All throughout history, many different cultures have ritualized the consumption of human flesh, but in today’s society cannibalism is illegal, since it usually requires murder or digging up corpses. In most cases of cannibalism, it is seen with serial killers who are driven by sexual or sadistic motives.
In the 1930’s in Russia many people starved to death due to famine. Many cases of cannibalism were reported, including parents who would eat their children. Soviet authorities however dealt with the matter in different ways, by executing only a handful of the people, while sentencing over 350 people to life imprisonment.
Some of the most notorious cannibals known today are mostly serial killers such as Albert Fish, Andrei Chikatilo, Edward Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer and Joachim Krole. Albert Fish preferred children’s flesh, Edmund Kemper enjoyed the flesh of only a few women, while Jeffrey Dahmer would mutilate gay men and eat the parts to feel a closer connection to them, as well as a lasting effect of affection. Even though sensationalized by their other crimes, cannibalism is an everyday occurrence in other countries.
In the 1990’s cannibalism reports all around the world started to flourish due to the sensational nature of the subject itself. October of 1997, Ugandan police were shocked and in dismay when a woman came in reporting her husband, Ssande Sserwadda wasa full blown cannibal. Police immediately investigated that accusations and took Sserwadda into custody. Once in custody, Sserwadda admitted to the authorities that he was indeed an cannibal, and had always been one. His statement made to the judge once charges was “We are a family of cannibals. We always have been. And I feel queasy if I go too long without tasting human meat. But just because we like to eat human flesh, does that mean we’re bad people?”
In Nigeria in 1999, Clifford Orji and Tahiru were arrested for being alleged cannibals. The two lived beneath a local bridge and were accused by surrounding people that they had been providing organs for the black market. When located, police authorities found the two cooking pieces of flesh on a camp like fire. And the fresh corpse just sitting under the bridge with them. No other information was given about this report. Authorities did not want this to become habitual.
2001, Asia had no shortage of cannibalism as well. Saram Hoki” which was human flesh, was allegedly sold in market places where food was scare, such as Hoerung and North Korea. Reporter Carla Garapedian took films and still photographs of the alleged cannibalism, proving that it had been a problem. Picture of pots with human body parts cooking. Garapedian also reported that “All the North Koreans that she had interviewed knew about the cannibalism”.
In Eastern Europe, there is no shortage of cannibalism. Illshat Kuzikov a resident of St.Petersburg, Russia was arrested and convicted of killing and eating at least, three people, from what authorities know. When authorities went into his house, they found soda bottles filled with human blood and dried parts of human flesh hanging off the walls. 2001, Chisninau, Moldova authorities arrested two women for selling human body parts to marketers on the streets. July 2002, four Ukrainians were arrested for the killing of a teenage girl in which they ate completely. They had also claimed that they had killed over 5 more people for their body parts. Police had found some books in their rooms which involved black magic,but nothing else. No other information regarding any of these cases has been reported as of today.
Coming closer to home, Kansas City, Kansas, April 14, 2001. 21 year-old Marc Sappington is charged with murder and cannibalism of three men in 7 days. One of his victims, 16 year-old Alton Brown dismembered body had been found inside of Sappington’s basement. Sappington who was infatuated with The Milwaukee Cannibal, better known as Jeffrey Dahmer was held on 2 million bond, and eventually charged with 3 counts of murder, plus kidnapping and aggravated assault.
European authorities in 2004 announced that they had found a cannibal network located on the internet that helped people find cannibals from Austria to America. During the investigation, German authorities located one man Armin Meiwes who advertised looking for a young well-built man to be eaten. Through this ad he met Bernd-Jurgen Brandes who answered the ad and was murdered and eaten in 2001. Meiwes was convicted on a reduced charge of manslaughter, with a sentence of eight and a half years. Authorities tried to link him to two other murders, but lack of evidence prevented them from doing so.
There are a few thousand men and women in the world today who practice cannibalism as an everyday occurrence. However most people who claim to be modern day cannibals do so in such a manner known as role playing. Cannibalism is the most extreme sexual fetish, most of the people who participate do so with erotic stories, art or images that have been modified to show the role of cannibalism. In every country, cannibalism is illegal. If found guilty of cannibalism in modern day society, penalties are severe and hold a stiff sentencing when found guilty.
Cannibalism is not always a sexual act in some cases. For many who have practiced cannibalism, they seemed to have done so for survival and no other reason.
