to wait the organ but the raw flash was too tough to bite into after patching up kator's wound frankie
headed down to the kitchen where he proceeded to blanch and broil the organ into halves
he seasoned the halves and served them on a plate with fresh tomatoes by the time he returned to the slaughter
room the mattress beneath kator was soaked in blood kator attempted to eat the cooked flesh
but it was rock hard not even a fork could penetrate it deeming it inedible frankie threw the
pieces into a bucket as waste kator laid back on the bed disappointed all he wanted to do now was sleep
frankie stroked his face to soothe him before kator drifted off the pair finally revealed to each other their
real names up until this point they had only known and referred to each other by their
online usernames from the cannibal forums i'm amen frankie said decades before police came knocking on
his door an eight-year-old armin maivus wandered his family's woosterfeld manor feeling incredibly lonely
his mother valtrod mavis had moved amin and his two older half-brothers to the expansive property shortly after amin's
father had abandoned them to pursue a relationship with his girlfriend amin had loved his father but when he
ran desperately after his father's car howling for him not to leave his father didn't even glance at the rear view
mirror amin despised him after that amin's brothers didn't stick around long either
they moved out leaving amin alone with his mother men were not independent individuals
with their own interests and needs they were malleable things that she could shape and control
once his father and brothers were gone amin was the only man left in veltroud's life and she began to shape him
accordingly veltroud didn't do any housework so the extensive upkeep of the manner fell to
armin referring to him as her little servant valtrod ordered amin around the home
expecting him to cook and clean when he wasn't at school when he was amin was teased for his
relationship with his domineering mother other students called him a mother's boy
and made fun of the traditional lederhosen he wore at her insistence in the aftermath of her failed marriage
valtrod withdrew from society fearing further rejection this fear led her to foster a sheltered
and oppressive life for ramen at times sabotaging his relationships with others so he'd only have her
she had him live in the room across from her own and would summon him by banging
the end of her walking stick on the hard floor despite going to great lengths to keep
amin in her life valtrod was very rarely affectionate towards him she treated amin downright coolly with
the amount of times she hugged him each year countable on a single hand valtrod also feigned illness as a means
to control one day a fifteen-year-old amin was helping his mother get downstairs after
she had complained of leg pain he thought to himself one good shove and it's finally over
instead of unleashing his rage amin internalized it he hated his own cowardice and how his
devotion and eagerness to please overrode his ability to express his true feelings
the problem was even though his mother was a burden she was the last meaningful person in his life
amin feared losing her and he suspected she felt the same about him still she couldn't feel the place of the
male role model that amin desperately saw from a young age amin relied on his imagination to escape his reality
he would lose himself in books with the dark fairy tales written by german brothers jacob and wilhelm grimm
becoming treasured fantasy worlds he could revisit over and over some days amen would track the
mountainous countryside at the rear of his home with a brother's grim book in hand looking for somewhere to read in
private on one such occasion a ten-year-old armin sat beneath a tree and opened his
book to his favorite fairy tale hansel and gretel one of the most popular stories in the
brothers grimm collection the narrative follows two children lost in a forest eventually they stumble across a house
made of gingerbread with an old woman inside who promises to help them she is actually an evil witch who
captures hansel and gretel amin would have a physical reaction whenever he read this story
his heart rate would increase with each page turn bringing him closer to the part that truly delighted him
the old woman had only pretended to be so kind she was in reality a wicked witch
amin would read with excitement when a child fell into her power she killed it cooked it and ate it and that
was a feast day with her early in the morning before the children were awake she was already up and when
she saw both of them sleeping and looking so pretty with their plump and rosy cheeks she muttered to herself
that will be a dainty mouthful amin considered how lovely it would be to weed another person
in doing so they would assimilate into him and he would never again feel the hollow sting of loneliness
as these thoughts fermented in the privacy of amin's mind he sought the opinion of the only person he could
trust an imaginary brother he had formed in response to the overwhelming isolation he experienced
amin had given his imaginary brother the name frankie decades later rottenburg police left
armin's house after executing a search warrant they didn't leave empty-handed they had confiscated his computer
equipment among other things and a book of his titled flesh and blood most significant was the three bags of
meat they had taken from his freezer once the police were gone amin maivus paced nervously wanting someone to talk
