# An old colleague of mine was voluntarily cannibalized and killed. TM friggin' I. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 3, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236 "2003-04-03T17:00:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/81 "2003-04-04T16:05:55Z")
\*\*Cisco[b/], I’ve seen _Strangeland_ quite a few times, and I have to say I’ve wondered the same thing, but honestly, I had always assumed it can’t be far from off. What happens in that film is really just an extention of (or one step further along) BDSM and pain/pleasure type deals. Many people get erotic pleasure from getting a peircing, and many people like bondage, etc. I don’t see the film as anything _but_ grounded in reality. This, however, is amazing. That someone would willingly _eat themselves_ is one of the most remarkably peculiar things I’ve ever heard of. Ok, _the_ most. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/82 "2003-04-04T18:12:29Z")
I have a question. Given a fresh human body-not one that you had killed as in the story but one that died of natural causes-why is eating it so disgusting an idea ( not that I would or have any desire to, I’m just saying if someone wanted to ) yet putting it in the ground for worms to eat respectful? I’m just wondering why the taboo is so strong. I mean, I’m the one wondering about it, and I wouldn’t eat human flesh either. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/83 "2003-04-04T18:29:13Z")
Now I’ve seen it all. There just isn’t anything wierd or peverse and grotesque left to do, that has not been done - for real. This story reminds me of the remarkable saga of that Japanese fellow who ate a European woman (non-consentually), managed to beat the rap by pleading insanity, going back to Japan, and being declared _sane_. :rolleyes: :mad: [http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial\_killers/weird/sagawa/5.html?sect=3](http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/sagawa/5.html?sect=3) And _then_ he became a darling of the artsy set over there - a kind of depraved cultural icon. Wierd and creepy: "What made the situation worse was how he reveled in what he did and was only too happy to tell people about it on television talk shows. He even agreed to appear in several Japanese pornographic films, and he wrote four novels. The one in which he described the details of his murder sold over 200,000 copies. Thanks to his father, he’d gotten away with murder, and he was quite proud of it. Now Sagawa enjoys being the focus of tabloid media, granting interviews and making videos to indulge the voyeuristic curiosity of those who want to get closer to someone who has eaten human flesh. He apparently finds the attention amusing and does not feel that he did anything wrong. “The public has made me the godfather of cannibalism,” he stated, “and I am happy about that.” The Rolling Stones wrote and recorded a song about Sagawa’s gory deed, calling it, “Too much Blood,” and Sagawa tried his hand at a comic book version of the story. He also wrote a weekly column for a tabloid publication, edited an anthology of cannibal fantasies, and was featured on the cover of a Japanese gourmet magazine. Under an assumed name, he even managed to get women to pose nude for him." ---
**Author:** ![Cavalier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Cavalier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cavalier)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/84 "2003-04-04T19:07:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KCSuze \* > I also hate to mention this, but was the severed penis raw or cooked? Who would eat his own severed penis raw? It was flambeed. It was too tough when raw. :eek: I’d post the link to the Armin M website but I’m not sure the mods would approve. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/85 "2003-04-04T19:31:49Z")
Just run a google on ‘Armin M’…You will find more than you want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/86 "2003-04-04T20:10:58Z")
Whoa, the penis was flambeed? Did they have the Hibatchi right there in the room, or did they stop the bleeding of thie “victim” long enough for the cookout? ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/87 "2003-04-04T20:22:24Z")
**Weirddave** - Coincidentally, before I hoped this thread I’d just finished reading a book called “Custom of the Sea”, which illustrates one of many instances when shipwrecked sailors sacrificed one among them to provide food (and more often blood, which was more precious because of their lack of fresh water). In this book, even the brother of the killed and eaten cabin boy made statements that he understood and approved of the captain’s actions, and shook the captain’s hand in the courtroom during the trial. Apparently this was so accepted by the sea-faring community that everyone, from the captain to the common sailors on the wharf, were disbelieving when the Crown prosecuted them, then found them guilty. Captain Dudley said that the prosecution wouldn’t stop the practice, only force the sailors who resort to cannibalism to lie about it. StG ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/88 "2003-04-04T21:36:05Z")
From the first article: > [@](#): > > The 41-year-old suspect admitted to investigators that he had videotaped himself killing the man who he had met via a gay Internet chat room after the victim responded to one of 80 adverts that read: ‘Gay male seeks hunks 18-30 to slaughter.’ Gives new meaning to [spam](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_229.html). ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/89 "2003-04-05T00:42:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > \*\*I have a question. Given a fresh human body-not one that you had killed as in the story but one that died of natural causes-why is eating it so disgusting an idea ( not that I would or have any desire to, I’m just saying if someone wanted to ) yet putting it in the ground for worms to eat respectful? I’m just wondering why the taboo is so strong. I mean, I’m the one wondering about it, and I wouldn’t eat human flesh either. \*\* Maybe, because it would be tantamount to admitting that _you yourself_ are also a potential food source. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/90 "2003-04-05T04:35:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*Maybe, because it would be tantamount to admitting that _you yourself_ are also a potential food source. \*\* Well of course I am. We’re all made of meat, after all, just ask the next bear you see. ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/91 "2003-04-05T05:43:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Who would eat his own severed penis raw? It was flambeed. It was too tough when raw. He was willing to _eat his own penis_! Is eating it raw the last line that no one will cross? And I mean no offesense when I ask this. How do you know the flesh was too tough when raw? Or was I just severely wooshed? ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/92 "2003-04-05T06:39:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\ ***Pundit** , I don’t think homicide flies if the victim was willing. Though Kevorkian probably had `issues’ of his own to work out, he only killed those who asked him to kill them. He didn’t go out to find victims, nor did he apparently need to. I think, and I hope, the cannibal is like that. > > If you want to make the case the cannibal’s a time bomb, I’d probably be receptive. But killing someone isn’t _automatically_ homicide. \*\* [MST3K] _His only crime was being born delicious._ [/MST3K] ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/93 "2003-04-05T07:07:25Z")
Dammit, **Andy** , stop making me laugh while I’m queasy! ---
**Author:** ![Shaolinrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Shaolinrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaolinrabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/94 "2003-04-05T07:34:00Z")
Well, that is hideously messed up. Some things are just so sick it’s hard to pinpoint a level on the sick scale I guess. Although this would go a long way to explaining why there aren’t that many people in the love thread I posted. When I came in here, they were right next to each other. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/95 "2003-04-05T11:37:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PunditLisa \* > I don’t know. How reputable is that site? It’s seems odd that none of us had ever heard of this story. I heard about it, sitting out here in the Midwest of the USA. It wasn’t that long ago. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/96 "2003-04-05T16:14:28Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Kn_ckers \* > \*\*Sweet merciful Christ on a tricycle! And I just HAD to read this thread while I was eating (ginger snaps. Not people). > > I won’t make THAT mistake again anytime soon. \*\* What, next time you’ll be eating people instead of ginger snaps? Have you learned _nothing_ from this? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/97 "2003-04-05T16:22:58Z")
First the Elizabeth Smart case making me think of \*\* The Green Mile \*\* (two sisters, taken by crazy man, sexually assaulted, wrong person dies in jail, heavy religious overtones) now this and the short story “Survivor Type.” And I though Stephen King wrote \* fiction \*. ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/98 "2003-04-05T17:06:19Z")
Seriously screwed up. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/99 "2003-04-05T17:31:45Z")
Be honest now…how many of you, through morbid curiosity, want to see this video? I’d watch it. It might creep me out and keep me up for a few nights, but I really doubt I’d need counseling after seeing it. Jon ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236/100 "2003-04-05T18:04:24Z")
I’ll take “SDMB Thread Titles That Will Never, Ever, Be Seen Again” for $1,000 Alex. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-colleague-of-mine-was-voluntarily-cannibalized-and-killed-tm-friggin-i/166236.md?page=6)