'Cannibal' accused of killing mum and living off her remains
WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT: An alleged cannibal is on trial accused of strangling his own mother, chopping up her body and putting it into lunchboxes, which he stored in the fridge and ate over the course of the next two weeks.
The court heard Alberto Sanchez Gomez, 26, had frequently been violent towards his 66-year-old mother, Maria Soledad Gomez, who had taken out a restraining order against him, yet friends knew that whenever he would call, she would always take him back in, telling them: "What can I do, he is my son?"
The man, dubbed by local media as the 'Cannibal of Guindalera', is on trial for allegedly murdering his mum in the Guindalera neighbourhood of Spain's capital city Madrid on February 21, 2019.
Authorities arrived at the young man's house, which he shared with his mother after family friends reported they hadn't seen Ms Soledad for several days, local news outlet ABC reported.
Police officers were greeted by Gomez who at the door reportedly admitted he had strangled his mother to death.
They entered the house with no idea they were going to find Ms Soledad's body strewn throughout with parts in the fridge.
Officers reported the 66-year-old's limbs were wrapped in plastic and left lying around various rooms, but other parts were in the fridge and in the oven. Pieces, which had been further cooked, were still sitting in a pan.
Several officers were reportedly violently sick due to the overwhelming stench and shock of what they were seeing.
Gomez was arrested and had since allegedly admitted he strangled his mother, cut her up and then spent 15 days eating her remains whilst feeding the bits he did not want to his dog.
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The prosecutor is accusing Gomez of homicide and the desecration of a corpse for which he is facing 15 years and five months in prison along with €90,000 (AU$140,329) compensation he must pay to his brother.
The prosecutor believes the young man had an argument with his mother during which he allegedly grabbed her by the throat, suffocating her.
According to the prosecutor, Gomez then took his mother's body into the bedroom and allegedly began to chop her up into small pieces.
The body was allegedly dismembered by the suspect using two kitchen knives and a saw.
Afterwards he allegedly stored the body parts in lunchboxes in the fridge and some unusable bits were put into plastic bags, which were dumped in the street.
The court believes the suspect is suffering from a mental illness, possibly borderline personality disorder, and was at the time consuming hard drugs, according to local media.
The suspect has been admitted to psychiatric care three times at the behest of his mother who was terrified of him as he would routinely physically attack her, ABC reported.
After being arrested in 2018 for attacking her, Gomez was served a restraining order, but he violated the court order and returned to his mother's home.
The alleged victim apparently told one of her friends who asked why she let her son back into her life after he was served the restraining order: "What am I going to do? After all, he is still my son."
Gomez, who has been held in detention since February 23, 2019, is currently on suicide watch due to his fragile mental state, local news outlet El Pais reported.
The defendant and the police officers who found the dismembered body of Soledad were meant to be testifying on Tuesday (local time) in Madrid's provincial court.
– Australscope
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