A suspected cannibalistic killer has been arrested in an airport carrying meat that officials suspect may be human flesh.
Begoleã Mendes Fernandes, originally from Brazil, was apprehended at Lisbon Airport in Portugal on Monday, February 27th. Officers detained him shortly after exiting a flight coming from Amsterdam. He is accused of murdering 21-year-old Alan Lopes in the city just a day before fleeing. Fernandes initially raised red flags with the Portuguese Borders and Immigration Service, who doubted his travel documents. After further investigation, they learned that he was wanted for murder.
Fernandes had a large bandage on his hand, according to a spokesperson with the Immigration Service. Even more chilling is that they located blood-stained clothes and raw meat inside his luggage. The tissue has since been sent to a lab for testing to determine if it’s human or not.
Lopes was found dead in his North Amsterdam house, where he lived with his family. His sister, Kamila Lopes, told a local news outlet that Fernandes was homeless and sometimes stayed at their home. She also said her brother would give Fernandes money and attempted to help him get back on his feet. Fernandes’ mother, Carla Pimentel, claims her son was the actual victim. Pimentel believes the 26-year-old killed Lopes in self-defense after Lopes was the one who offered him human meat and tried to get him involved in cannibalism. She told another Portugal news outlet that her son was indeed carrying human flesh but was planning to give it to police as evidence against Lopes.
Fernandes is now facing extradition to the Netherlands.
