00:00:00
case file presents the detective's
00:00:02
dilemma a 10-part series narrated by me
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mayan featuring interviews with family
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fulcher when a moral dilemma arises
00:00:17
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[Music]
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our episodes deal with serious and often
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episode on your app or on our website
00:02:46
reinhold sat stunned in the soft glow of
00:02:48
his computer screen
00:02:50
it was approaching dawn on tuesday july
00:02:53
9 2002 and the 23 year old medical
00:02:56
student had been up all night on the
00:02:58
internet
00:03:00
what he had witnessed had disturbed him
00:03:02
measurably and reinhold had to tell
00:03:05
somebody
00:03:07
he opened up a new email template and
00:03:09
began typing
00:03:12
ladies and gentlemen of the federal
00:03:14
criminal bureau
00:03:15
my name is reinhold
00:03:18
he went on to describe his experiences
00:03:21
online the night before
00:03:24
seeking horrifying thrills reinhold had
00:03:27
used widely popular search engines to
00:03:30
explore the darkest recesses of the
00:03:32
internet for content that would shock
00:03:34
him
00:03:36
they led him to a forum where a small
00:03:38
but active group of users interacted
00:03:41
excitedly over their shared interests in
00:03:43
taboo and or forbidden fetishes
00:03:47
reinhold thought that what he was
00:03:49
reading was just erotic role play based
00:03:51
entirely in fantasy
00:03:54
his attention was soon drawn to an
00:03:56
advertisement posted by a user named
00:03:59
frankie
00:04:01
titled
00:04:02
boy's sought for butchering the
00:04:04
accompanying text read
00:04:08
hi i'm frankie from germany
00:04:11
i'm looking for young men between 18 and
00:04:13
30 to butcher
00:04:15
if you have a normal build then come to
00:04:18
me
00:04:19
i'll butcher you and eat your delicious
00:04:21
flash
00:04:24
driven by curiosity reinhold sent
00:04:27
frankie an email
00:04:30
in it he mentioned his age and that he
00:04:32
lived in the austrian town of innsbruck
00:04:34
[Music]
00:04:36
how many boys have you butchered and
00:04:38
eaten reinhold tight before clicking
00:04:40
sand
00:04:42
he received a prompt response
00:04:46
well let's say i have experience frankie
00:04:49
wrote back
00:04:51
in any case
00:04:52
you wouldn't be the first
00:05:02
[Music]
00:05:14
[Music]
00:05:21
reinhold continued reading the email
00:05:23
from frankie
00:05:25
in reference to reinhold's age of 23
00:05:28
frankie had written
00:05:30
that's an optimal butchering age the
00:05:32
body has just matured and is still very
00:05:35
tender
00:05:37
he requested that reinhold tell him more
00:05:40
about himself specifically his height
00:05:42
and weight before signing off his email
00:05:45
with
00:05:46
your master butcher
00:05:48
frankie
00:05:49
[Music]
00:05:51
reinhold was shocked
00:05:53
the lions i have experienced and you
00:05:56
wouldn't be the first implied frankie
00:05:58
wasn't just pretending
00:06:01
wanting no part in what he had planned
00:06:03
reinhold replied
00:06:06
i don't want to be butchered i want to
00:06:08
live
00:06:10
he then asked frankie what compels
00:06:12
someone to kill and eat other people
00:06:15
[Music]
00:06:17
the question is as old as humanity
00:06:19
itself frankie answered
00:06:22
for myself i'm not interested in killing
00:06:24
someone in cold blood because then i
00:06:27
would be simply grabbing somebody and
00:06:29
eating him and i would be just a common
00:06:31
killer
00:06:33
i'm looking for people who have a desire
00:06:35
to die for whatever reason
00:06:38
some of them dream of being butchered
00:06:40
others simply want to end their lives
00:06:43
because they have no future prospects
00:06:46
i then prepare for them a death such as
00:06:48
they desire for themselves
00:06:52
my wish since childhood has been to have
00:06:54
someone entirely to myself and then to
00:06:57
absorb him into me by eating him
00:07:02
reinhold's response was swift and blunt
00:07:06
you are not doing these people any favor
00:07:08
by killing them you look exclusively for
00:07:11
young men and exploit someone's life
00:07:14
crisis
00:07:15
everyone sometimes reaches a point where
00:07:18
he can't cope with life
00:07:20
sometimes they have no friends and no
00:07:22
family and no one they can talk with
00:07:25
no
00:07:26
what you do is not admirable but
00:07:28
pathologically perverted
00:07:30
[Music]
00:07:32
people who come to you and whose fate
00:07:34
you feel would have done better to go to
00:07:36
a psychologist
00:07:38
and you too should go to a psychologist
00:07:41
for even if you won't admit it to
00:07:42
yourself you are a cold-blooded murderer
00:07:46
[Music]
00:07:49
by the time their correspondence had
00:07:51
ended the sun was beginning to rise
00:07:54
reinhold had spent a sleepless night
00:07:56
glued to his computer emailing back and
00:07:59
forth with frankie
00:08:01
concerned by what he had uncovered he
00:08:03
reached out to germany's federal
00:08:05
criminal bureau via email
00:08:09
after detailing his interactions with
00:08:11
frankie reinhold ended his email by
00:08:14
stating
00:08:16
i don't know how to handle it
00:08:19
at 5 49 am reinhold clicked
00:08:24
sand it took 19 days before anyone at
00:08:28
the bureau addressed reinhold's email
00:08:32
a chief criminal commissioner eventually
00:08:34
looked into the matter by going
00:08:36
undercover online and contacting frankie
00:08:38
directly
00:08:41
feigning interest in the topic of
00:08:43
cannibalism they emailed frankie to
00:08:45
obtain information that might lead to
00:08:47
his real-world identity
00:08:50
the message read
00:08:52
i stumbled on your post where you're
00:08:54
looking for boys to butcher i find it
00:08:57
fascinating
00:08:58
please write to me about how you imagine
00:09:00
it
00:09:01
[Music]
00:09:02
frankie sent a long and detailed reply
00:09:05
later that night that began
00:09:08
now as i say it you will come to me live
00:09:12
with me for a week and during that time
00:09:14
i'll really get to know you
00:09:17
one wants to know whom one is eating
00:09:22
frankie then explained that during the
00:09:24
final two days of their encounter he
00:09:27
would place his victim on a liquid diet
00:09:29
to keep their intestines empty for the
00:09:31
butchering process
00:09:34
that would begin on the last day or day
00:09:38
x as frankie called it
00:09:41
he'd wake his victim early wash and
00:09:44
shave them in the bathroom then take
00:09:46
them to his slaughter room
00:09:50
he offered to kill the undercover
00:09:52
commissioner in whatever way they'd like
00:09:55
fully conscious or drugged
00:09:57
their choice
00:10:00
i'll carve you up to prepare many
00:10:02
delightful dishes from your delicious
00:10:04
flesh frankie told the commissioner
00:10:07
who he thought was a 26 year old that
00:10:09
lived in the german state of hesse
00:10:13
incidentally frankie wrote i am also
00:10:16
from hesse near castle
00:10:18
[Music]
00:10:20
he ended the email as he had with
00:10:22
reinhold weeks prior
00:10:25
your master butcher
00:10:27
frankie
00:10:28
[Music]
00:10:31
at this point there was nothing to prove
00:10:33
that frankie had killed or devoured
00:10:35
anyone
00:10:37
with no evidence of a crime having taken
00:10:39
place the federal criminal bureau cast
00:10:42
the case aside
00:10:44
what he spoke of was so outrageous and
00:10:47
inconceivable it was easy to believe
00:10:49
that he was just some imaginative
00:10:51
deviant dramatizing his gruesome and
