Remains in German murder case show signs of ‘cannibalism’

German prosecutors say there is evidence of cannibalism in the killing of a 44-year-old man whose remains were found in Berlin this month.

A 41-year-old man was arrested at his home on Thursday on suspicion of murder with sexual motives, close to the site where the victim’s bones were found.

“The suspect had an interest in cannibalism,” Berlin prosecutors’ office spokesman Martin Steltner siad. “He searched online for the topic.”

Steltner said it was unclear whether the victim had also had an interest in cannibalism. The two men, both Germans, had been in touch with each other online, he said. Neither of their names was released, for privacy reasons.

In 2006, a German court convicted Armin Meiwes of murder and disturbing the peace for killing a man he had met online and eating him. Meiwes is serving a life sentence.

In 2015, a German police officer was convicted of murder for killing a man he met in an internet chat forum devoted to cannibalism. Prosecutors said the victim had fantasised about being eaten but there was no evidence the suspect actually did so.