The two made a videotape when they met on 9 March 2001 in Meiwes's home, in the small town of Wüstefeld, west of Rotenburg an der Fulda, showing Meiwes amputating Brandes's penis (with his agreement) and the two men attempting to eat it together. Many other people responded to the advertisement but backed out Meiwes did not attempt to force them to do anything against their will. Meiwes's advertisement stated that he was "looking for a normally-built 18- to 25-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed." Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes, a 43-year-old engineer from Berlin, answered the advertisement in March 2001. Looking for a willing volunteer, Meiwes posted an advertisement on the then-active website The Cannibal Cafe (a defunct forum for people with a cannibalism fetish). He had also described himself feeling "very lonesome" after "the family had fallen apart".
During sessions with police experts, Meiwes had explained that his desire for cannibalism, related to the fairytale Hansel and Gretel, had developed during his adolescent years. His father abandoned Armin when he was eight, leaving him to be raised by his mother. He had two older half-brothers from his father's previous relationship with another woman.
After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes killed his victim and proceeded to eat a large amount of his flesh. Life imprisonment (previously 8½ years' imprisonment)Īrmin Meiwes ( German: born 1 December 1961) is a German former computer repair technician who achieved international attention for killing and eating a voluntary victim in 2001, whom he had found via the Internet. Rotenburg Cannibal, Der Metzgermeister (The Master Butcher)