Man cut off teenager’s eyelids, bit off his ears and stabbed eyes in ‘cannibal’ attack, court hears

Police officers say attacker expressed desire to eat victim's flesh

(Getty Images)

A suspected cannibal is on trial for attempted murder after biting off a teenager’s ears, cutting off his eyelids and stabbing his eyes in a “brutal and bizarre” assault.

The 18-year-old victim survived the ordeal in the German town of Schlüchtern but was left blind and with permanent injuries.

A court in Hanau heard the assailant, 20, set upon the teenager with two knives at his flat in October.

Prosecutors said he stabbed the victim in the neck, bit off both his ears, cut off his eyelids and stabbed him in the eyes a with pen, The Local reported.

A neighbour heard screams coming from the apartment and called police, who then broke down the door to stop the mutilation.

A police officer testifying at the ongoing trial on Wednesday told the court the victim said his attacker claimed he was going to eat his flesh during the attack.

Another officer who was called to the scene said it immediately reminded him of “cannibalism and ritual behaviour”, Hessenschau reported.

The brutal attack was originally assumed to result from a financial dispute between the two young men, who arrived in Germany as unaccompanied minors in 2013.

The victim, from Somalia, became friends with the Eritrean defendant at accommodation for young asylum seekers in Bad Soden-Salmünster and later moved to Schlüchtern.

Judge Susanne Wetzel said the “brutal and bizarre act” must have been motivated by more than money.

The latest case comes after a former German police officer was convicted of killing a “willing victim” for a cannibalistic ritual after meeting his victim on a fetish website.