Summary: In 2001 Armin Meiwes placed an online ad seeking a man for "slaughter and consumption" and met Bernd-Jürgen Brandes, who signed a written agreement and consented to mutilation. The encounter led to Brandes' death after prolonged bleeding and a fatal stabbing; Meiwes later dismembered the body and said he ate parts over months. Initially convicted of manslaughter in 2004 and sentenced to 8½ years, Germany's high court ordered a retrial and in 2006 Meiwes was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. The case raised lasting legal and ethical questions about consent and criminal liability.
The Disturbing Case of Armin Meiwes: Online Ad, Cannibalism and a Landmark German Murder Trial
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Content warning: The following article contains graphic and disturbing descriptions.
In 2001, German national Armin Meiwes placed an online advertisement on a forum devoted to extreme sexual fantasies seeking a "well-built male" for "slaughter and consumption." Bernd-Jürgen Brandes responded. The two men met in person, reportedly signed a written agreement outlining what would occur, and proceeded with a violent encounter that would become one of Germany's most notorious criminal cases.
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What Happened
According to trial accounts, Brandes consumed alcohol and sleeping pills before the encounter. With Brandes' consent, Meiwes severed the victim's genitals, and the two attempted to eat the body part together. Brandes did not die immediately; he bled for hours and was found lying in a bathtub while Meiwes read aloud from a Star Trek novel. When Brandes did not die from blood loss, prosecutors said Meiwes stabbed him fatally. Meiwes later dismembered the body, stored portions in a freezer, and said he consumed parts of Brandes' remains over several months.
Legal Fight Over Consent
Meiwes' defense argued the killing should be treated as "killing on demand" because Brandes had explicitly consented and had signed a written agreement. At the time, that offense carried a maximum sentence far lower than murder. Prosecutors countered that consent could not negate criminal responsibility in a case that involved sexual gratification, ritualistic cruelty, and severe bodily harm.
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In 2004, Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after his lawyers successfully invoked the victim's request. Germany's Federal Court of Justice overturned the verdict as too lenient and ordered a retrial, ruling that consent could not eliminate liability where the killing was sexually motivated and particularly brutal. At the 2006 retrial, Meiwes was convicted of murder and given a life sentence.
Aftermath and Public Reaction
The case prompted intense debate in Germany and internationally about the limits of consent, the role of mental illness and responsibility, and how the law should treat extreme sexual violence. Media reports in 2020 that Meiwes—described by officials as polite and cooperative in custody—had been granted limited supervised day releases reignited public unease and scrutiny of the prison system's handling of high-profile offenders.
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"The first bite was of course a peculiar, indefinable feeling at first," Meiwes said in prison interviews. "Because I had yearned for that for 30 years, that this inner connection would be made perfect through this flesh."
Victim details reported in court indicated Brandes had been a financially secure professional who lived with a girlfriend; prosecutors later argued he suffered from a serious psychiatric disorder and a compulsion toward self-destruction. The case remains a reference point in discussions about consent, criminal law, and how societies respond to extreme sexual violence.
Sources: Court records and contemporary media reporting on the Meiwes-Brandes case (2001–2006), and follow-up coverage through 2020.
