Pizza chef accused of murdering man and cooking his body
A French pizza chef is standing trial in France for allegedly murdering a man, dismembering his body and cooking it to hide the evidence.
Philippe Schneider, 69, who is a former butcher, was set to appear in an Aveyron court on Monday charged over a macabre killing that took place in the village of Brasc in February 2023.
The victim, Georges Meichler, 60, lived as a recluse in a rudimentary house in the woods without electricity or running water. When his daughter couldn't reach him and then started receiving bizarre text messages that were out of character for her father, she alerted gendarmerie to his disappearance.
The investigation led them to Mr Schneider and his partner Nathalie Caboubassy, 45, who were spotted driving Mr Meichler's car around town. The pair, who claimed to be druids, moved to the region in 2019 where Mr Schneider sold 'magic potion' in a sex shop made with plants from his garden. He then opened a pizzeria Don Filiippo in Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance.
Though they initially claimed that Mr Meichler had lent them the car while he was on holiday so that they could feed his animals, the story quickly collapsed.
Mr Schneider reportedly confessed to killing the man, warning investigators 'What I'm going to tell you is horrific.' But throughout the investigation, he gave different stories. Initially he claimed that he killed Mr Meichler by accident following a dispute.
Ms Caboubassy denies involvement.
In the latest version, he told the investigating judge that he went to Mr Schneider's home to steal cannabis from the property, and enlisted the help of a third suspect, Loup Benrakia, a gravedigger.
Mr Schneider told the investigating judge that they tied up their victim and gagged him. After searching the house, he said they found that Mr Meichler had died by suffocation. Mr Benrakia has denied involvement.
Mr Schneider allegedly took the body back to his own house, waiting three days to 'respect the transmigration of the soul', before dismembering it with a butcher's knife and burning the organs on the spot.
He then returned to the victim's home where he allegedly cooked the other limbs in large pots with vegetables to mask the odour. He then lit fires to burn the victim's head, hands and feet. As he scattered the victim's ashes across his property, he told investigators he prayed for the salvation of Mr Meichler's soul.
'Philippe Schneider acknowledges his full responsibility and all the facts he is accused of ,' lawyer Luc Abratkiewicz said.
'Philippe Schneider's version is that at the time he lived a life of alcohol, drugs, and then this completely crazy idea of going to burgle his neighbour. He gags him. It goes badly, he dies... He made a serious mistake. Afterward, he continued to sink into absurdity and horror, because the fact of having cut up this corpse is going to cost them dearly.'
Mr Schneider is charged with kidnapping leading to death, concealment of a corpse and endangering the integrity of the corpse. Ms Caboubassy, who denies involvement, is charged with complicity, as is Mr Benrakia.
The prosecution has pointed out the challenge of a case that depends entirely on the statements of the defendants in the absence of a body.
The verdict is expected to be handed down on May 22.
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