Cannibalism suspected in Vienna murder case

Police in the Austrian capital today said they were interrogating a young German citizen suspected of murdering a fellow homeless man and possibly eating his entrails.

The suspect, described only as a 19-year-old German man, is suspected of cracking the victim's skull using a 10-kilo dumbbell and cutting open his ribcage with a switchblade, the Austria Press Agency reported. A police spokeswoman confirmed the report.

The murder occurred in a Vienna apartment used as sleeping quarters by the homeless.

A cleaning lady discovered the gruesome scene and alerted a social worker, according to APA. The social worker, in turn, alerted authorities. The suspect was arrested next to the corpse, APA reported.

The victim, a 49-year-old man identified only as a Josef S., was an Austrian citizen.

Austrian broadcaster ORF reported that the crime likely occurred several days ago and that the room where the corpse was found was littered with body parts.