A 30-year-old man has been arrested in Hungary after authorities accused him of collecting human remains from hospitals and abandoned cemeteries, then using some of the body parts as food.
According to Hungarian police, the suspect was taken into custody in Budapest on June 17 following an investigation that revealed he was keeping human remains both at his residence and workplace.
During a search of his apartment, officers discovered a disturbing collection that included skulls, facial skin, a hand, a lower leg, and bones packed inside a suitcase.
Investigators also recovered a heart preserved in a jar and are working to establish whether it belonged to a human or an animal.
“During his interrogation, the man said that he was particularly attracted to human body parts, from which he had prepared food for himself and consumed them in various ways,” police wrote on Facebook, according to a translation.
Authorities believe the suspect obtained some of the remains through his work as a hospital orderly, while others were allegedly taken from exhumed graves in neglected cemeteries across Hungary and neighboring Slovakia.
Police also confiscated computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices from the apartment. Forensic specialists are expected to analyze the recovered remains as part of the ongoing investigation.
Officials said additional charges could be brought against the suspect depending on the outcome of the forensic examinations.
He is currently being held on suspicion of illegally handling human remains, while the investigation continues.
