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State asks 10 years for German cannibalism website ‘murder’

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German prosecutors on Wednesday sought 10 and a half years' jail for a former police officer accused of killing a willing victim he met on a website for cannibalism fetishists.

Public prosecutors told the regional court in the eastern city of Dresden that Detlev Guenzel was guilty of murder, court spokesman Ralf Hoegner told AFP.

But they stopped short of demanding the maximum sentence, usually 15 years' imprisonment, because the dead man, 59-year-old Polish-born Wojciech Stempniewicz, had asked to be killed.

"The prosecutors believe the accused is guilty of murder in a case of killing motivated by a desire for sexual satisfaction," Hoegner said.

"In addition, prosecutors believe they have also proved charges of disturbing the peace of the dead by dismembering the corpse."

Prosecutors said the act did not constitute "killing on demand", a lesser charge that they argued was "reserved for close relatives and medical personnel" of seriously ill patients.

A verdict is expected on April 1.

In a macabre case that made international headlines, Guenzel, now 57, went on trial in August for allegedly killing Stempniewicz at his home in November 2013, cutting his body into small pieces and burying them in his garden.

In the process, he made a grisly home video of the events that prosecutors say he intended to use for sexual titillation.

The men came across each other in October 2013 on a website for slaughter and cannibalism fantasies billed as "the #1 site for exotic meat" and boasting more than 3,000 registered members.

Investigators testified during the trial, however, that there was no evidence that the suspect ate any part of the dead man.

German prosecutors on Wednesday sought 10 and a half years’ jail for a former police officer accused of killing a willing victim he met on a website for cannibalism fetishists.

Public prosecutors told the regional court in the eastern city of Dresden that Detlev Guenzel was guilty of murder, court spokesman Ralf Hoegner told AFP.

But they stopped short of demanding the maximum sentence, usually 15 years’ imprisonment, because the dead man, 59-year-old Polish-born Wojciech Stempniewicz, had asked to be killed.

“The prosecutors believe the accused is guilty of murder in a case of killing motivated by a desire for sexual satisfaction,” Hoegner said.

“In addition, prosecutors believe they have also proved charges of disturbing the peace of the dead by dismembering the corpse.”

Prosecutors said the act did not constitute “killing on demand”, a lesser charge that they argued was “reserved for close relatives and medical personnel” of seriously ill patients.

A verdict is expected on April 1.

In a macabre case that made international headlines, Guenzel, now 57, went on trial in August for allegedly killing Stempniewicz at his home in November 2013, cutting his body into small pieces and burying them in his garden.

In the process, he made a grisly home video of the events that prosecutors say he intended to use for sexual titillation.

The men came across each other in October 2013 on a website for slaughter and cannibalism fantasies billed as “the #1 site for exotic meat” and boasting more than 3,000 registered members.

Investigators testified during the trial, however, that there was no evidence that the suspect ate any part of the dead man.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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