00:10:54
violent kink online
00:10:57
but reinhold felt otherwise
00:11:00
he remained convinced that he had
00:11:02
interacted with a real world killer
00:11:06
five months after his interactions with
00:11:08
frankie and upon realizing authorities
00:11:11
were no longer pursuing the matter
00:11:13
reinhold filed a criminal complaint for
00:11:15
the suspicion of murder
00:11:19
he addressed how the accused had
00:11:20
expressed experience in the field of
00:11:23
cannibalism which gave reinhold the
00:11:25
well-founded suspicion that at least in
00:11:28
one case he had killed a person
00:11:32
it took another 44 days before any
00:11:35
further action was taken
00:11:38
by now the bureau had obtained frankie's
00:11:40
internet provider address
00:11:43
this allowed them to locate the computer
00:11:45
where he sent his emails as well as the
00:11:47
device's internet service customer
00:11:50
information
00:11:52
the computer was pinpointed to a
00:11:54
residential address in the medieval town
00:11:57
of rottenburg in hesse
00:12:00
specifically in the hamlet of
00:12:02
woosterfeld
00:12:04
the internet service it used was
00:12:06
contracted to a mr armin maivus
00:12:10
the suspicion of murder complaint filed
00:12:13
by reinhold was delegated to the
00:12:15
district court of rottenborg
00:12:18
even though reinhold's accusations were
00:12:20
based solely on text on the internet the
00:12:23
court ruled that frankie's online
00:12:25
confessions constituted suspicion of
00:12:28
presentation of violence
00:12:31
this was enough for them to issue a
00:12:33
search warrant for the worsterfeld
00:12:35
address where frankie had sent his
00:12:37
emails
00:12:42
the three-story 36-room tudor style of
00:12:45
worcesterfield home was an impressive
00:12:47
residence but it had seen better days
00:12:51
built in the middle ages around 900 a.d
00:12:54
the manor set on a 3 000 square metre
00:12:57
plot of land of mostly meadows with an
00:13:00
outbuilding that was previously used as
00:13:02
a stable
00:13:04
it's half half-timbered facade looked
00:13:06
slightly askew as the doors windows and
00:13:10
dormers were positioned without any
00:13:12
sense of symmetry
00:13:15
the property was owned by the maivus
00:13:17
family who had purchased the decrepit
00:13:20
manor with the intention of renovating
00:13:22
it into a functioning boarding house
00:13:25
having failed that the manor had been
00:13:28
permanently stuck in an unfinished
00:13:30
worsening state
00:13:33
of the five family members who had
00:13:35
settled in the home only one remained
00:13:40
the front iron gate was open when the
00:13:42
police arrived at the woosterfeld manor
00:13:44
on the morning of tuesday december 10
00:13:47
2002
00:13:49
they made their way up the gravel drive
00:13:52
and upon reaching the house banged the
00:13:54
bronze lion's head knocker on the front
00:13:57
door
00:13:59
a tall lean man with thinning dark
00:14:01
blonde hair and pale eyes soon appeared
00:14:06
it was the sole homeowner occupier 41
00:14:09
year old armin marvis
00:14:12
he was in the process of getting ready
00:14:14
for work and was surprised to see the
00:14:16
officers who handed him their search
00:14:19
warrant
00:14:23
the inside of the house was dark and
00:14:25
musky
00:14:26
dust covered almost every surface
00:14:29
wallpaper was peeling the carpets were
00:14:32
stained cobwebs hung from the walls and
00:14:35
dead rodents were spotted in the corners
00:14:39
most rooms were filled to the ceiling
00:14:41
with furniture appliances clothing and
00:14:44
or computing equipment
00:14:47
some were so cramped with junk that the
00:14:49
officers couldn't even get into them
00:14:53
the bathrooms were equally filthy
00:14:56
only a few rooms appeared lived in and
00:14:59
semi-maintained including a kitchen
00:15:02
dining room and two computer work rooms
00:15:04
that contained a plethora of tech
00:15:06
equipment including a large collection
00:15:09
of video tapes and computer disks
00:15:13
on the top floor of the building was a
00:15:15
traditional smoke room once used to
00:15:17
store and cure meat and fish
00:15:21
little remained from when the room was
00:15:23
used in this manner aside from an old
00:15:25
oil stove and a thick layer of soot that
00:15:28
covered the walls
00:15:31
the metal frame of a single bed had
00:15:33
since been brought in and was rusting in
00:15:35
one corner of the room
00:15:38
against the back wall was a large wooden
00:15:41
cross in the shape of an axe and in the
00:15:43
center was a long table adorned with
00:15:46
three knives a meat cleaver and an axe
00:15:50
a butcher's apron also lay nearby
00:15:55
patches of a dark red substance stained
00:15:57
the concrete floor
00:16:01
in a kitchen downstairs was a freezer
00:16:03
that at first glance held nothing more
00:16:05
than a few frozen pizzas
00:16:09
upon closer inspection an officer
00:16:11
noticed the freezer had a false bottom
00:16:15
when she lifted it up she uncovered
00:16:17
large amounts of meat stored in several
00:16:19
bags some of it minced and some cut into
00:16:23
steaks
00:16:25
the police officer held the bags up to
00:16:27
armin marvis and asked him what they
00:16:29
were
00:16:32
wild pig meat he answered
00:16:36
she looked at him incredulously
00:16:39
she did a lot of cooking and the meat
00:16:41
looked like nothing she had ever seen
00:16:43
before
00:16:46
the bags were labeled with the word
00:16:48
kator
00:16:50
[Music]
00:17:00
case file will be back shortly thank you
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[Music]
00:20:24
hello kator the email began
00:20:28
i read your ad
00:20:29
i'll slaughter you but only if you
00:20:31
really want me to
00:20:33
let me hear from you
00:20:35
your master butcher
00:20:36
frankie
00:20:39
it was monday february 5 2001 and
00:20:43
frankie had just stumbled across an ad
00:20:45
on one of the online cannibal forums he
00:20:47
frequented
00:20:49
titled your dinner a user going by the
00:20:52
name kator had written
00:20:55
i offer to let myself be eaten alive
00:20:59
[Music]
00:21:00
kator was pleased to receive frankie's
00:21:03
offer
00:21:04
i hope you're really serious about it he
00:21:07
emailed back
00:21:08
i really want it and have already met
00:21:10
enough cyber cannibals
00:21:14
frankie had experienced similar
00:21:16
disappointment
00:21:18
several men had expressed eagerness for
00:21:21
him to eat them online only to back out
00:21:24
once they met in person
00:21:27
unlike them kator was committed
00:21:30
he was very clear about his expectations
00:21:34
telling frankie that he wanted his
00:21:35
genitals to be bitten off
00:21:38
then i'll be ready for slaughter he
00:21:40
declared
00:21:43
the pair settled on a date on the ninth
00:21:46
day in the following month of march
00:21:48
frankie would eat kator
00:21:50
the act would take place at frankie's
00:21:52
home in a soundproofed room he had
00:21:55
designed for this sole purpose
00:21:58
as march drew nearer the frequency in
00:22:01
which kator and frankie communicated
00:22:03
online increased as did their level of
00:22:06
excitement
00:22:08
they showed little interest in talking
00:22:10
about the mundane parts of their lives
00:22:13
such as their jobs or relationships
00:22:16
instead almost every night they chatted
00:22:18
excessively about the upcoming slaughter
00:22:21
in gory and sexually explicit detail
00:22:28
offline neither man spoke a word of what
00:22:32
they had planned to anyone
00:22:35
no one among their family friends or
00:22:37
colleagues even knew of their forbidden
00:22:39
sexual fetish
00:22:42
they had become masters at living a
00:22:44
double life
00:22:46
in reality both men lived unassuming