to he couldn't speak with his mother as she had died several years prior from a heart attack
amin had lived alone in the house since he picked up the phone and called one of
his half-brothers his sister-in-law picked up and immediately sensed something was wrong
armin admitted that he was in trouble with the police do you have a corpse lying in the cellar
or something his sister-in-law jokingly asked he replied no in the freezer chest
she laughed assuming he was joking amin then called the office where he worked as a computer technician
he told his boss that he needed to leave and that he might never come back at 3 30 that afternoon a call was placed
to the roltenborg police the caller was armin marvis's attorney he said that amin was with him and was
ready to make a full confession throughout his life amin maida sought gratification for his cannibalistic
desires where he could as a child he'd watch his neighbors slaughter hogs for meat to sell
in his teens he shadowed his friend to the butcher shop where he worked to observe him dismembering animal
carcasses it wasn't an unpleasant sight to arm in he felt joyful to witness a once living
being serving a profound and important purpose whenever someone ate that meat that
animal was with them forever he became more creative in his adult years he barbecued barbie dolls and took
delight in the way their plastic bodies melted and warped he modelled limbs and organs out of
marzipan before devouring them as if they were the real thing he studied serial killer cannibals such
as jeffrey dahmer and researched recipes ideal for human flesh he constructed a cardboard diorama of a
slaughter room before replicating it in the old smoke room upstairs no one knew what stood deep inside armin
marvis's mind he once told a schoolmate about his desire to eat human flesh but they
laughed in response assuming he was making it up once amen got a computer he was able to
indulge in his fantasy in new shocking ways he'd digitally alter images of men he
had cut from pornographic magazines to appear butchered and bloodied he did similar alterations to photos he
took of himself the internet led to armin discovering that there were many others in the world
that had the same morbid interests as him in time he became frankie the imaginary brother from his childhood
had now become a digital persona he used to interact with other cannibal fetishists online
many years later he crossed the virtual paths with a user named kator it wasn't until kator lay drugged and
bleeding in his slaughter room that amin finally learned his real name [Music] sleepings were rare for renee yasnick
the 21 year old baker was used to getting up early for work but a week-long holiday in early march 2001
provided him the opportunity to be lazy friday march 9 marked the final day of said holiday and renee wasn't planning
on switching up his routine he stirred at around 6 40 am needing to use the bathroom and immediately
afterwards he slipped back into bed alongside his sleeping boyfriend bjern brandes
renee didn't wake up again until almost three hours later the remainder of his day would be spent
relaxing at the apartment he shared with bjernt in the city of berlin germany renee had the apartment all to himself
as bjorn had already left for work later that night renee's feelings of relaxation had dissipated
it was nearing 7 40 p.m and burnt was usually home by now at first renee was annoyed
he thought bjorn had gone for an after-hours drink with some colleagues and not bothered to inform
him but by 10 pm renee's irritation gave way to concern bjernt was reliable and it was out of
character for him not to contact renee to let him know why he wasn't home on time
strangely not only did bjorn's mobile phone go unanswered but it continued to play an automated voice message that
said this connection is temporarily disconnected when burnt failed to come home that
night renee spent the weekend reaching out to all of bern's friends and acquaintances trying to track him down
no one had seen the 43 year old renee called bjern's office at the technology corporation where burnt
worked as a computer engineer he was met with the answering machine but it's renee here the machine recorded
as renee spoke pleadingly i need to talk to you i'm worried please come home whatever has happened i'm sure we can
work it out just come home please desperate for answers renee phoned bjorn's employer and was surprised to
learn that bjernt had taken the friday he disappeared off he had told his supervisor that he
needed to do so for personal reasons as there was something he wanted to take care of
he gave no other details renee was confused burnt had told him he was going into
work on friday he even stated that he had a lot to do that day and would not be reachable on
his mobile phone or in the office thursday night had passed normally with no hints that beyond was hiding
something when beyond had left the apartment on friday morning he had taken his apartment keys wallet and mobile
phone renee was under the impression that he had indeed gone to work unable to uncover any clues as to where
bjorn had really gone renee reported him missing to the police he told them of their stable long-term
relationship and of burnt's commitment to his job although he worked a long hours bjern
earned enough for them to live a good life together that was marred only by infrequent arguments over everyday
problems in recent months bjernt had spent his work bonus to spruce up their apartment
