A hospital worker in Budapest has been arrested after police say they found a horrifying collection of human remains inside his apartment — including skulls, a hand, a lower leg, and what appeared to be a reconstructed human face made from facial skin.
The 30-year-old man is accused of stealing body parts from his workplace and from abandoned graves in Hungary and Slovakia. Authorities say he not only kept the remains, but also allegedly cooked and ate some of them.
Police reportedly began looking into the man after receiving disturbing reports about his behavior. When officers searched his home, they were stunned by what they found.
Inside the apartment, investigators seized multiple skulls, bones stored in a suitcase, a complete lower leg, a hand, and a jar containing what appeared to be a heart. Police said forensic experts are still working to determine whether the heart came from a human or an animal.
The man, who worked as an orderly at a hospital, allegedly told investigators he had an “irresistible obsession” with human anatomy.
Authorities said he used his job to gain access to human remains and also searched through abandoned cemeteries looking for more.
Police described him as “passionate about anatomy and pathology” and said he enjoyed dissecting animals. Investigators also said he talked about his obsession with friends and family and took photos of his disturbing collection.
During the raid, police seized the man’s computer, laptops, tablets, phones, SIM cards and data cards as part of the investigation.
All recovered remains will now be examined by forensic experts in an effort to identify them and determine where they came from.
The man has been detained on suspicion of illegally possessing and using human remains. Police said more charges could follow depending on what investigators discover.
The stomach-turning case has drawn comparisons to Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous American serial killer who murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991.
Dahmer later admitted to keeping body parts from some of his victims and eating human remains. He was convicted of multiple murders and was beaten to death by a fellow inmate in a Wisconsin prison in 1994.
While authorities have not accused the Budapest hospital worker of murder, the allegations have horrified the public and left investigators trying to answer one terrifying question: exactly where did all those remains come from?
