The Investigation Department of the Russian Federation has arrested a couple living in the southwest Russian city of Krasnodar following the discovery of a body of a 35-year-old woman near their residence. The remains were placed in a bag, which the authorities found in the military academy where the couple lives.
Dmitry Baksheev and his wife Natalia were arrested based on a cell phone that had been found in early September 2017 by workers doing local road construction. According to reports, the cellphone contained images of dismembered body parts. One image showed Mr. Baksheev posing with a human body part in his mouth.
A video released on Russian state media allegedly featured the police searching the couple's home. A number of human body parts were seen, with some contained in glass jars, according to the reports.
"In the place of residence of the suspects, the investigators discovered fragments of the human body in saline solution in the dormitory…Frozen meat parts of unknown origin were seized in the kitchen," the investigators have told CBS News online.
The couple has been subjected to investigations that link them to the disappearances of 10 other missing persons, Russian authorities have noted. On the other hand, the local media has purported that the couple might be connected to as many as 30 killings. The couple has undergone psychological testing.
Details of the cannibal couple's many killings
Mr. Baksheev, 35, initially denied killing the woman. He claimed that he merely found the remains and took photographs of himself with them before losing the phone. Mr. Baksheev eventually admitted to the recent crime, and another one he committed in 2012. His wife has also reportedly admitted to killing up to 30 people since 1999. According to the reports, the couple purportedly used Corvalol to drug the victims and subdue them before killing them. The couple's home allegedly smelled of the substance, the reports have stated.
The local police have allegedly discovered eight frozen body parts and flayed skin in the couple’s home. The authorities have also recovered 19 remains of human skin. In addition, various images and a cache of footage called “video lessons for cannibals” have been obtained from the house, the reports have asserted. A photograph dated 29 December 1999, appears to featured a severed human head served as “Christmas dinner," according to reports.
Another cannibalism case sparks shock in South Africa
In August 2017, another alleged case of cannibalism had caused shock in the village of Shayamoya in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province where a decapitated body had been found. The 25-year-old victim, Zanele Hlatshwayo, went missing since July. Her family believed that Hlatshwayo had fallen victim to a cannibalism ring that had led to the arrest of five men.
The victim's decomposing body was allegedly found when a man, who then claimed to be a traditional healer, purportedly confessed that he was tired of eating human flesh. Police officials had initially dismissed the claims, but then subsequently followed the man to his rented house where they found eight human ears being cooked in a pot. (Related: Mass murder, widespread starvation and even cannibalism accompany a currency collapse.)
According to reports, the cooked body parts were to be served to the traditional healer's customers. The human remains are touted to have magic properties and would bring prosperity and power to customers, the reports have stated. Ms. Hlatshwayo's bloodied and torn clothes had been recovered among other human remains in the traditional healer's home.
"Most residents were shocked by this and now live in fear. A few confessed to have consulted with the traditional healer and knowingly ate human flesh. But what has angered most of us here is how gullible our people have become...He told them that digging up the graves would make them strong and protect them from harm and that bringing him the bones would bring them wealth in the future," Majola has stated.
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