00:22:49
lives and worked in the tech sector
00:22:52
frankie was considered a nice fellow who
00:22:55
mowed his neighbor's lawns without
00:22:56
payment and happily watched his friend's
00:22:59
children
00:23:01
cator dutifully looked after his
00:23:03
grandmother and paid the bills for
00:23:05
friends who were struggling with money
00:23:08
both men were known to have an avid
00:23:10
interest in computers though they only
00:23:13
logged into the cannibal forums when
00:23:15
those around them were asleep
00:23:18
as to how frankie and kator came about
00:23:21
the paths were different but the
00:23:23
destination was the same
00:23:27
the man behind the username frankie felt
00:23:30
his cannibalistic urge develop as a
00:23:32
child and it turned sexual by the time
00:23:35
he was a teenager
00:23:37
the underlying cause was abandonment
00:23:40
issues
00:23:41
in his own words his goal was to bind to
00:23:44
someone in a way that they would always
00:23:46
be with him and to feel the hollow empty
00:23:49
feeling he had inside
00:23:53
for the man behind the username kator
00:23:55
the longing to be eaten coincided with
00:23:58
puberty
00:24:00
a masochist kator derived sexual
00:24:02
gratification from his own pain or
00:24:05
humiliation
00:24:07
as an adult he had explored this side of
00:24:10
himself consensually with sex workers
00:24:12
but none were willing to eat him like he
00:24:15
wanted
00:24:17
desire has lasted a long time kator
00:24:20
wrote to frankie
00:24:22
and will last until it finally comes
00:24:24
true
00:24:27
28 hours before the slaughter was
00:24:30
scheduled to take place kator and
00:24:32
frankie messaged each other for the
00:24:34
final time
00:24:36
they tied up the loose ends of their
00:24:37
plan including what would become of
00:24:40
kator's quote
00:24:41
unprocessed fleshy parts
00:24:44
like his tendons skin organs and bones
00:24:49
giddy with excitement for their meeting
00:24:51
kator ended their communications by
00:24:53
typing
00:24:55
i'll bring myself as breakfast
00:24:58
frankie replied
00:25:01
i'll have an appetite
00:25:06
it was a drizzly winter morning on
00:25:08
friday march 9 2001 as frankie stood on
00:25:11
a platform at the castle wilhelm sphere
00:25:13
train station
00:25:16
the 1014 train arrived and frankie's
00:25:19
attention was drawn to one of the first
00:25:21
passengers to disembark
00:25:24
he was a slender man of average height
00:25:26
with grey green eyes
00:25:29
he was wearing dark clothing and a
00:25:31
baseball cap which partially hid his
00:25:33
streaked grey and balding black hair
00:25:37
it was kator
00:25:40
the men recognized each other
00:25:42
immediately from the photos they had
00:25:44
traded online
00:25:46
they exchanged a brief hello
00:25:49
let's get off the platform kator said
00:25:52
there are too many people around
00:25:56
frankie led him to a nearby lot where he
00:25:59
had parked his car
00:26:01
driving away from castle city frankie
00:26:04
tried to keep his focus on the road but
00:26:06
kator started caressing him from the
00:26:08
passenger seat
00:26:11
stop it frankie told him wait until
00:26:14
we're in my home it's only 60 kilometers
00:26:19
they arrived in woosterfeld an hour
00:26:21
later
00:26:23
frankie pulled up to his expansive
00:26:25
though severely neglected manner and the
00:26:28
two headed inside
00:26:31
upon returning from the kitchen with
00:26:33
coffee frankie was confronted by a stark
00:26:36
naked cator who said
00:26:39
i want you to be able to admire your
00:26:42
food
00:26:44
within minutes he was ready to get
00:26:46
started
00:26:47
come on show me the room he
00:26:50
demanded frankie then led him upstairs
00:26:53
to his slaughter room
00:26:57
inside kator remained in a heightened
00:27:00
state of arousal
00:27:03
he ordered frankie to tear the flesh off
00:27:05
his body with his teeth but frankie was
00:27:08
reluctant
00:27:10
this was not how he envisioned their
00:27:12
encounter
00:27:14
firstly he hated violence
00:27:16
secondly he expected it to be a
00:27:18
week-long affair
00:27:20
allowing time for the men to get to know
00:27:22
each other before any blood was spilled
00:27:26
the slaughter process wasn't supposed to
00:27:28
be frenzied it was meant to be slow and
00:27:30
methodical
00:27:32
kator's vision was far more spontaneous
00:27:35
than savage
00:27:37
he wanted to die that very day
00:27:42
unable to go through with kator's
00:27:44
demands frankie left him disappointed
00:27:48
you're too soft kator remarked
00:27:51
you can't inflict pain the way i'd like
00:27:53
it
00:27:54
you can't slaughter me at all
00:27:58
he asked to be taken back to the train
00:28:00
station
00:28:05
the man hardly spoke during the drive
00:28:08
once they reached the station frankie
00:28:11
apologized
00:28:13
he reiterated that it was his life's
00:28:15
wish to consume someone but they wanted
00:28:18
different things from the experience
00:28:21
it just wasn't going to work
00:28:25
kator purchased a train ticket intent on
00:28:27
going home then suddenly he had a change
00:28:30
of heart
00:28:32
if i go back to berlin now i'll be
00:28:35
facing a showdown he said
00:28:38
while frankie didn't know what that
00:28:40
meant whatever was playing on kator's
00:28:43
mind had led him to compromise
00:28:46
he still wanted to die that day but he
00:28:49
was willing to prolong the experience
00:28:51
and scale back the violence
00:28:55
frankie would no longer have to
00:28:56
literally eat him alive though he still
00:28:59
wanted his genitals to be removed
00:29:03
kator came up with a new plan
00:29:07
he would be drugged then once he was
00:29:09
drowsy enough frankie could go through
00:29:11
with a far more intricate slaughter
00:29:15
frankie was glad kator had reconsidered
00:29:18
and headed to a nearby pharmacy where he
00:29:20
purchased liquid cold medicine and
00:29:22
sleeping pills
00:29:25
kator took 10 of the pills and washed it
00:29:28
down with the entire bottle of cold
00:29:30
medicine
00:29:32
the potent combination took effect on
00:29:34
the drive back to woosterfeld
00:29:38
the two men returned to the slaughter
00:29:40
room
00:29:41
kator removed his clothes laid on the
00:29:44
bed in the corner and guzzled down half
00:29:46
a bottle of schnapps to become tipsy as
00:29:49
well as drowsy
00:29:51
by now it was just past 6 pm
00:29:56
i can't stand it any longer kate or
00:29:58
barked
00:30:00
do it
00:30:01
now
00:30:03
cutting off kator's penis was a painful
00:30:06
and messy process as the initial knife
00:30:09
used was found to be too blunt
00:30:12
it took several slashes of a larger
00:30:15
sharper knife to completely sever the
00:30:17
organ from kator's body all the while he
00:30:20
screamed in agony
00:30:23
though once it had been removed kator
00:30:26
was astonished and thrilled and within
00:30:28
minutes he reported feeling no pain at
00:30:31
all
00:30:32
he sought to wait the organ but the raw
00:30:35
flash was too tough to bite into
00:30:39
after patching up kator's wound frankie
00:30:42
headed down to the kitchen where he
00:30:44
proceeded to blanch and broil the organ
00:30:47
into halves
00:30:49
he seasoned the halves and served them
00:30:52
on a plate with fresh tomatoes
00:30:56
by the time he returned to the slaughter
00:30:58
room the mattress beneath kator was
00:31:00
soaked in blood
00:31:03
kator attempted to eat the cooked flesh
00:31:06
but it was rock hard
00:31:08
not even a fork could penetrate it
00:31:11
deeming it inedible frankie threw the
00:31:14
pieces into a bucket as waste
00:31:18
kator laid back on the bed disappointed
00:31:22
all he wanted to do now was sleep
00:31:26
frankie stroked his face to soothe him
