Police investigate case of cannibalism in Austria

A man suspected of murdering a fellow homeless man and possibly eating his organs was interrogated, Austrian police said Tuesday.

The suspect, described only as a 19-year-old German man, is suspected of cracking the victim's skull using a 10-kilogram (22-pounds) dumbbell and slicing open his ribcage with a switchblade, the Austria Press Agency reported. A police spokeswoman confirmed the report.

The slaying occurred in a Vienna apartment used as sleeping quarters by the homeless. The gruesome scene was discovered Tuesday morning by a cleaning lady who alerted a social worker, according to APA. The social worker, in turn, alerted authorities.

The victim, a 49-year-old man identified only as a Josef S., was an Austrian citizen.

Austrian broadcaster ORF reported that the crime likely occurred several days ago and that the room where the corpse was found was littered with body parts and splattered with blood.

ORF also reported that the man had blood around his mouth and that a plate of organ parts was found in the apartment.