'Evidence of cannibalism' in Berlin murder, after police find dead man's bones

A policeman with a tracker dog searches for a missing man in Berlin, Germany earlier this month. Photo / AP

German prosecutors said on Friday (local time) there is evidence of "cannibalism" in the killing of a 44-year-old man whose remains were found on the northern edge of Berlin earlier this month.

A 41-year-old man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder with sexual motives at his home close to the site where the victim's bones were found.

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

Steltner said it was unclear whether the victim had also had an interest in cannibalism. The two men, both Germans, had been in touch with each other online, he said. Neither of their names was released, for privacy reasons.

In this Nov. 9, 2020 photo, police officers searching for a missing man in Berlin, Germany. Photo / AP

In 2006, a German court convicted Armin Meiwes of murder and disturbing the peace for killing a man he had met online and eating him. Meiwes is currently serving a life sentence.

In 2015, a German police officer was convicted of murder for killing a man he met in an internet chat forum devoted to cannibalism. Prosecutors said the victim had fantasised about being eaten, but there was no evidence the suspect actually did so.