A Case of Schizophrenia Presenting with Anthropophagy

Ilda Kapo1, Anila Kazaferi1, Gentian Vyshka2, Bledar Xhemali3

1 Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Legal Medicine, Tirana, Albania 2 Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania 3 Department of Forensic Pathology, Institute of Legal Medicine, Tirana, Albania

Abstract found on the crime scene and arrested while cooking and consuming the viscera of the Background: Dismemberment of a corpse massacred body. The law enforcement during or following a murder is a notorious officers took several pictures from the occurrence, however cannibalism as a obscene place, and requested a thorough practice dates back to very remote times, psychiatric evaluation of the perpetrator. mostly as a part of ritualistic events. A non- Conclusion: Insanity defence was raised in ritualistic cannibalism might entangle a the case we’re describing, and upheld in diversity of psychiatric disturbances, albeit court. The fact that the perpetrator was direct links are arguable and difficult to diagnosed with schizophrenia only after that uphold in judicial proceedings. the criminal event took place, made the Case report: Authors report the case of a initial deliberation very difficult. Also, the non-ritualistic and isolated behavior of extreme rarity of such a cruel act, and the cannibalism. An Albanian male aging in his natural interest of mass media and public, late thirties, known to his village for being has rendered this event an issue of large antisocial and callous, with very few debating. interpersonal links and recently returned Keywords: cannibalism, anthropophagy, from immigration, killed a youngster aged schizophrenia, insanity defence, cruelty, 15 years. After beheading the corpse, he was dismemberment.

Address for correspondence: Ilda Kapo, Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Legal Medicine, Rr. Dibres 371, Tirana, Albania. E-mail: [email protected] Kapo I. et al. A Case of Schizophrenia Presenting with Anthropophagy 2

INTRODUCTION anthropophagy [synonymous to Cannibalism and cannibalistic rituals pertain cannibalism] (2). Among 1348 items to remote and barbaric rituals, and Albanian produced from the database after a search culture has no historical references on these with the keyword “cannibalism” we might practices, notoriously met in quite a few easily conclude, however, that the ‘human isolated and non-civilized tribal areas. cannibalism’ as a subtype is extremely rare, However, dismemberment or disfiguration as to be systematically studied and of a victim while still alive or of a corpse classified. The word itself has diverged from thereafter are foreseen as aggravating its original meaning, and naturalistic elements of murder in the criminal code. sciences suggest that a diversity of species, A matter of particular interest, cannibalism even cells, might adopt cannibalistic has been part of mythology since millennia. behaviors (3). However, probably the most detailed Lester et al. have tried to approach the descriptions have been contributions of theme systematically, through conducting a anthropologists (1). In her exhaustive research on thirty-one convicted cannibals review, Lindenbaum suggests a diversity of (4). Their dataset was large enough to define typologies for cannibalism. Among other, differences between murderers engaged in she distinguishes between endocannibalism cannibalism and others that were not; [allegedly an act of affection, as a part of although the co-existence of necrophilia funerary or mortuary consumption] and with cannibalism was a confounding factor exocannibalism [an act of aggression mainly in the s