I always thought that those stories of children killing their parents after an argument was peak madness.

Recently, however, I’ve discovered a whole new level: killing your parents, and then eating them.

In short, cannibalism.

Disturbed? Join the club.

Spanish Man Strangled Then Ate His Mother 

On Tuesday (15 June), 28-year-old Alberto Sánchez Gómez was sentenced to 15 years and five months’ jail in a Spanish court after pleading guilty to strangling his mother and then eating her.

Alberto Sánchez Gómez, dubbed the “cannibal of Ventas” after the district where the crime took place, was ruled by the court to have been sane at the time of the events. Therefore, he will serve his sentence in prison.

He received a sentence of 15 years’ jail for homicide, and another five months for desecration of a corpse after he chopped up his mother’s body and ate “her cadaver over at least 15 days”. He also fed some to his dog.

The incident took place in early 2019, at the flat that the suspect and his 69-year-old mother shared in Ventas, next to Madrid’s iconic bullring.

According to the indictment, the murder occurred during an argument between the 26-year-old suspect and his mother. He first strangled his mother, before he dragged her into her bedroom and proceeded to use a saw and two kitchen knives to cut her up “in order to get rid of the body”, the indictment stated.

“He began eating the remains over the course of about 15 days, storing other parts in various plastic containers around the house and in the fridge,” it said.

The suspect also allegedly put some of the remains into plastic bags and threw them into the bin.

According to reports by the local media, a police officer said in his testimony that the suspect confessed to having eaten some of the remains raw, while he cooked the other parts or fed some to the dog.

On 23 February 2019, the police turned up at the flat after receiving a report from a friend of the mother that she was missing. The suspect was then arrested.

The suspect has also been ordered by the court to pay €60,000 (S$100,000) in compensation to his older brother.

Earlier Conditions and Records

According to a report earlier in April by BBC, the suspect reportedly suffers from a personality disorder, as well as a drug habit prior to his arrest.

It was also reported that the Spanish media had said that the suspect had been known to police because of prior violence against his mother. He had allegedly breached a restraining order at the time of his arrest.

The suspect had also told the court that he did not remember dismembering and eating his mother.

Featured Image: HTWE/ Shutterstock.com