00:31:30
before kator drifted off the pair
00:31:33
finally revealed to each other their
00:31:35
real names
00:31:37
up until this point they had only known
00:31:39
and referred to each other by their
00:31:41
online usernames from the cannibal
00:31:43
forums
00:31:46
i'm amen frankie said
00:31:52
decades before police came knocking on
00:31:55
his door an eight-year-old armin maivus
00:31:58
wandered his family's woosterfeld manor
00:32:00
feeling incredibly lonely
00:32:04
his mother valtrod mavis had moved amin
00:32:07
and his two older half-brothers to the
00:32:09
expansive property shortly after amin's
00:32:12
father had abandoned them to pursue a
00:32:14
relationship with his girlfriend
00:32:17
amin had loved his father but when he
00:32:20
ran desperately after his father's car
00:32:23
howling for him not to leave his father
00:32:25
didn't even glance at the rear view
00:32:27
mirror
00:32:29
amin despised him after that
00:32:34
amin's brothers didn't stick around long
00:32:36
either
00:32:37
they moved out leaving amin alone with
00:32:40
his mother
00:32:43
men were not independent individuals
00:32:46
with their own interests and needs
00:32:48
they were malleable things that she
00:32:50
could shape and control
00:32:53
once his father and brothers were gone
00:32:56
amin was the only man left in veltroud's
00:32:59
life and she began to shape him
00:33:01
accordingly
00:33:04
veltroud didn't do any housework so the
00:33:07
extensive upkeep of the manner fell to
00:33:10
armin
00:33:12
referring to him as her little servant
00:33:14
valtrod ordered amin around the home
00:33:17
expecting him to cook and clean when he
00:33:19
wasn't at school
00:33:21
when he was amin was teased for his
00:33:24
relationship with his domineering mother
00:33:28
other students called him a mother's boy
00:33:30
and made fun of the traditional
00:33:32
lederhosen he wore at her insistence
00:33:37
in the aftermath of her failed marriage
00:33:39
valtrod withdrew from society fearing
00:33:42
further rejection
00:33:45
this fear led her to foster a sheltered
00:33:48
and oppressive life for ramen at times
00:33:51
sabotaging his relationships with others
00:33:53
so he'd only have her
00:33:56
she had him live in the room across from
00:33:58
her own and would summon him by banging
00:34:01
the end of her walking stick on the hard
00:34:03
floor
00:34:06
despite going to great lengths to keep
00:34:08
amin in her life valtrod was very rarely
00:34:11
affectionate towards him
00:34:14
she treated amin downright coolly with
00:34:16
the amount of times she hugged him each
00:34:19
year countable on a single hand
00:34:23
valtrod also feigned illness as a means
00:34:26
to control
00:34:28
one day a fifteen-year-old amin was
00:34:31
helping his mother get downstairs after
00:34:33
she had complained of leg pain
00:34:36
he thought to himself
00:34:38
one good shove and it's finally over
00:34:43
instead of unleashing his rage amin
00:34:46
internalized it
00:34:49
he hated his own cowardice and how his
00:34:51
devotion and eagerness to please
00:34:54
overrode his ability to express his true
00:34:56
feelings
00:34:58
the problem was even though his mother
00:35:01
was a burden she was the last meaningful
00:35:04
person in his life
00:35:06
amin feared losing her and he suspected
00:35:10
she felt the same about him
00:35:13
still she couldn't feel the place of the
00:35:15
male role model that amin desperately
00:35:18
saw
00:35:22
from a young age amin relied on his
00:35:24
imagination to escape his reality
00:35:28
he would lose himself in books with the
00:35:30
dark fairy tales written by german
00:35:32
brothers jacob and wilhelm grimm
00:35:35
becoming treasured fantasy worlds he
00:35:37
could revisit over and over
00:35:41
some days amen would track the
00:35:43
mountainous countryside at the rear of
00:35:45
his home with a brother's grim book in
00:35:47
hand looking for somewhere to read in
00:35:49
private
00:35:52
on one such occasion a ten-year-old
00:35:54
armin sat beneath a tree and opened his
00:35:57
book to his favorite fairy tale hansel
00:36:00
and gretel
00:36:02
one of the most popular stories in the
00:36:04
brothers grimm collection the narrative
00:36:06
follows two children lost in a forest
00:36:10
eventually they stumble across a house
00:36:12
made of gingerbread with an old woman
00:36:15
inside who promises to help them
00:36:18
she is actually an evil witch who
00:36:20
captures hansel and gretel
00:36:24
amin would have a physical reaction
00:36:26
whenever he read this story
00:36:29
his heart rate would increase with each
00:36:31
page turn bringing him closer to the
00:36:33
part that truly delighted him
00:36:37
the old woman had only pretended to be
00:36:40
so kind she was in reality a wicked
00:36:43
witch
00:36:44
amin would read with excitement
00:36:48
when a child fell into her power she
00:36:50
killed it cooked it and ate it and that
00:36:53
was a feast day with her
00:36:56
early in the morning before the children
00:36:59
were awake she was already up and when
00:37:02
she saw both of them sleeping and
00:37:04
looking so pretty with their plump and
00:37:06
rosy cheeks she muttered to herself
00:37:10
that will be a dainty mouthful
00:37:14
amin considered how lovely it would be
00:37:17
to weed another person
00:37:19
in doing so they would assimilate into
00:37:22
him and he would never again feel the
00:37:24
hollow sting of loneliness
00:37:28
as these thoughts fermented in the
00:37:30
privacy of amin's mind he sought the
00:37:32
opinion of the only person he could
00:37:35
trust an imaginary brother he had formed
00:37:38
in response to the overwhelming
00:37:40
isolation he experienced
00:37:43
amin had given his imaginary brother the
00:37:46
name frankie
00:37:51
decades later rottenburg police left
00:37:54
armin's house after executing a search
00:37:56
warrant
00:37:58
they didn't leave empty-handed
00:38:00
they had confiscated his computer
00:38:02
equipment among other things and a book
00:38:05
of his titled flesh and blood
00:38:08
most significant was the three bags of
00:38:11
meat they had taken from his freezer
00:38:15
once the police were gone amin maivus
00:38:18
paced nervously wanting someone to talk
00:38:20
to
00:38:22
he couldn't speak with his mother as she
00:38:24
had died several years prior from a
00:38:26
heart attack
00:38:29
amin had lived alone in the house since
00:38:33
he picked up the phone and called one of
00:38:35
his half-brothers
00:38:38
his sister-in-law picked up and
00:38:40
immediately sensed something was wrong
00:38:44
armin admitted that he was in trouble
00:38:46
with the police
00:38:49
do you have a corpse lying in the cellar
00:38:51
or something his sister-in-law jokingly
00:38:53
asked
00:38:55
he replied
00:38:57
no
00:38:58
in the freezer chest
00:39:00
she laughed assuming he was joking
00:39:05
amin then called the office where he
00:39:07
worked as a computer technician
00:39:10
he told his boss that he needed to leave
00:39:13
and that he might never come back
00:39:17
at 3 30 that afternoon a call was placed
00:39:20
to the roltenborg police
00:39:22
the caller was armin marvis's attorney
00:39:26
he said that amin was with him and was
00:39:29
ready to make a full confession
00:39:34
throughout his life amin maida sought
00:39:36
gratification for his cannibalistic
00:39:38
desires where he could
00:39:41
as a child he'd watch his neighbors
00:39:44
slaughter hogs for meat to sell
00:39:47
in his teens he shadowed his friend to
00:39:50
the butcher shop where he worked to
00:39:52
observe him dismembering animal
00:39:54
carcasses
00:39:56
it wasn't an unpleasant sight to arm in
00:40:00
he felt joyful to witness a once living
00:40:02