with expensive furnishings and he and renee had been eagerly planning an overseas holiday to take later in the
year renee maintained that burnt was happy and ruled out the possibility that he
had gone somewhere to take his own life any hope that bjernt would resurface to attend a work conference on monday march
12 was lost when he failed to show up for the event three days had now passed since anyone
had seen or heard from him he hadn't accessed his bank accounts over the weekend nor had he used company
funds which were also available to him to those who knew bjernt his sudden disappearance was perplexing
police had a little luck locating him in the following weeks with no word from his missing boyfriend
renee yasnick reached out to former journalist nina hermann who had previously worked for a local newspaper
hoping she could track burt down using her investigative skills after questioning employees at bjorn's
work nina made a small discovery one of bjorn's colleagues had seen him on the morning of his disappearance at
barnhoff zoo train station in berlin he thought nothing of the sighting as he knew bjernt took a train to work each
day [Music] armed with a photograph of beard renee and nina scoured the train station for
clues and questioned staff shop owners and travellers to determine where he might have gone to next
no one recalled seeing burnt so renee posted his photo in the local newspaper hoping that it would generate some leads
it didn't he had seemingly vanished into thin air in truth he was bagged up in pieces at
the bottom of armin marvis's freezer amin maevus maintained that he didn't know bjernt brandus was in a
relationship when they met in his confession amin said he knew very little about bianca's personal
life although bjernt as kator mentioned having a friend armin didn't know that this person was a romantic partner with
whom burnt had lived with in hindsight it offered an explanation for a remark burnt had made to armin
when they returned to castle wilhelm's fure train station following their failed first attempt at the slaughter
describing his recollections from the station to author gunterstamf for his book interview with a cannibal amin
explained that bjernt was intending to go home until he said if i go back to berlin now i'll be
facing a showdown amin queried the cryptic remark but bjernt didn't elaborate could he have been agonizing over having
to explain his abrupt disappearance to his boyfriend renee it could have led to the unravelling of
his double life simultaneously ruining both author gunter staff noted that beyond
faced a literal life or death impasse quote between returning home and slaughter
between reason and madness yet chose death slaughter and madness the reasoning behind biern's decision
including why he sought to be eaten died with him he didn't pen a suicide note or record a
goodbye message comments and behavior in the lead-up to his fateful day acts were otherwise
normal right before he left to meet with armin maivis bjernt did a clean sweep of his
personal computer eradicating all trace of their communications it was obvious that he didn't want
anyone in his life to know about kator medical professionals retroactively examined byrt's life to uncover what
might have led him on his path of self-destruction at age five beyond's mother ended her
own life burnt was forbidden to talk about her death to his father and as an only child he had no one else
to turn to their relationship soured from then onwards bien's father was a cold tyrannical man
who was never impressed by burnt despite his successors in life by the time burnt was an adult the pair
were practically estranged then bjernt was cut off from his father's life entirely when he revealed
he was in a relationship with a man doctors speculated that bjorn's masochism stemmed from feelings brought
on by his father either the hatred burnt had for him or the hatred bjernt had of himself as a
result of his father's disapproval bianc's father was reluctant to speak about his son after learning what he had
done in a brief conversation with a physician he said that bjorn's childhood and youth
development were uneventful burnt had a string of failed relationships both with men and women
which linked to the overarching theme of rejection yet there was nothing to prove that any
of this was the catalyst for his actions if he had any depressive moods or other
mental disorders bjorn hid them well march 9 was not a significant date in his life and the word kator wasn't found
to be relevant either the only person who could offer any true insight into bjorn's cannibalistic
desires was the person who carried them out amin maivus said being consumed was bjorn's ultimate ecstasy his life goal
his death was his quote ultimate sexual climax the slaughter didn't play out that way
beyond didn't get to experience the euphoric feeling of being eaten alive that he had longed for
[Music] his diax had ended disappointingly with him bleeding out in armin marvis's
slaughter room dressing the wound did a little to stem the flow and burnt was insistent that an
ambulance not be called he turned to armin and said as soon as i'm asleep cut my throat
with a potent mix of blood loss cold medicine sleeping pills and alcohol impacting burnt's body armin suspected
he would pass out soon yet half an hour later burnt was still awake amen i'm so cold he said before
requesting to be put in a warm bath to expedite his bleeding amin obliged removed burnt bandages as bjorn lowered
