Alleged ‘Cannibal Cop’ Goes on Trial
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Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Jury selection began Friday in the case of a New York City police officer accused of conspiring to kidnap, cook and eat as many 100 women.
Among the evidence that jurors may see, according to the New York Post, are photos of a naked woman tied up on a platter with an apple in her mouth and another woman tied to a spit over a fire. Lawyers for Gilberto Valle III say he was only expressing his fantasies and did not intend to harm anyone.
Valle, of Forest Hills, Queens, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, according to a federal criminal complaint, as well as using the National Crime Information Center database to access unauthorized data. He was arrested after his wife allegedly discovered evidence on his intended cannibalism on his computer.
The complaint alleges that Valle, 28, exchanged electronic messages with an unnamed coconspirator “about kidnapping, cooking and eating body parts of [Victim 1].” Prosecutors say that one of the women Valle allegedly discussed eating matches the description of his wife.
Authorities allege that in addition to conspiring to kidnap “Victim 1,” he had discussed plans to “kidnap, rape, torture, kill, cook and eat body parts of a number of women.” He is accused of creating computer files pertaining to “at least 100 women and containing at least one photograph of each woman.”
According to the complaint, he used law enforcement databases to conduct surveillance on potential victims.
In an alleged online exchange between Valle and a coconspirator included in the complaint, Valle is quoted saying, “I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus . . . cook her over a low heat, keep her alive as long as possible.”
“I love that she is asleep right now not have the slightest clue of what we have planned,” Valle allegedly wrote. “Her days are numbered . . . She does look tasty, doesn’t she?”
“You do know if we don’t waste any of her, there is nearly 75 lbs of food there,” replied the alleged coconspirator, who also allegedly asked Valle, “What’s your favorite cut of meat?”
When the alleged coconspirator asked Valle, “How big is your oven?”, Valle is alleged to have responded, “Big enough to fit one of these girls if I folded their legs.”
“The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us,” said FBI Acting Assistant Director Mary E. Galligan. “They speak for themselves. It would be an understatement merely to say Valle’s own words and actions were shocking.”
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