Hungarian Man Arrested for Collecting Human Body Parts from Cemeteries and Hospital

Police in Hungary have arrested a 30-year-old man who investigators say collected human body parts that he gathered from abandoned cemeteries and from his workplace at a hospital. Hungary's National Bureau of Investigation detained the man in Budapest on June 17 after receiving information that he had been storing the remains at work and at home. He is employed as an orderly at a hospital, according to a police statement released on Tuesday.

During a search of the man's apartment, investigators seized skulls, a complete lower leg, a hand, and a reconstruction of a human face made from facial skin. Other bones were found stored in a suitcase, along with a heart in a jar, which authorities are trying to determine whether it is of human or animal origin. The man admitted during questioning to collecting the body parts, saying he was particularly attracted to human remains and that he had prepared and eaten food made from them.

Police said the man is "passionate about anatomy and pathology, and likes to dissect animals." They suspect he obtained some of the body parts through his hospital job and by digging up bodies in abandoned cemeteries in Slovakia and Hungary. Investigators also seized his computer, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, SIM cards, and data cards for forensic examination. The range of alleged crimes could expand after the origin of all the body parts is determined. The man is being held on suspicion of illegal use of human bodies.