Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes

Armin Meiwes (born 1 December 1961) is a German former computer repair technician who received international attention for murdering and eating a voluntary victim in 2001, whom he had found via the Internet.

After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes murdered his victim and proceeded to eat a large amount of his flesh. Meiwes cut off his victim's penis and later consumed parts of his body.

The house where this event took place was destroyed in a fire that occurred in the early morning on 17 April 2023.

Armin Meiwes was born on 1 December 1961, the only child of Waltrud Meiwes (1919–1999).

He had two older half-brothers from his father's previous relationship with another woman.

His father abandoned Armin when he was eight, leaving him to be raised by his mother.

During sessions with police experts, Meiwes had explained that his desire for cannibalism, related to the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, had developed during his adolescent years.

He had also described himself feeling "very lonesome" after "the family had fallen apart".

Looking for a willing volunteer, Meiwes posted an online advertisement stating that he was "looking for a well-built 18- to 25-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed."

Bernd-Jürgen Armando Brandes, a 43-year-old engineer from Berlin, answered the advertisement in March 2001.

Many other people responded to the advertisement but backed out; Meiwes did not attempt to force them to do anything against their will.

The two made a videotape when they met on 9 March 2001 in Meiwes's home, in the small town of Wüstefeld, west of Rotenburg an der Fulda.

The video shows Meiwes amputating Brandes's penis (with his agreement) and the two men attempting to eat it together.

Before doing so, Brandes swallowed twenty sleeping pills, and a bottle of cough syrup, likely causing an effect of slowed breathing and extreme tiredness. Brandes initially insisted that Meiwes should attempt to bite his penis off.

This did not work, and ultimately, Meiwes used a knife to remove it. Brandes apparently tried to eat some of his own penis raw but could not, because it was too tough and, as he put it, "chewy".

Meiwes then fried the penis in a pan with salt, pepper, wine, and garlic; he then fried it with some of Brandes' fat, but by then it was too burnt to be consumed.

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

According to court officials who saw the video (which has not been made public), Brandes may already have been too weakened from blood loss to eat any of his own penis.

Meiwes then ran Brandes a bath, before going to read a Star Trek book, while checking on Brandes every fifteen minutes, during which time Brandes lay bleeding in the bath, drifting in and out of consciousness.

After long hesitation and prayer, Meiwes killed Brandes by stabbing him in the throat, after which he hung the body on a meat hook.

The incident was recorded on a four-hour videotape, which has never been released to the public due to its gruesome contents.

Four screenshots allegedly from the videotape can be found online, but their credibility is unproven.

Meiwes dismembered and ate the corpse over the next ten months, storing body parts in his freezer under pizza boxes and consuming up to 20 kg of the flesh.

According to prosecutors, Meiwes committed the act for sexual pleasure.

He was arrested in December 2002.

Meiwes was arrested in December 2002, when a college student alerted authorities to new advertisements for victims online.

Investigators searched his home and found body parts and the videotape of the killing.

Meiwes was diagnosed with a schizoid personality but deemed fit to stand trial.

Websites dedicated to Meiwes started appearing after his 2002 arrest, with people advertising for willing victims.

"They should go for treatment, so it doesn't escalate like it did with me," said Meiwes.

While in prison, Meiwes has since become a vegetarian.

He believes there are about 800 cannibals in Germany.

In January 2004, Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years and six months in prison.

On 30 January 2004, Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years and six months in prison.

The case attracted considerable media attention.

When speaking to a German newspaper, Meiwes admitted cannibalising Brandes and expressed regret for his actions.

He added he wanted to write a biography with the aim of deterring anyone wanting to follow in his footsteps.

In April 2005, a German court ordered a retrial after prosecutors appealed Meiwes's sentence, arguing that he should have been convicted of murder because he killed for sexual gratification, a motive proved by his having videotaped the crime.

In a retrial in May 2006, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Because of his acts, Meiwes is also known as the Rotenburg Cannibal or Der Metzgermeister (The Master Butcher).