Trial begins for “Cannibal of Ventas” accused of murdering and eating his mother

Madrid, Spain: The trial for Alberto Sánchez Gómez began Tuesday in Mardrid Provincial Court where he stands accused of killing and cannibalizing his mother in February 2019.

He faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted of murder and another five months for desecration of a body.

According to El Pais Sánchez Gómez, who was 26 at the time of the killing, told the court that he had been hearing voices telling him to kill his mother and that his daily life had consisted of "drinking every day, smoking pot and hearing voices." Those voices were allegedly those of neighbors, acquaintances and celebrities.

He additionally reported that he had seen "hidden messages" when watching television.

Sánchez Gómez told the court that he had been hearing voices since he was 16 and had been admitted to Princesa Hospital from time to time for psychiatric treatment, beginning after he returned from an internship in Greece.

"I'd been listening to voices for a very long time and having hallucinations. All this led me to the worst factor that's occurred in my life," Sánchez Gómez was quoted as saying in a letter written from jail.

While speaking to the court though, Sánchez Gómez is said to have asserted that he has no recollection of dismembering or eating his mother.

On Wednesday one of the officers that had been called to the residence of 66-year-old María Soledad Gómez for a welfare check by a concerned friend reported that, "We entered the home to see if she needed help. In the second room we found human remains; and in the kitchen, a pot containing others."

One of the officers that had taken part in the arrest spoke in court recalling how "He was very calm, I didn't seen any emotion of any kind. He was very calm, very cold," at the time of the arrest.

Officers were not a stranger to the Soledad Gómez residence as they had been called in the past. "We had come to her home on other occasions. There was a restraining order [against Soledad Gómez] for verbal abuse."

At the station, officers told that Soledad Gómez "confessed to everything. He said that he had attacked his mother from behind, and that he had dismembered her with a saw." He described the exchange as a "casual conversation" during which it was clear that Soledad Gómez seemed distracted. "He told us that he was worried about his dog."

The officer told the court that when Soledad Gómez had been asked why he did it, "He said it was because she made his life impossible."

Tomorrow Soledad Gómez's brother is set to testify.