German Cannibal Convicted Of Murder

Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Killing And Eating Acquaintance

(AP)  Meiwes' lawyers had argued that the Frankfurt state court should instead convict him of the lesser offense of "killing on demand," on the grounds that he was only following his victim's wishes.

However, judge Drescher rejected that argument, ruling that Meiwes' main motive had not been to do what his victim wanted.

"He killed because he wanted the meat," Drescher said. The court also found that Meiwes killed to satisfy his sexual urges.

A court-appointed psychiatric expert, Georg Stolpmann, told the trial that he saw "significant danger of a repeat" offense by Meiwes.

Still, the defendant claimed he had hesitated before going through with the act.

"I wanted to eat him — I didn't want to kill him," he told the court.

Meiwes froze parts of the body and ate more after the killing.

Police tracked down and arrested Meiwes in December 2002 after a student in Austria alerted them to a message Meiwes had posted on the Internet seeking a man willing to be killed and eaten.

In early 2004, a court in the city of Kassel convicted Meiwes of manslaughter and sentenced him to 8½ years in prison, but prosecutors appealed the verdict.

Federal judges overturned the original ruling last year and ordered a retrial, arguing the lower court, in rejecting murder charges, failed to give sufficient consideration to the sexual motive behind the killing.

There was no immediate word on whether Meiwes would appeal Tuesday's ruling.

Meiwes has scored one legal victory, securing a ban by another court on the screening of a film that was inspired by his case.

Judges upheld his claim that the movie — titled "Rohtenburg," in an echo of his hometown's name — detailed events in his private life and infringed his personal rights.