German cannibal in 'good mental health'

A German who confessed to killing a man and eating his flesh is in good mental health, but should be given psychotherapy, a prison psychiatrist testified at his murder trial today.

Armin Meiwes, 42, lacks empathy and self-control but should be considered healthy, said Heinrich Wilmer.

He said Meiwes needs psychotherapy, but did not need to be kept in a psychiatric institute.

Meiwes went on trial in Kassel earlier this month and confessed in detail to the March 2001 killing of 43-year-old engineer Bernd Juergen Brandes at his home.

He told the court that he subsequently looked for further willing victims through Internet adverts and chat rooms.

Wilmer declined to comment on whether he believed Meiwes might reoffend.

But he said Meiwes had talked dispassionately about the killing – “it was like sitting opposite a scientist who’s doing an experiment.”

Prosecutors say the killing was sexually motivated and filed murder charges, despite concluding that the killer had the victim’s consent.

Meiwes faces life in prison if convicted.

Meiwes’ lawyer argues that it was a form of mercy killing, which would carry a maximum five year sentence.

However, witness Wilmer cast doubt on that version of the defendant’s motives.

“Meiwes was thinking more of himself during the act,” he said. “He was fulfilling a dream.”

Judges later heard testimony behind closed doors from Meiwes’ former fiancée.

Police tracked down and arrested Meiwes after a student in Austria alerted them to an advertisement Meiwes had placed on the Internet seeking a man willing to be killed and eaten.

A verdict is expected in February.