Teacher accused of murdering and eating man he met on a gay dating app
Stefan R, who taught Maths and Chemistry at a school in Berlin, was arrested last Thursday. (Berlin Police)
A German teacher is suspected of murdering and eating a man he met on a gay dating app.
The suspected cannibal, Stefan R, was arrested 19 November after police investigating a discovery of human remains were led to his apartment by sniffer dogs.
The 41-year-old is suspected of killing Stefan Trogisch, 44, after the pair met on a hook-up app.
Trogisch was reported missing by his flatmates two months ago, after leaving home late in the evening of 5 September and failing to return.
A discovery of leg bones in a park on 8 November had led police to Stefan R’s flat, where they found a bone saw with human blood on it, as well as chemicals “suitable for dissolving human tissue” and an empty cooler.
Stefan Trogisch, 44, went missing after meeting the teacher on a gay hook-up app.
More human bones were discovered on Monday (23 November), with forensic testing suggesting they are the remains of Trogisch.
Police said: “Because of the completely fleshless bone, and other evidence, we strongly suspect that Stefan T was the victim of a cannibal.”
Stefan R had an ‘interest in cannibalism’.
According to the Berliner Morgenpost, investigators have obtained messages sent between the two men via a gay dating app.
A search of Stefan R’s internet history also revealed the maths and chemistry teacher “had an interest in cannibalism” and had made searches relating to the topic, prosecutors’ office spokesman Martin Steltner said.
The prosecutor’s office tweeted last week: “The Berlin Police homicide squad and the prosecutors’ office are investigating at full speed a sex murder with suspected cannibalistic background.”
In a message on Tuesday (24 November), the office added: “A body part was found yesterday at noon in Berlin-Pankow. Forensic investigations carried out that evening provided evidence that the find was the remains of Stefan T. The investigation continues.”
It is not the only case of a cannibal connected to a gay hook-up app.
Kevin Bacon, a Michigan hair stylist, was killed and eaten on Christmas Eve last year after heading to a Grindr hook-up.
Mark Latunski, accused of murdering and mutilating Bacon, was found unfit to stand trial on psychological grounds and was transferred to a medical facility.
The Berlin case also bears similarities to that of German cannibal Armin Meiwes, who is serving a life sentence for murder over the killing of a man he met online.
However, while Meiwes carried out his killing for sexual gratification with the consent of his victim, there is no evidence to suggest Trogisch consented to being murdered.
