"Hannibal Lecter" suspect arrested in Germany

Prosecutors in the northern German city of Kassel said Thursday they were investigating a 41-year-old computer technician who reportedly told police that he killed and ate a man he had a gay relationship with.

The man, identified as Arnim M. in the German newspaper Bild, told police that his victim replied to an advertisement he had placed on the Internet looking for someone willing to allow himself to be killed and eaten. According to Bild, a 42-year-old microchip engineer from Berlin called Bernd Juergen B. responded to the ad.

State prosecutor Hans-Manfred Jung said the men reportedly agreed to amputate B.'s penis because "they both wanted to prepare the sex organ for eating." M.--described as a quiet, unassuming character by his neighbors--allegedly stabbed B. to death, sliced him into pieces, stored some of the parts in his freezer for later consumption, and buried the rest, according to Jung.

The Berliner was reported missing, but there had been no trace of him until police stumbled on Arnim M. thanks to another series of online personal ads. When they searched his flat Tuesday, they found deep-frozen human flesh as well as skeletal parts and some 50 videotapes.

Police said five other men had responded to M.'s new advertisements.