being serving a profound and important
00:40:05
purpose
00:40:07
whenever someone ate that meat that
00:40:09
animal was with them forever
00:40:14
he became more creative in his adult
00:40:16
years
00:40:17
he barbecued barbie dolls and took
00:40:19
delight in the way their plastic bodies
00:40:21
melted and warped
00:40:24
he modelled limbs and organs out of
00:40:26
marzipan before devouring them as if
00:40:28
they were the real thing
00:40:31
he studied serial killer cannibals such
00:40:34
as jeffrey dahmer and researched recipes
00:40:37
ideal for human flesh
00:40:40
he constructed a cardboard diorama of a
00:40:43
slaughter room before replicating it in
00:40:45
the old smoke room upstairs
00:40:49
no one knew what stood deep inside armin
00:40:52
marvis's mind
00:40:54
he once told a schoolmate about his
00:40:56
desire to eat human flesh but they
00:40:59
laughed in response assuming he was
00:41:01
making it up
00:41:04
once amen got a computer he was able to
00:41:07
indulge in his fantasy in new shocking
00:41:10
ways
00:41:11
he'd digitally alter images of men he
00:41:14
had cut from pornographic magazines to
00:41:16
appear butchered and bloodied
00:41:19
he did similar alterations to photos he
00:41:22
took of himself
00:41:25
the internet led to armin discovering
00:41:28
that there were many others in the world
00:41:29
that had the same morbid interests as
00:41:32
him in time he became frankie
00:41:38
the imaginary brother from his childhood
00:41:40
had now become a digital persona he used
00:41:43
to interact with other cannibal
00:41:45
fetishists online
00:41:48
many years later he crossed the virtual
00:41:50
paths with a user named kator
00:41:54
it wasn't until kator lay drugged and
00:41:57
bleeding in his slaughter room that amin
00:42:00
finally learned his real name
00:42:02
[Music]
00:42:09
sleepings were rare for renee yasnick
00:42:12
the 21 year old baker was used to
00:42:14
getting up early for work but a
00:42:16
week-long holiday in early march 2001
00:42:20
provided him the opportunity to be lazy
00:42:23
friday march 9 marked the final day of
00:42:26
said holiday and renee wasn't planning
00:42:28
on switching up his routine
00:42:32
he stirred at around 6 40 am needing to
00:42:35
use the bathroom and immediately
00:42:37
afterwards he slipped back into bed
00:42:39
alongside his sleeping boyfriend bjern
00:42:42
brandes
00:42:44
renee didn't wake up again until almost
00:42:47
three hours later
00:42:49
the remainder of his day would be spent
00:42:51
relaxing at the apartment he shared with
00:42:53
bjernt in the city of berlin germany
00:42:57
renee had the apartment all to himself
00:43:00
as bjorn had already left for work
00:43:04
later that night renee's feelings of
00:43:06
relaxation had dissipated
00:43:10
it was nearing 7 40 p.m and burnt was
00:43:13
usually home by now
00:43:16
at first renee was annoyed
00:43:19
he thought bjorn had gone for an
00:43:20
after-hours drink with some colleagues
00:43:22
and not bothered to inform
00:43:24
him but by 10 pm renee's irritation gave
00:43:29
way to concern
00:43:31
bjernt was reliable and it was out of
00:43:33
character for him not to contact renee
00:43:35
to let him know why he wasn't home on
00:43:37
time
00:43:39
strangely not only did bjorn's mobile
00:43:42
phone go unanswered but it continued to
00:43:44
play an automated voice message that
00:43:47
said
00:43:48
this connection is temporarily
00:43:50
disconnected
00:43:53
when burnt failed to come home that
00:43:55
night renee spent the weekend reaching
00:43:57
out to all of bern's friends and
00:43:59
acquaintances trying to track him down
00:44:03
no one had seen the 43 year old
00:44:08
renee called bjern's office at the
00:44:10
technology corporation where burnt
00:44:12
worked as a computer engineer
00:44:15
he was met with the answering machine
00:44:19
but it's renee here the machine recorded
00:44:23
as renee spoke pleadingly
00:44:26
i need to talk to you i'm worried please
00:44:29
come home
00:44:31
whatever has happened i'm sure we can
00:44:33
work it out
00:44:34
just come home please
00:44:40
desperate for answers renee phoned
00:44:42
bjorn's employer and was surprised to
00:44:44
learn that bjernt had taken the friday
00:44:46
he disappeared
00:44:48
off he had told his supervisor that he
00:44:52
needed to do so for personal reasons as
00:44:54
there was something he wanted to take
00:44:56
care of
00:44:58
he gave no other details
00:45:02
renee was confused
00:45:04
burnt had told him he was going into
00:45:07
work on friday
00:45:09
he even stated that he had a lot to do
00:45:11
that day and would not be reachable on
00:45:13
his mobile phone or in the office
00:45:17
thursday night had passed normally with
00:45:20
no hints that beyond was hiding
00:45:22
something
00:45:24
when beyond had left the apartment on
00:45:26
friday morning he had taken his
00:45:27
apartment keys wallet and mobile
00:45:30
phone renee was under the impression
00:45:33
that he had indeed gone to work
00:45:38
unable to uncover any clues as to where
00:45:40
bjorn had really gone renee reported him
00:45:43
missing to the police
00:45:46
he told them of their stable long-term
00:45:48
relationship and of burnt's commitment
00:45:50
to his job
00:45:53
although he worked a long hours bjern
00:45:56
earned enough for them to live a good
00:45:57
life together that was marred only by
00:46:00
infrequent arguments over everyday
00:46:02
problems
00:46:04
in recent months bjernt had spent his
00:46:06
work bonus to spruce up their apartment
00:46:09
with expensive furnishings and he and
00:46:11
renee had been eagerly planning an
00:46:13
overseas holiday to take later in the
00:46:15
year
00:46:18
renee maintained that burnt was happy
00:46:20
and ruled out the possibility that he
00:46:22
had gone somewhere to take his own life
00:46:27
any hope that bjernt would resurface to
00:46:29
attend a work conference on monday march
00:46:32
12 was lost when he failed to show up
00:46:34
for the event
00:46:37
three days had now passed since anyone
00:46:39
had seen or heard from him
00:46:42
he hadn't accessed his bank accounts
00:46:44
over the weekend nor had he used company
00:46:47
funds which were also available to him
00:46:51
to those who knew bjernt his sudden
00:46:53
disappearance was perplexing
00:46:56
police had a little luck locating him in
00:46:59
the following weeks
00:47:01
with no word from his missing boyfriend
00:47:03
renee yasnick reached out to former
00:47:06
journalist nina hermann who had
00:47:08
previously worked for a local newspaper
00:47:11
hoping she could track burt down using
00:47:13
her investigative skills
00:47:17
after questioning employees at bjorn's
00:47:20
work nina made a small discovery
00:47:24
one of bjorn's colleagues had seen him
00:47:26
on the morning of his disappearance at
00:47:28
barnhoff zoo train station in berlin
00:47:32
he thought nothing of the sighting as he
00:47:35
knew bjernt took a train to work each
00:47:37
day
00:47:38
[Music]
00:47:39
armed with a photograph of beard renee
00:47:42
and nina scoured the train station for
00:47:44
clues and questioned staff shop owners
00:47:47
and travellers to determine where he
00:47:49
might have gone to next
00:47:52
no one recalled seeing burnt so renee
00:47:55
posted his photo in the local newspaper
00:47:58
hoping that it would generate some leads
00:48:02
it didn't
00:48:04
he had seemingly vanished into thin air
00:48:09
in truth he was bagged up in pieces at
00:48:12
the bottom of armin marvis's
00:48:18
freezer amin maevus maintained that he
00:48:22
didn't know bjernt brandus was in a
00:48:24
relationship when they met
00:48:27
in his confession amin said he knew very
00:48:30
little about bianca's personal
