WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT: The suspect, 30, was arrested in the Hungarian capital Budapest after allegedly stealing human body parts from a hospital and cemeteries
The man was arrested in Budapest (Image: Hungarian Police Handout/ AP)
A man has been arrested after he allegedly stole human remains from a hospital and cemeteries with the intention of cooking and eating them.
The 30-year-old was seized by police after he reportedly took the human body parts from the hospital in Budapest where he worked and a cemetery, Hungarian police reported.
The suspect, who works as an orderly in the hospital, is being investigated on suspicion of desecrating corpses. Cops launched an investigation after receiving information that a hospital employee was storing the remains at his home, located in one of the Hungarian capital’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.
During the grim search of his home, authorities allegedly found a human face, facial skin, bones, the remains of a leg, a hand, skulls and even a heart inside a preserving jar.
The heart is still being analysed to determine whether it is human or animal, according to the police.
Officers discovered a preserved and assembled human skin mask and multiple human skulls covered in moss and soil. Other bones were found stores in a suitcase.
Authorities added that the suspect apparently spoke openly about his grisly collection of human body parts with friends and family.
He allegedly admitted to officers that he had an “irresistible obsession” to human body parts, adding that he obtained remains of corpses from abandoned cemeteries in Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia.
The man then reportedly used the body parts to prepare and eat various dishes. The authorities seized his vehicle, computer, tablets, mobile phones, and SIM and data cards as part of the investigation.
DNA testing is currently being conducted to determine the origins of the remains. Police added that the range of alleged crimes could expand after the origin of all the body parts is determined.
In their statement, police said the man is “passionate about anatomy and pathology, and likes to dissect animals”.
It comes after a convicted killer who bragged about eating parts of his victim with a bowl of pasts has been denied parole for the ninth time.
David Harker, 51, killed mother-of-four Julie Paterson, 32, in Darlington in 1998. To this day only some of her remains have been found.
Harker is currently serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter on diminished responsibility grounds.
It later emerged that he had told both friends and a psychiatrist that he fried part of Paterson’s thigh before eating it with pasta and cheese after killing her.
Harker was 24 when he was sentenced in 1999, after psychiatrists agreed he had a severe psychopathic disorder which meant he could not be found guilty of murder.
The Parole Board said the law required Harker’s case to be assessed regularly, and a report found that his recent behaviour in custody had “significantly improved”, with no disciplinary findings since 2015.
Nevertheless, the Parole Board concluded it was still not considered safe to allow him to be released or to be transferred, based on the continuing need to protect the public.
