Armin Meiwes

Born

1961-12-01

Birthplace

Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Biography

Armin Meiwes (German: [ˈmaɪvəs]; born 1 December 1961) is a German former computer repair technician who received international attention for murdering and cannibalising Bernd Brandes, whom he had found via the Internet as a voluntary victim, in March 2001. After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes murdered his victim and proceeded to consume a large amount of his flesh. He was arrested in December 2002, and, in January 2004, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years and six months incarceration. In a retrial in May 2006, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Due to his acts, Meiwes is also known as The Rotenburg Cannibal or Der Metzgermeister (The Master Butcher), from the signature he used in his e-mails.