00:48:32
life although bjernt as kator mentioned
00:48:36
having a friend armin didn't know that
00:48:39
this person was a romantic partner with
00:48:41
whom burnt had lived with
00:48:44
in hindsight it offered an explanation
00:48:47
for a remark burnt had made to armin
00:48:49
when they returned to castle wilhelm's
00:48:51
fure train station following their
00:48:54
failed first attempt at the slaughter
00:48:58
describing his recollections from the
00:49:00
station to author gunterstamf for his
00:49:03
book interview with a cannibal amin
00:49:05
explained that bjernt was intending to
00:49:08
go home until he said
00:49:10
if i go back to berlin now i'll be
00:49:13
facing a showdown
00:49:17
amin queried the cryptic remark but
00:49:19
bjernt didn't elaborate
00:49:22
could he have been agonizing over having
00:49:24
to explain his abrupt disappearance to
00:49:27
his boyfriend renee
00:49:30
it could have led to the unravelling of
00:49:32
his double life
00:49:34
simultaneously ruining both
00:49:38
author gunter staff noted that beyond
00:49:41
faced a literal life or death impasse
00:49:44
quote
00:49:46
between returning home and slaughter
00:49:48
between reason and madness
00:49:53
yet chose death slaughter and madness
00:49:59
the reasoning behind biern's decision
00:50:02
including why he sought to be eaten died
00:50:04
with him
00:50:06
he didn't pen a suicide note or record a
00:50:09
goodbye message
00:50:11
comments and behavior in the lead-up to
00:50:13
his fateful day acts were otherwise
00:50:16
normal
00:50:18
right before he left to meet with armin
00:50:20
maivis bjernt did a clean sweep of his
00:50:23
personal computer eradicating all trace
00:50:26
of their communications
00:50:29
it was obvious that he didn't want
00:50:30
anyone in his life to know about kator
00:50:36
medical professionals retroactively
00:50:38
examined byrt's life to uncover what
00:50:41
might have led him on his path of
00:50:43
self-destruction
00:50:45
at age five beyond's mother ended her
00:50:48
own life
00:50:50
burnt was forbidden to talk about her
00:50:53
death to his father
00:50:54
and as an only child he had no one else
00:50:56
to turn to
00:50:59
their relationship soured from then
00:51:01
onwards
00:51:04
bien's father was a cold tyrannical man
00:51:07
who was never impressed by burnt despite
00:51:09
his successors in life
00:51:12
by the time burnt was an adult the pair
00:51:15
were practically estranged
00:51:18
then bjernt was cut off from his
00:51:20
father's life entirely when he revealed
00:51:23
he was in a relationship with a man
00:51:27
doctors speculated that bjorn's
00:51:29
masochism stemmed from feelings brought
00:51:32
on by his father
00:51:33
either the hatred burnt had for him or
00:51:36
the hatred bjernt had of himself as a
00:51:38
result of his father's disapproval
00:51:42
bianc's father was reluctant to speak
00:51:44
about his son after learning what he had
00:51:46
done
00:51:48
in a brief conversation with a physician
00:51:51
he said that bjorn's childhood and youth
00:51:53
development were uneventful
00:51:57
burnt had a string of failed
00:51:59
relationships both with men and women
00:52:02
which linked to the overarching theme of
00:52:04
rejection
00:52:06
yet there was nothing to prove that any
00:52:08
of this was the catalyst for his actions
00:52:12
if he had any depressive moods or other
00:52:14
mental disorders bjorn hid them well
00:52:19
march 9 was not a significant date in
00:52:21
his life and the word kator wasn't found
00:52:24
to be relevant either
00:52:27
the only person who could offer any true
00:52:29
insight into bjorn's cannibalistic
00:52:31
desires was the person who carried them
00:52:34
out
00:52:36
amin maivus said being consumed was
00:52:38
bjorn's ultimate ecstasy his life goal
00:52:43
his death was his quote
00:52:46
ultimate sexual climax
00:52:53
the slaughter didn't play out that way
00:52:56
beyond didn't get to experience the
00:52:59
euphoric feeling of being eaten alive
00:53:01
that he had longed for
00:53:03
[Music]
00:53:04
his diax had ended disappointingly with
00:53:07
him bleeding out in armin marvis's
00:53:09
slaughter room
00:53:12
dressing the wound did a little to stem
00:53:14
the flow and burnt was insistent that an
00:53:17
ambulance not be called
00:53:20
he turned to armin and said
00:53:23
as soon as i'm asleep
00:53:25
cut my throat
00:53:28
with a potent mix of blood loss cold
00:53:30
medicine sleeping pills and alcohol
00:53:33
impacting burnt's body armin suspected
00:53:36
he would pass out soon
00:53:38
yet half an hour later burnt was still
00:53:41
awake
00:53:44
amen i'm so cold he said before
00:53:47
requesting to be put in a warm bath to
00:53:50
expedite his bleeding
00:53:52
amin obliged
00:53:55
removed burnt bandages as bjorn lowered
00:53:58
into the warm water
00:54:01
seeing the blood spurt from his open
00:54:03
wound uplifted him
00:54:07
at this point bjernt wanted to go to
00:54:09
sleep in the bathtub and bleed to death
00:54:13
amin went to his bedroom and read
00:54:16
stopping every quarter hour to return to
00:54:18
the bathroom and check if burnt had died
00:54:22
two and a half hours passed and bjernt
00:54:24
remained conscious
00:54:27
as bjorn went to lift himself out of the
00:54:30
tub he blacked out and his body crumbled
00:54:33
to the floor
00:54:35
armin began carrying bjorn's limp body
00:54:38
back upstairs to the slaughter room at
00:54:41
which point bjernt stood awake
00:54:45
with the sudden burst of energy he tried
00:54:47
to walk by himself
00:54:49
he believed that by doing so his blood
00:54:52
would flow out better and he would pass
00:54:54
out faster
00:54:56
then you can finally do it he told armin
00:55:01
amin gobbiand back into the slaughter
00:55:04
room and returned to checking on him
00:55:06
every quarter hour
00:55:09
then at 3 30 a.m he heard bjernt
00:55:12
stirring about and went to see what he
00:55:14
was up to
00:55:16
he found bjernt sprawled out on the
00:55:18
floor
00:55:20
he had managed to pull himself out of
00:55:22
bed but had tripped over in the darkness
00:55:26
armin roused the burnt who remarked
00:55:30
i've got to piss
00:55:34
i'm in dissuaded bjern from moving
00:55:38
if you stand up now you'll be dead you
00:55:41
have no blood left in you
00:55:44
delirious burnt insisted he needed to go
00:55:47
to the toilet
00:55:49
he stood up but within seconds his legs
00:55:52
gave way and he fell to the floor
00:55:55
this time amin couldn't wake him
00:56:01
amin donned a plastic apron
00:56:04
he placed burnt naked body on the table
00:56:06
in the center of the room where he tied
00:56:09
it down
00:56:11
after a farewell kiss and a brief prayer
00:56:14
amin hesitated
00:56:17
the feeling passed quickly
00:56:20
he tilted beard's head slightly then
00:56:23
inserted a knife into his neck
00:56:26
it had been 10 hours since bjorn's
00:56:29
ordeal had begun
00:56:33
when speaking of the killing to author
00:56:35
gunther staff amin recalled having an
00:56:38
indescribable feeling of anger and joy
00:56:40
at the same time
00:56:43
quote
00:56:44
i hated myself for wanting to do it and
00:56:47
i hated bjernt because he had come to me
00:56:51
on the other hand i had an unbelievable
00:56:54
feeling of happiness
00:56:57
it all went the way bjernt wanted
00:57:04
for years armin had studied medical
00:57:07
textbooks and searched the internet for
00:57:09
the ideal slaughter technique
00:57:12
now he put his knowledge into practice
00:57:16
after an hour of intense work amin
00:57:18
switched his butcher's apron for a pair
00:57:20
of pajamas and slept peacefully
00:57:25
the mutilation of burnt brandis body
00:57:27
continued the following day of saturday
00:57:30
march 10.
