As taboo as cannibalism is, the practice goes way back to early human history. Around 900,000 million years ago in a region known today as Spain, ancient relatives of humans called Homo antecessor engaged in cannibalism not because they were hideous violent primates, but mostly out of practicality.
Fellow hominines were, of course, relatively easy to catch compared to larger animals both on land and sea and pretty nutritious; in other words, potential prey options.
The Neanderthals, even closely related to humans, were also cannibals, although not as frequent as previously mentioned.
More recent evidence revealed that Neanderthals utilized their comrades’ remains to make tools, so very few things were wasted.
In modern days, however, cannibalism is never out of necessity. People who eat human flesh are often psychologically disturbed and in need of treatments.
That said, there have been, unfortunately, quite a lot of cannibalistic instances reported over the years. Here are some of the most horrific.
10 /10 Peter Bryan
In 1994, Peter Bryan was sent to a high-security psychiatric hospital for murdering an Indian shopkeeper named Nisha Sheth.
After showing some progress, he was eventually transferred to an open psychiatric ward in January 2004.
About a month later, Bryan killed his friend Brian Cherry just hours after being discharged from the mental health unit. The victim had been reportedly dismembered.
Officers also found a frying pan still filled with tissue from the victim’s brain. Bryan admitted to having eaten the brain with butter.
9 /10 Leonarda Cianciulli
Difficult childhood does not justify cannibalism. Leonarda Cianciulli was raised in Montella by a mother who allegedly had no love for her. Some say Leonarda was a child of rape.
Between 1939 and 1940, she murdered three women and turned their bodies into soaps and teacakes. The victims were Faustina Setti, Francesca Soavi, and Virginia Cacioppo.
She claimed to have murdered the three of them as human sacrifices to keep his oldest son, who was enlisted in the army, safe.