'Cannibal Killer' Jailed For Life In Germany

A 26-year-old German man has been sentenced to life in prison for eating the flesh of two young teenagers and then murdering them.

The man known as the 'Cannibal Killer', who can be identified only as "Jan O", kidnapped the two children.

He wounded them, ate their flesh, drank their blood and then murdered them. The cannibalism continued after they had died.

The judge, Ralf Gunther, said the crimes committed in woods just outside the town of Bodenfelde were "excessively violent" and represented "a just about unimaginable dimension of injustice".

In mid-November 2010, a 14-year-old girl, who can be named only as "Nina B", disappeared from her home in Bodenfelde, 21 miles north of Kassel.

A week or so later, a boy of 13, identified only as "Tobias L" also went missing.

Jan O was soon arrested and gave police a detailed and disturbing confession.

He had lured Nina B into the woods intending to rape her.

Instead he hit her, slashed her throat and as she died, he ate her flesh and drank her blood.

He revisited her body several times. It was on one visit that he snatched Tobias L.

He was sexually assaulted before being stabbed to death.

In court, those gathered, including Nina's mother, heard how the children were subjected to what Jan O described as cannibalistic and "vampiristic" acts both before and after they died.

Jan O apologised to the children's families and expressed remorse, saying: "I don't know what came over me."

He has been sentenced to life in prison which will include psychiatric treatment.

In reaching its sentence, the court took into account Jan O's written and verbal confessions and his freely given account of the crimes' details.