00:57:32
on sunday amiens sat alone at the end of
00:57:35
his dining table
00:57:38
he had dressed it for the occasion with
00:57:40
his finest tablecloth a black porcelain
00:57:43
dining set polished cutlery and a glass
00:57:46
of his favorite red wine
00:57:50
the table's centerpiece a candelabra
00:57:53
created a warm ambience
00:57:56
on a plate before ramen was a piece of
00:57:59
burnt brandis's upper back
00:58:01
cooked seasoned and served with the
00:58:04
sauce
00:58:06
as detailed in the book cannibal by lois
00:58:09
jones armin said a short prayer that
00:58:12
ended
00:58:15
lord god thank you for providing me with
00:58:17
a friend for life and for sacrificing
00:58:20
beyonce's life on earth for me
00:58:24
i hope i won't be lonely anymore
00:58:29
as i'm innate he said
00:58:32
this is the most tasty meal i've ever
00:58:35
had nothing is so delicious
00:58:39
his words were directed to beyonce's
00:58:41
decapitated head which amin had
00:58:44
positioned on the dining table next to
00:58:46
him
00:58:49
he eventually buried a beard's head in
00:58:51
his backyard along with bjorn's arms
00:58:54
legs and feet
00:58:57
in the months that followed armin ate 45
00:59:00
out of the 65 pounds of human flesh he
00:59:03
had stored in his freezer
00:59:06
he even aided at work in the form of
00:59:09
rissoles with his colleagues none the
00:59:11
wiser
00:59:14
armin believed that through this process
00:59:17
he was absorbing bjorn's characteristics
00:59:19
and talents
00:59:22
bjern had a decent grasp of the english
00:59:24
language and amin felt his english
00:59:26
speaking was improving with each meal
00:59:32
despite having got exactly what he had
00:59:34
wanted amin wound up back online
00:59:37
scrolling through cannibal forums as
00:59:40
frankie
00:59:42
emboldened by having done what other
00:59:44
users only fantasized about armin
00:59:47
started bragging about his real-life
00:59:49
cannibalism experience
00:59:51
he also posted gory pictures he had
00:59:54
taken when he butchered bjern's remains
00:59:57
yet his taste for human flesh had not
01:00:00
been satisfied
01:00:04
eighteen months after burnt brandeis's
01:00:06
slaughter armin received an email
01:00:10
someone had responded to his ad titled
01:00:13
boys sought for butchering
01:00:17
it was a 23 year old man from the
01:00:19
austrian town of vince brooke named
01:00:21
reinhold
01:00:24
from there armin mivus's double life
01:00:27
completely unravelled leaving those who
01:00:29
knew him as a seemingly harmless
01:00:31
friendly and helpful man utterly shocked
01:00:37
following armian's confession police
01:00:39
returned to his worsterfeld manor to
01:00:42
undertake a more thorough search
01:00:45
bjernt's head and limbs were uncovered
01:00:47
in the backyard just as amin had
01:00:50
forewarned
01:00:52
inside the house officers discovered a
01:00:55
collection of vhs tapes concealed in a
01:00:58
bookshelf
01:01:00
what they contained caused many of those
01:01:02
who watched them to seek psychological
01:01:05
counselling
01:01:08
at just over eight hours long amin had
01:01:11
videotaped everything that had occurred
01:01:13
in the slaughter room between him and
01:01:15
burnt brandeis
01:01:18
this included the severing of burnt's
01:01:20
penis his eventual death and the
01:01:22
butchering of his remains
01:01:26
a meticulous record keeper armin had
01:01:29
also kept copies of all the interactions
01:01:31
he had online with bjernt brandes
01:01:35
there were pages upon pages of email and
01:01:38
chat correspondence between the pair in
01:01:40
which they discussed the upcoming
01:01:42
slaughter in gory and gratuitous detail
01:01:50
as the act of cannibalism was not a
01:01:52
crime in germany lengthy deliberations
01:01:55
were held to determine what exact
01:01:57
charges armin marvis would face
01:02:01
amin's attorney felt he should have been
01:02:03
charged with killing on request azamin
01:02:06
had acted only to fulfill bjern's wish
01:02:08
to die
01:02:10
the prosecution disagreed
01:02:14
while they accepted that bjorn's consent
01:02:16
was a condition for his killing it was
01:02:19
not the motivating reason
01:02:22
they argued that amin killed bjern in
01:02:24
order to butcher him and to satisfy his
01:02:27
own fetish to consume male flash
01:02:31
they sought a conviction based on the
01:02:33
charge murder for sexual satisfaction
01:02:38
as per german law in a criminal case
01:02:41
involving the death of a person the jury
01:02:43
was composed of three professional
01:02:45
judges and two members of the public
01:02:50
71 seats in the public gallery were
01:02:52
awarded at random by lottery as citizens
01:02:55
and journalists vied to witness the
01:02:58
macabre spectacle in person
01:03:01
trial itself began one year after armin
01:03:04
marvis was arrested
01:03:07
a number of self-confessed cannibals
01:03:09
gathered outside in support of armin
01:03:12
with one telling a reporter
01:03:15
there are lots of us out there we admire
01:03:18
ramen because he had the guts to see
01:03:20
this thing through
01:03:25
amin appeared calm and collected in a
01:03:27
certain time
01:03:30
one onlooker told a new york times
01:03:32
reporter that amen looked like the
01:03:35
nicest cannibal you could ever meet
01:03:39
when amen took the stand he spoke for
01:03:41
hours
01:03:43
at no point did he show any emotion or
01:03:45
express any remorse
01:03:49
show me the statute that says what i've
01:03:51
done is against the law he said
01:03:53
pointedly at the prosecution
01:03:56
he reiterated that burnt wanted to die
01:03:59
and that he was merely assisting him
01:04:02
quote
01:04:04
my friend enjoyed dying
01:04:06
for him it was a nice death
01:04:09
burnt came to me of his own free will to
01:04:11
end his life
01:04:13
i accept this is taboo
01:04:15
but i can justify what i did to god and
01:04:18
the world
01:04:21
he denied killing burnt for sexual
01:04:23
satisfaction
01:04:25
saying
01:04:26
i didn't want to have sex with the
01:04:28
partner i chose to slaughter that had
01:04:31
nothing to do with it
01:04:33
one has sex with a partner in bed not
01:04:36
with a piece of meat
01:04:38
it had nothing to do with sexual arousal
01:04:42
by eating i wanted to make this person
01:04:44
become part of me
01:04:51
at one stage the courtroom was emptied
01:04:53
so only the jury could watch the videos
01:04:55
amin had recorded of him and bjernt in
01:04:58
the slaughter room
01:05:00
the footage had been heavily edited to
01:05:02
remove imagery deemed too graphic but
01:05:05
what remained still greatly disturbed at
01:05:07
those who viewed it
01:05:10
please do it this way bjernt was
01:05:12
recorded telling armin
01:05:15
get another knife
01:05:18
the footage conveyed what amin had hoped
01:05:21
bjernt was a willing participant who
01:05:23
prompted consented and encouraged
01:05:26
everything armin did to him
01:05:29
but it also showed something that was
01:05:32
not favourable to the defense
01:05:35
analysis of the footage revealed bjernt
01:05:37
was still breathing when armin had
01:05:39
killed him
01:05:41
bjorn's body was also shown to be
01:05:43
restrained to the table as if to keep
01:05:46
him still
01:05:48
this contradicted armin's testimony in
01:05:51
which he said he thought burnt was dead
01:05:53
before he inserted the knife through his
01:05:55
throat
01:05:58
the nearly 500 emails and messages
01:06:01
between frankie and kator were also read
01:06:03
out to the court
01:06:06
these favored the defense as it showed a
01:06:08
quote
01:06:09
willingness agreement between the two
01:06:12
men in which bjernt brandes fully
01:06:14
consented to being slaughtered by armin
01:06:16
marvis
01:06:19
in his closing statement armin spoke of
01:06:22
his correspondence with austrian student
01:06:24
reinhold which ultimately led to his
01:06:27
arrest
01:06:29
if i hadn't been so stupid as to keep
01:06:31
looking on the internet ahmin said i
01:06:34
would have taken my secret to the grave
01:06:40
amin my verse appeared at ease when it
01:06:42
came time to hear the court's
01:06:44
verdict the preceding judge acknowledged
01:06:47
