Hungarian Man Held for Collecting Body Parts From Cemeteries

Hungary's National Bureau of Investigation arrested the man in Budapest on June 17 after receiving information that he'd been storing the body parts at work and at home. The man is employed as an orderly at a hospital, police said in a statement on Tuesday.

During a search of the man's apartment, investigators seized skulls, a complete lower leg and a hand, as well as a reconstruction of a human face prepared from facial skin. Other bones were found stored in a suitcase.

A heart in a jar was also found, which police were trying to determine whether it was of human or animal origin.

The man, who admitted collecting the body parts during questioning, said that he was particularly attracted to human body parts, and that he had prepared food from such parts and eaten them.

He is being held on suspicion of illegal use of human bodies.

In their statement, police said the man is “passionate about anatomy and pathology, and likes to dissect animals.” They suspect he obtained the body parts through his work at a hospital and by digging up bodies “in abandoned cemeteries in Slovakia and Hungary.”

Police seized the man’s computer, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, SIM and data cards. All of the recovered body parts will be examined by forensic experts, police said, adding that the range of alleged crimes could expand after the origin of all the body parts is determined.