into the warm water seeing the blood spurt from his open wound uplifted him at this point bjernt wanted to go to
sleep in the bathtub and bleed to death amin went to his bedroom and read stopping every quarter hour to return to
the bathroom and check if burnt had died two and a half hours passed and bjernt remained conscious
as bjorn went to lift himself out of the tub he blacked out and his body crumbled
to the floor armin began carrying bjorn's limp body back upstairs to the slaughter room at
which point bjernt stood awake with the sudden burst of energy he tried to walk by himself
he believed that by doing so his blood would flow out better and he would pass out faster
then you can finally do it he told armin amin gobbiand back into the slaughter room and returned to checking on him
every quarter hour then at 3 30 a.m he heard bjernt stirring about and went to see what he
was up to he found bjernt sprawled out on the floor he had managed to pull himself out of
bed but had tripped over in the darkness armin roused the burnt who remarked i've got to piss
i'm in dissuaded bjern from moving if you stand up now you'll be dead you have no blood left in you
delirious burnt insisted he needed to go to the toilet he stood up but within seconds his legs
gave way and he fell to the floor this time amin couldn't wake him amin donned a plastic apron
he placed burnt naked body on the table in the center of the room where he tied it down
after a farewell kiss and a brief prayer amin hesitated the feeling passed quickly
he tilted beard's head slightly then inserted a knife into his neck it had been 10 hours since bjorn's
ordeal had begun when speaking of the killing to author gunther staff amin recalled having an
indescribable feeling of anger and joy at the same time quote i hated myself for wanting to do it and
i hated bjernt because he had come to me on the other hand i had an unbelievable
feeling of happiness it all went the way bjernt wanted for years armin had studied medical
textbooks and searched the internet for the ideal slaughter technique now he put his knowledge into practice
after an hour of intense work amin switched his butcher's apron for a pair of pajamas and slept peacefully
the mutilation of burnt brandis body continued the following day of saturday march 10.
on sunday amiens sat alone at the end of his dining table he had dressed it for the occasion with
his finest tablecloth a black porcelain dining set polished cutlery and a glass of his favorite red wine
the table's centerpiece a candelabra created a warm ambience on a plate before ramen was a piece of
burnt brandis's upper back cooked seasoned and served with the sauce as detailed in the book cannibal by lois
jones armin said a short prayer that ended lord god thank you for providing me with
a friend for life and for sacrificing beyonce's life on earth for me i hope i won't be lonely anymore
as i'm innate he said this is the most tasty meal i've ever had nothing is so delicious
his words were directed to beyonce's decapitated head which amin had positioned on the dining table next to
him he eventually buried a beard's head in his backyard along with bjorn's arms legs and feet
in the months that followed armin ate 45 out of the 65 pounds of human flesh he had stored in his freezer
he even aided at work in the form of rissoles with his colleagues none the wiser
armin believed that through this process he was absorbing bjorn's characteristics
and talents bjern had a decent grasp of the english language and amin felt his english
speaking was improving with each meal despite having got exactly what he had wanted amin wound up back online
scrolling through cannibal forums as frankie emboldened by having done what other
users only fantasized about armin started bragging about his real-life cannibalism experience
he also posted gory pictures he had taken when he butchered bjern's remains yet his taste for human flesh had not
been satisfied eighteen months after burnt brandeis's slaughter armin received an email
someone had responded to his ad titled boys sought for butchering it was a 23 year old man from the
austrian town of vince brooke named reinhold from there armin mivus's double life
completely unravelled leaving those who knew him as a seemingly harmless friendly and helpful man utterly shocked
following armian's confession police returned to his worsterfeld manor to undertake a more thorough search
bjernt's head and limbs were uncovered in the backyard just as amin had forewarned
inside the house officers discovered a collection of vhs tapes concealed in a bookshelf
what they contained caused many of those who watched them to seek psychological counselling
at just over eight hours long amin had videotaped everything that had occurred in the slaughter room between him and
burnt brandeis this included the severing of burnt's penis his eventual death and the
butchering of his remains a meticulous record keeper armin had also kept copies of all the interactions
he had online with bjernt brandes there were pages upon pages of email and chat correspondence between the pair in
which they discussed the upcoming slaughter in gory and gratuitous detail as the act of cannibalism was not a
crime in germany lengthy deliberations were held to determine what exact charges armin marvis would face
amin's attorney felt he should have been charged with killing on request azamin had acted only to fulfill bjern's wish