that after viewing the slaughter video
01:06:50
it was clear that armin took no pleasure
01:06:52
in the actual killing of burnt brandes
01:06:56
he went on to say
01:06:58
both maivus and brandis were looking for
01:07:01
the ultimate kick
01:07:03
this was an act between two extremely
01:07:05
disturbed people who both wanted
01:07:08
something from each other
01:07:11
the courtroom fell silent when the
01:07:13
verdict was read
01:07:15
the judge explained that while amin had
01:07:18
committed a behavior which is condemned
01:07:20
in our society there was an express
01:07:23
request by bjernt brandes to be killed
01:07:27
as such the court found that what amin
01:07:29
had done was killing a person without
01:07:32
being a murderer
01:07:35
amin maithis was convicted of
01:07:37
manslaughter and sentenced to eight and
01:07:39
a half years imprisonment
01:07:42
with good behaviour he was up for
01:07:44
release in under four and a half years
01:07:49
despite receiving a somewhat favorable
01:07:51
outcome amin maivus appealed the verdict
01:07:54
insisting his actions fell under killing
01:07:57
on request
01:07:59
he wasn't the only one to appeal
01:08:02
the state attorney was horrified by the
01:08:04
light sentence and believed he should
01:08:06
have been found guilty of murder
01:08:10
fifteen months later the initial trial's
01:08:12
outcome was reversed
01:08:14
amin maivus was to be retried for murder
01:08:20
at the conclusion of amin maivis's
01:08:22
retrial in may 2006 it was determined
01:08:26
that the killing of burnt brandis did in
01:08:28
fact fulfill all the requirements for
01:08:30
murder
01:08:32
the court decided that amin had
01:08:34
motivating reasons that were in his
01:08:36
self-interest to kill bjern namely
01:08:39
sexual gratification
01:08:42
therefore it was not a one-sided mercy
01:08:45
killing
01:08:46
the state prosecutor said
01:08:50
you wanted to record a film in your head
01:08:52
a hit film a film you could play again
01:08:55
and again so you could satisfy yourself
01:08:58
sexually
01:09:00
amin rebuked the decision saying
01:09:03
it was not a sex thing every bite i took
01:09:06
of him brought me closer to my brother
01:09:09
i wanted to eat him i didn't want to
01:09:11
kill him
01:09:14
in his final courtroom speech amin
01:09:16
stated
01:09:18
i believe everyone should be able to
01:09:20
decide what he wants to do with his own
01:09:23
body
01:09:25
amin maivus was found guilty of murder
01:09:28
and sentenced to life imprisonment
01:09:36
amin maivus's lawyer believed that the
01:09:38
sentence handed down to his client was
01:09:41
purposely excessive to deter any further
01:09:43
aspiring cannibals to act on their
01:09:46
impulses
01:09:48
amin would later admit to author gunter
01:09:51
staff that no punishment would have
01:09:53
deterred him from slaughtering and
01:09:54
eating beyond brandes
01:09:56
even the death penalty
01:09:59
quote
01:10:00
the degree of punishment is unimportant
01:10:03
when someone like me has this desire and
01:10:06
wants to carry it out he'll go to any
01:10:09
length to bring it about
01:10:11
i have had this desire with me for 30
01:10:14
years
01:10:17
detectives have endeavoured to track
01:10:18
down all those who corresponded with
01:10:20
armin mivus online to uncover a thriving
01:10:23
cannibal network across europe that
01:10:26
armin estimated had at least 800 members
01:10:30
armin assisted the detectives who
01:10:33
managed to identify 200 people and
01:10:35
uncover several more possible cannibal
01:10:38
killings
01:10:40
many of those involved were highly
01:10:42
educated individuals in successful
01:10:44
well-respected careers such as dentists
01:10:47
teachers and government officials
01:10:52
in 2004 amen marvel sued german heavy
01:10:56
metal band ramstein upon the release of
01:10:58
their controversial single mind tile
01:11:02
referred to as the cannibal song my tile
01:11:06
which is slang for my penis contained
01:11:08
lyrics inspired by armin maivus's crimes
01:11:13
considered one of the band's most
01:11:15
notable live performances my tiles sees
01:11:18
a band member performing in a giant
01:11:20
cooking part that is set alight by lead
01:11:23
singer till lindemann who dons a
01:11:25
blood-stained chef's apron while holding
01:11:27
a microphone with a large real knife
01:11:30
attached to the end
01:11:33
armin marvis claimed the band had no
01:11:36
right to make a song about his story
01:11:38
without his permission
01:11:41
the suit never reached court
01:11:46
armin was able to get a 2006 film based
01:11:49
on his crimes titled rodenborg butterfly
01:11:52
a grim love story temporarily banned in
01:11:54
germany after complaining it infringed
01:11:57
on his personal rights
01:11:59
the ban was overturned in 2009 after
01:12:03
germany's federal court of justice ruled
01:12:05
that the producer's right to artistic
01:12:07
freedom trumped that of amin's personal
01:12:10
rights
01:12:14
recent reports state that amin maivus is
01:12:17
a model prisoner who is described by
01:12:19
fellow inmates and guards alike as
01:12:21
popular friendly and polite
01:12:25
as a result he is allegedly allowed to
01:12:28
leave prison with two escorts and in
01:12:30
disguise to wander around the local town
01:12:35
he also professes to have become a
01:12:37
vegetarian
01:12:41
armin applied for parole in 2017 but was
01:12:45
unsuccessful
01:12:47
further parole bids have been denied
01:12:49
because of his poor social prognosis in
01:12:52
the community and his lack of remorse
01:12:54
for his actions
01:12:57
while amin was diagnosed with schizoid
01:12:59
personality by criminal psychologists
01:13:02
they have found him to have no signs of
01:13:04
actual mental illness
01:13:08
a journalist for german newspaper belina
01:13:11
morgenpost once wrote of armand maivus
01:13:15
the one who listens to him learns a lot
01:13:18
about loneliness and alienation and
01:13:21
about the dark side of an otherwise
01:13:23
iridescent medium the internet
01:13:26
it is opening up so many opportunities
01:13:30
but at the same time it is providing
01:13:32
invisible accomplices in countless dark
01:13:35
chambers
01:13:37
[Music]
01:13:47
[Music]
01:13:56
[Music]
01:14:00
in 2016 case file covered the
01:14:03
disappearance of 22 year old shano
01:14:06
callahan all you can see is headlights
01:14:08
of a car flashing it's blatantly obvious
01:14:11
that she got in that car whoever had
01:14:14
taken her had done it for criminal
01:14:16
purposes
01:14:17
now hear firsthand from loved ones and
01:14:20
lead investigator steve fulcher as we
01:14:22
unravel how the case unfolded and the
01:14:25
minefield of legal and ethical dilemmas
01:14:28
encountered along the way
01:14:30
therefore there's only one way to do
01:14:31
this it was at that point that steve
01:14:34
fortune decided to take an extraordinary
01:14:36
gamble her life is my responsibility all
01:14:39
i could do was plead with him for her
01:14:42
life when a killer confesses
01:14:45
do you listen he said you and i should
01:14:48
have a chat the fact of his guilt
01:14:50
was unequivocal
01:14:52
but what if one interpretation of the
01:14:55
law says you shouldn't accept the
01:14:57
confession
01:14:58
when he got taken to swindon he got a
01:15:01
lawyer all that conversation
01:15:03
those vital confessions
01:15:05
disappeared of no value what they were
01:15:08
doing what were they doing
01:15:10
what happens to the cop who believes
01:15:13
he's making the right choice the whole
01:15:15
reason we were there
01:15:17
was losing sight what was wrong
01:15:20
in getting a confession
01:15:22
from a murderer it obviously rehearsed
01:15:24
this line that you ended with which was
01:15:27
it was a pleasure to ruin your career
01:15:29
you corrupt bastard if it had been your
01:15:32
loved one steve fulcher was looking for
01:15:35
what would you have wanted him to do to
01:15:37
crucify somebody
01:15:39
for trying his best
01:15:41
to get closure for two families
01:15:43
doesn't make
01:15:44
a lot of sense
01:15:46
case file presents the detective's
01:15:48
dilemma available for free on march 14
01:15:52
only on spotify
01:15:54
[Music]