Katie 
Berlin, Germany: Judge Matthias Schertz has sentenced Stefan R, a 42-year-old former math and chemistry teacher, to life in prison with "special gravity of the defendant's guilt."
In Germany, an individual is able to seek release after serving 15 years of a life sentence. This designation however, makes any such early release unlikely at best.
Stefan R. was found guilty on charges of murder and disturbing the remains of the dead in relation to the death of 43-year-old mechanic Stefan Trogisch, in early September 2020.
According to the court proceedings, Stefan R. met Stefan Trogisch on a dating website and agreed to meet.
When Stefan Trogisch arrived at Stefan R.'s residence, he was drugged and his throat was slit before he was dismembered and parts of his body were removed for consumption.
Prosecutors told the court that Stefan R. had spoken to previous sexual partners about cannibalism, was active on websites and forums on the topic, and that he had "developed slaughter and cannibalism ideas" and ultimately "wanted to live out his fantasies."
Stefan R. denied the allegations against him and asserted that he had discovered Stefan Trogisch dead on his couch after he had stayed the night. He stated that he had not called the police "because it would have come out that I am homosexual."
It was not until November 2020 that investigators discovered bones in a wooded area of Berlin which were ultimately determined to belong to Stefan Trogisch.
Through the course of investigation, it was determined that the last person to see him alive was a cab driver that had dropped him off near Stefan R.'s residence.
Once investigators determined that Stefan R. was a person of interest, they discovered bone saws, knives, as well as bone fragments and traces of blood.
The court ultimately agreed with the prosecution's assertions that Stefan R. had murdered Stefan Trogisch in order "to realize his cannibalistic fantasies."
"What you did was inhuman," Presiding Judge Matthias Schertz stated. In 30 years of serving as a judge, "nothing like this has come across my desk before."
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