to die the prosecution disagreed while they accepted that bjorn's consent was a condition for his killing it was
not the motivating reason they argued that amin killed bjern in order to butcher him and to satisfy his
own fetish to consume male flash they sought a conviction based on the charge murder for sexual satisfaction
as per german law in a criminal case involving the death of a person the jury was composed of three professional
judges and two members of the public 71 seats in the public gallery were awarded at random by lottery as citizens
and journalists vied to witness the macabre spectacle in person trial itself began one year after armin
marvis was arrested a number of self-confessed cannibals gathered outside in support of armin
with one telling a reporter there are lots of us out there we admire ramen because he had the guts to see
this thing through amin appeared calm and collected in a certain time one onlooker told a new york times
reporter that amen looked like the nicest cannibal you could ever meet when amen took the stand he spoke for
hours at no point did he show any emotion or express any remorse show me the statute that says what i've
done is against the law he said pointedly at the prosecution he reiterated that burnt wanted to die
and that he was merely assisting him quote my friend enjoyed dying for him it was a nice death
burnt came to me of his own free will to end his life i accept this is taboo but i can justify what i did to god and
the world he denied killing burnt for sexual satisfaction saying i didn't want to have sex with the
partner i chose to slaughter that had nothing to do with it one has sex with a partner in bed not
with a piece of meat it had nothing to do with sexual arousal by eating i wanted to make this person
become part of me at one stage the courtroom was emptied so only the jury could watch the videos
amin had recorded of him and bjernt in the slaughter room the footage had been heavily edited to
remove imagery deemed too graphic but what remained still greatly disturbed at those who viewed it
please do it this way bjernt was recorded telling armin get another knife the footage conveyed what amin had hoped
bjernt was a willing participant who prompted consented and encouraged everything armin did to him
but it also showed something that was not favourable to the defense analysis of the footage revealed bjernt
was still breathing when armin had killed him bjorn's body was also shown to be restrained to the table as if to keep
him still this contradicted armin's testimony in which he said he thought burnt was dead
before he inserted the knife through his throat the nearly 500 emails and messages
between frankie and kator were also read out to the court these favored the defense as it showed a
quote willingness agreement between the two men in which bjernt brandes fully consented to being slaughtered by armin
marvis in his closing statement armin spoke of his correspondence with austrian student
reinhold which ultimately led to his arrest if i hadn't been so stupid as to keep
looking on the internet ahmin said i would have taken my secret to the grave amin my verse appeared at ease when it
came time to hear the court's verdict the preceding judge acknowledged that after viewing the slaughter video
it was clear that armin took no pleasure in the actual killing of burnt brandes he went on to say
both maivus and brandis were looking for the ultimate kick this was an act between two extremely
disturbed people who both wanted something from each other the courtroom fell silent when the
verdict was read the judge explained that while amin had committed a behavior which is condemned
in our society there was an express request by bjernt brandes to be killed as such the court found that what amin
had done was killing a person without being a murderer amin maithis was convicted of
manslaughter and sentenced to eight and a half years imprisonment with good behaviour he was up for
release in under four and a half years despite receiving a somewhat favorable outcome amin maivus appealed the verdict
insisting his actions fell under killing on request he wasn't the only one to appeal
the state attorney was horrified by the light sentence and believed he should have been found guilty of murder
fifteen months later the initial trial's outcome was reversed amin maivus was to be retried for murder
at the conclusion of amin maivis's retrial in may 2006 it was determined that the killing of burnt brandis did in
fact fulfill all the requirements for murder the court decided that amin had motivating reasons that were in his
self-interest to kill bjern namely sexual gratification therefore it was not a one-sided mercy
killing the state prosecutor said you wanted to record a film in your head a hit film a film you could play again
and again so you could satisfy yourself sexually amin rebuked the decision saying
it was not a sex thing every bite i took of him brought me closer to my brother i wanted to eat him i didn't want to
kill him in his final courtroom speech amin stated i believe everyone should be able to
decide what he wants to do with his own body amin maivus was found guilty of murder
and sentenced to life imprisonment amin maivus's lawyer believed that the sentence handed down to his client was
purposely excessive to deter any further aspiring cannibals to act on their impulses
amin would later admit to author gunter staff that no punishment would have deterred him from slaughtering and
