French cannibal victim alive when cut
06:00 AEST Wed Jun 23 2010
Nicholas Cocaign has been charged with murder.
A medical examiner testifying at the trial of a French prisoner accused of cannibalism said on Tuesday that the victim was still alive when his cellmate allegedly cut into his chest and sliced off a piece of his lung to eat.
Nicolas Cocaign, charged with murder and acts of barbarism, is on trial in the Normandy city of Rouen, accused of killing his cellmate and eating part of the man's lung in 2007. As the trial opened on Monday, 39-year-old Cocaign acknowledged responsibility.
Medical examiner Dr Patrick Laburthe, who performed the autopsy on victim Thierry Baudry, said a piece of his lung had been removed "with almost surgical precision, with a very sharp blade."
"We also found blood in Thierry Baudry's right lung, which means he was still alive when the organ was cut," Laburthe told the court.
Baudry's mutilated body was found January 3, 2007 by a Rouen prison guard, and an autopsy revealed two chest muscles and part of his left lung were missing.
At the time, a Rouen prosecutor said Cocaign confessed to stabbing his victim with scissors and suffocating him with a plastic bag before removing and eating part of an organ from his chest - though he mistakenly believed it was the victim's heart.
Cocaign, whose face is tattooed with images including bloody tears and a skull, told investigators he had wanted to eat the victim's heart to "take his soul," according to the indictment.
The victim's family was not present in court during the medical examiner's testimony.
"I told them not to come, so they wouldn't have to listen to these horrific descriptions," their lawyer, Etienne Noel, said. He added: "I only hope (Thierry Baudry) was already in a coma when it happened."
Cocaign remained expressionless during the medical examiner's testimony. A day earlier, he told the court that he is now getting psychiatric treatment and feels "stable."
At the time of the killing, Cocaign was behind bars on an armed robbery conviction and was awaiting trial in two other cases, including for attempted rape while armed. Baudry was in prison for sexual assault.
A verdict is expected on Thursday.
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