Locals in Budapest have been left horrified after police revealed a man had been arrested after a stockpile of stolen body parts was discovered in his home. Hungarian police said they had found a hoard of skulls, bones, limbs, and even a heart in a jar after raiding the apartment of the 30-year-old man in the country’s capital.
Investigators said the suspect, who is employed as an orderly at a local hospital, acquired the collection from work and by digging up dead bodies in abandoned cemeteries. He is even alleged to have been eating from his stash. Hungary’s National Bureau of Investigation announced that the man had been taken into custody last Wednesday (June 17). Officials reportedly received a tip-off claiming that he had been stashing body parts at both his home and his workplace.
Having gained access to his flat, officers discovered skulls, a complete lower leg and a hand inside the flat, while there was also a reconstruction of a human face prepared from facial skin. Bones stored inside a suitcase were also discovered at the property, while a jar containing a heart was also seized.
Forensic experts are now working to determine whether the remains are of human or animal origin.
AP reported that the 30-year-old confessed that he had collected the body parts while being interrogated by police. He even allegedly told investigators that he had “prepared food” from his stash, which he later ate.
The suspect has been described by police as someone who is “passionate about anatomy and pathology, and likes to dissect animals”. It is believed that he took body parts from his place of work, but also by digging up bodies that were laid to rest in “abandoned cemeteries” in Slovakia and Hungary.
The man remains in custody and is currently being held on suspicion of the illegal use of human bodies. His devices, including a computer, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, SIMs and data cards, have been seized amid the ongoing investigation.
If the remains are determined to be of human origin, further charges could be lodged, Hungarian police have said.