eating beyond brandes even the death penalty quote the degree of punishment is unimportant
when someone like me has this desire and wants to carry it out he'll go to any length to bring it about
i have had this desire with me for 30 years detectives have endeavoured to track
down all those who corresponded with armin mivus online to uncover a thriving cannibal network across europe that
armin estimated had at least 800 members armin assisted the detectives who managed to identify 200 people and
uncover several more possible cannibal killings many of those involved were highly
educated individuals in successful well-respected careers such as dentists teachers and government officials
in 2004 amen marvel sued german heavy metal band ramstein upon the release of their controversial single mind tile
referred to as the cannibal song my tile which is slang for my penis contained lyrics inspired by armin maivus's crimes
considered one of the band's most notable live performances my tiles sees a band member performing in a giant
cooking part that is set alight by lead singer till lindemann who dons a blood-stained chef's apron while holding
a microphone with a large real knife attached to the end armin marvis claimed the band had no
right to make a song about his story without his permission the suit never reached court
armin was able to get a 2006 film based on his crimes titled rodenborg butterfly
a grim love story temporarily banned in germany after complaining it infringed on his personal rights
the ban was overturned in 2009 after germany's federal court of justice ruled that the producer's right to artistic
freedom trumped that of amin's personal rights recent reports state that amin maivus is
a model prisoner who is described by fellow inmates and guards alike as popular friendly and polite
as a result he is allegedly allowed to leave prison with two escorts and in disguise to wander around the local town
he also professes to have become a vegetarian armin applied for parole in 2017 but was
unsuccessful further parole bids have been denied because of his poor social prognosis in
the community and his lack of remorse for his actions while amin was diagnosed with schizoid
personality by criminal psychologists they have found him to have no signs of actual mental illness
a journalist for german newspaper belina morgenpost once wrote of armand maivus the one who listens to him learns a lot
about loneliness and alienation and about the dark side of an otherwise iridescent medium the internet
it is opening up so many opportunities but at the same time it is providing invisible accomplices in countless dark
chambers [Music] [Music] [Music] in 2016 case file covered the disappearance of 22 year old shano
callahan all you can see is headlights of a car flashing it's blatantly obvious that she got in that car whoever had
taken her had done it for criminal purposes now hear firsthand from loved ones and
lead investigator steve fulcher as we unravel how the case unfolded and the minefield of legal and ethical dilemmas
encountered along the way therefore there's only one way to do this it was at that point that steve
fortune decided to take an extraordinary gamble her life is my responsibility all
i could do was plead with him for her life when a killer confesses do you listen he said you and i should
have a chat the fact of his guilt was unequivocal but what if one interpretation of the
law says you shouldn't accept the confession when he got taken to swindon he got a
lawyer all that conversation those vital confessions disappeared of no value what they were
doing what were they doing what happens to the cop who believes he's making the right choice the whole
reason we were there was losing sight what was wrong in getting a confession from a murderer it obviously rehearsed
this line that you ended with which was it was a pleasure to ruin your career you corrupt bastard if it had been your
loved one steve fulcher was looking for what would you have wanted him to do to crucify somebody
for trying his best to get closure for two families doesn't make a lot of sense case file presents the detective's
dilemma available for free on march 14 only on spotify [Music]

Case 205: Bernd Brandes

On March 9 2001, 43-year-old Bernd Brandes disappeared from his home in Berlin, Germany. The well respected and highly intelligent computer engineer’s absence was extremely out of character for those who knew him but investigations into his whereabouts proved unsuccessful.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-205-bernd-brandes

Brief Summary

Armin Meiwes killed and ate Björn Brandes, exploring consent and psychological motivations behind their actions.

Key points

The Detective's Dilemma. A gripping series exploring moral choices in crime investigations.
Reinhold's Disturbing Discovery. A medical student uncovers a chilling online cannibal forum.
The Final Agreement. Kator and Frankie finalize their gruesome plan to meet.
Kator's Demands. Kator insists on a violent act, but Frankie hesitates, revealing their conflicting desires.
A Change of Heart. Kator decides to prolong the experience instead of rushing into violence.
The Final Act. Bjernt's last moments are shrouded in mystery, leaving questions about his choices.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You are not doing these people any favor by killing them.

Reinhold confronts Frankie about his actions

7:06WatchApr 2, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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