German teacher, 41 goes on trial for killing and EATING Berlin mechanic after he 'met victim on an online dating site'

Accused, named only as Stefan R, is suspected of killing another man last year
The victim, Stefan T, was a 43-year-old mechanic who lived in Berlin
He went missing in September and some of his remains were found in November
Sniffer dogs led investigators to the apartment of Stefan R in Berlin-Pankow
The trial at a Berlin state court is expected to last until mid-October

By Ap and Charlotte Mitchell For Mailonline

Published: 19:01 BST, 10 August 2021 | Updated: 19:01 BST, 10 August 2021

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A German teacher suspected of killing another man for sexual gratification and eating parts of his body has gone on trial in Berlin.

The 41-year-old, named only as Stefan R in accordance with German law, is accused of having met his victim on an online dating site a few hours before the killing.

The victim, 43-year-old Stefan T, was a mechanic who was killed last September. His remains were found spread throughout different neighbourhoods of Berlin that November.

Prosecutors said there was no indication that the victim agreed to be killed, and alleged that after the killing, the suspect chopped up his body in his Berlin-Pankow apartment before distributing it throughout the city, German news wire dpa reported.

Police searched for Stefan T for weeks before some fleshless bones were uncovered in a forest in northern Berlin and the alleged perpetrator was tracked down with the help of sniffer dogs.

Investigations revealed that the suspect had searched for cannibalism-related content online and had once engaged the internet on the question of whether a person could survive after having their penis cut off, Bild reported in November.

The victim, 43-year-old Stefan T (pictured), was a mechanic who was killed last September. His remains were found spread throughout different neighbourhoods of Berlin that November

Investigators are said to have obtained messages between the alleged killer and victim on a gay dating website, leading police to believe that they agreed to meet.

Detectives also found evidence from Stefan R's internet history which suggested he was interested in cannibalism.

On one forum, he was answering other people's questions about whether it was possible to survive a genital amputation - saying that 'in my experience' some people desired it in order to feel like women or to take masochistic pleasure in it.

'The suspect had an interest in cannibalism,' said prosecutors' office spokesman Martin Steltner. 'He searched online for the topic.

In addition, fleshless bones found by pedestrians in the park raised suspicion that the flesh had been intentionally removed.

'Because of the completely fleshless bone, and other evidence, we strongly suspect that Stefan T was the victim of a cannibal,' a police spokesman said in November.

Decomposition of a body to the point where only bones remain can take anything from one month to several years, depending on factors including temperature and humidity.

The comment from the police spokesperson suggests that Stefan T's remains would not have been expected to have decomposed to such an extent in autumnal Berlin.

The trial at a Berlin state court is expected to last until mid-October.

A 41-year-old teacher, named only as Stefan R in accordance with German law, is accused of having met his victim on an online dating site a few hours before the killing. Pictured: Berlin police search for Stefan T [File photo]

Fleshless bones, later confirmed to be Stefan T's were found by pedestrians in the park in northern Berlin. Pictured: A sniffer dog searches for signs of Stefan T [File photo]

The gruesome case has drawn comparisons with that of Armin Meiwes, who was convicted in 2006 of murder and disturbing the peace after killing and eating a man he had met online.

Meiwes, who is currently serving a life sentence, claimed Bernd Juergen Brandes had answered his online call seeking a young man for 'slaughter and consumption'.

Brandes, an IT manager, had posted an advert for someone to 'obliterate his life and leave no trace'.

After Brandes travelled by train to meet Meiwes in Rotenburg, the killer videotaped himself severing his visitor's genitals with a knife before both men tried to eat them.

'Bernd came to me of his own free will to end his life,' Meiwes claimed, saying his victim had wanted to be stabbed to death after overdosing to lose consciousness.

Meiwes was originally convicted of manslaughter in 2004, but federal judges later quashed that verdict and he was found guilty of murder at a retrial in 2006.

The gruesome case has drawn comparisons with that of Armin Meiwes (pictured), who was convicted in 2006 of murder and disturbing the peace after killing and eating a man he had met online [File photo]

The court in Frankfurt said Meiwes was psychologically ill but fully aware of his actions.

Judges also rejected the defence's argument that the act was similar to euthanasia, which is illegal but would have carried a shorter sentence.

Two years ago, a court rejected Meiwes's bid to leave prison after 15 years, saying there was 'currently no favourable outlook' for his future behaviour.

In 2015, a German police officer was convicted of murder for killing a man he had met in an internet chat forum devoted to cannibalism.

Prosecutors said the victim had fantasised about being eaten, but there was no evidence that the suspect had consumed any part of the victim.