BERLIN, May 4 (UPI) -- A would-be cannibal in Berlin has confessed to killing a man he solicited on the Internet and butchering him with the intention of eating him.
Decorator Ralf Meyer, 41, was charged with "murder out of base motive, driven by sexual desire," as cannibalism is not an offense under German law, The Times of London said Wednesday.
In his first court appearance Tuesday, his defense lawyer read a statement from Meyer, saying "I'm ashamed and cannot even dare to offer an apology to his relatives."
Meyer said he solicited his 33-year-old victim through the Internet, and invited the man to his apartment. There, the victim agreed to be tied to the bed. After the men had sex, Meyer said he killed the man with a screwdriver to the neck then began cutting organs and limbs from the body.
He said he fed the man's lungs to his cat and salted other organs, but did not eat any before surrendering to police.
Prosecutors said Meyer was clearly emulating Armin Meiwes, the so-called Cannibal of Rotenburg, who was jailed last year for murdering and eating a software specialist.
