Cannibalism trial in Berlin: what the freezer for?

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In the courtroom: the defendant hides his face from the cameras

Photo: Paul Zinken / dpa

For months, the defendant Stefan R. was silent about the murder and cannibalism allegations against him.

This Tuesday he has his defense read out a statement.

Accordingly, his concern about being outed as homosexual has brought him the murder charge.

It is a remarkable statement that the court heard that day.

Fearing that his homosexuality would become known, he did not call an ambulance when he discovered the naked body in his living room.

“I come from a strictly Catholic family”, Stefan R. has his defense attorney Kristina Beulich present on his behalf before the 32nd Large Criminal Chamber of the Berlin Regional Court, “I have not yet been outed”.

Stefan R. has had to answer in court since August for allegedly murdering a sex partner on the night of September 6, 2020.

He is said to have killed 44-year-old Stefan T. to eat parts of his body.

The charge is murder to satisfy the sexual instinct.

Several witnesses reported cannibalism fantasies on the part of the accused during the trial.

The dead man's testicles and penis were never found.

"Pure Fantasies"

Stefan R. is 42 years old, a math and chemistry teacher.

He was sexually active with numerous partners whom he met on dating portals on the Internet.

He was always the dominant part during sex, numbing some sex partners with knockout drops with their consent and was not averse to group sex.

Witnesses describe him as polite, friendly and courteous during the trial.

"I did not kill Mr. T.," he now explains about his defense.

He also did not kill Stefan T. to get sexually aroused, "especially not while dismantling the corpse."

He emphasizes: "All of my cannibalistic sexual chats were pure fantasies." He did not want Stefan T.'s death, nor did he accept it.

"I am so sorry for his death." As the defendant portrays it, he has absolutely nothing to do with the death of the man.

The men had spontaneously agreed to have sex that night.

In agreement with Stefan, Stefan R. provided TK-o.-drops, also known as liquid ecstasy.

But when he noticed that Stefan T. had already drunk alcohol and saw that he was taking another drug, he advised against consuming the drops.

The defendant emphasizes that he always points out to his sex partners that they should not mix liquid ecstasy with alcohol or other drugs, "because the effect of the substance can then no longer be controlled."

Stefan T. did not take the knockout drops in his presence that night.

Why didn't he call the ambulance?

After the sex, the defendant had offered Stefan T. to sleep with him in the living room. He gave him another beer and a blanket and then went to his bedroom. In the early hours of the morning, on the way from the toilet, he saw that the living room door was slightly open. He wanted to see if Stefan T. was still there. Then he saw him lying naked on the couch. "He looked as if he had tipped over sideways while sitting." His eyes were open and he could no longer feel a pulse. He had tried in vain to reanimate him and panicked. "I did not know, what I should do. I knew, but I couldn't help him anymore, he was dead. "

He thought about calling the ambulance or the police.

"But it was also clear to me that at least at that moment it would come out that I was gay." Because he did not want to be considered gay, he did not ask anyone for help.

Instead, he cut up Stefan T.'s body in the bathtub and buried the individual body parts in different places in Berlin.

Stefan T. died almost exactly a year ago.

For a year, Stefan R. was silent about the murder allegations.

He was silent when he was arrested.

He was silent when the prosecution charged him with murder.

He was silent when she suspected he might have cannibalized the dead man.

He was silent about the court.

And now that he has broken his silence, he remains silent and "currently" does not want to answer any questions.

A defendant has the right to defend himself in silence.

He does not have to participate in his conviction.

Others have to prove the perpetrator.

But suppose his version was correct: who would not move heaven and earth to convince the court of his innocence?

In the case of Stefan R., however, the fear that his homosexuality would become known has been greater in all that time than the fear of being convicted of murder and being known as a suspected cannibal of Pankow?

more on the subject

• Murder trial in Berlin: He called himself "Master Metzger" Von Wiebke Ramm

• Cannibal trial in Berlin: "Cut eggs?" - "That came later" By Wiebke Ramm, Berlin

• Murder trial in Berlin: he agreed to lose consciousness by Wiebke Ramm

Stefan T.'s penis and testicles have disappeared to this day.

Now Stefan R. claims that he also buried these body parts.

A statement that would have been verifiable for at least a while.

The police just had to dig in the right place.

The lack of penis and testicles, numerous chat messages and the testimony of witnesses feed the suspicion of cannibalism.

One of these witnesses is Thilo R., 44. That morning - before the accused was admitted - he was heard in court.

He, too, had met repeatedly for sex with Stefan R.

At the police station, according to the interrogation protocol, Thilo R. said about the accused: "I knew that he was curious about human flesh." Stefan R. reported to him that "it would especially appeal to him to try the testicles".

The presiding judge reads the passages from the minutes to the witness.

Interest in the »cannibals of Rotenburg«

The witness does not want to remember such statements on that day.

He just gets told "some nonsense" too often.

A little later, however, he remembers that he had spoken to Stefan R. about Armin Meiwes, the so-called cannibal from Rotenburg.

Meiwes tried to eat his penis with his victim, who was still alive, in March 2001.

Meiwes killed the man, froze his flesh and subsequently ate it.

Stefan R. was interested in the case.

He thought all of this was mere fantasies, says the witness.

Even the large freezer, which Stefan R. bought in autumn 2020 and commented with the words, "You can fit in there", did not make him skeptical.

The idea that Stefan R. could put his fantasies into practice did not occur to him.

Stefan R. does not mention the freezer in his statement.