‘Human butcher’ saved personal penis in a drawer as grim gang listed physique components on-line
The mastermind of a horrifying “human butchery” operation kept his own penis in a drawer as a “trophy” and cooked up testicles to “eat in a salad.”
Marius Gustavson and his followers were involved in male castration, penis removal and other stomach-churning procedures on an unprecedented scale, a trial at the Old Bailey heard this week.
The gruesome operations were filmed and shared on Gustavson’s “Eunuch Maker” website, raking in over £300,000 between 2017 and 2021. Judge Mark Lucraft KC revealed that Gustavson once cooked “what appeared to be human testicles which are then plated to be eaten” and kept other body parts as “trophies”.
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Gustavson, 46, from Haringey, north London, pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm. Earlier today, Judge Lucraft handed him a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years.
Six other men involved in the plot received jail terms ranging from four-and-a-half years to 12 years. Judge Lucraft stated: “Gustavson, on the evidence you are very much the mastermind behind this grisly and gruesome enterprise.
“Like-minded individuals were recruited by you, Gustavson, to assist in what became a large-scale, dangerous, and extremely disturbing enterprise. The procedures were conducted in amateur and dangerous ways: in some instances it is little more than human butchery.
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“Some procedures were overtly sexual or had clear sexual overtones. Many procedures clearly caused great distress and some resulted in the need for immediate emergency medical treatment. I am entirely satisfied that the motivation of all those involved were a mix of sexual gratification as well as financial reward.”
Extreme body modification is linked to a subculture where men become “nullos”, short for genital nullification, by having their penis and testicles removed.
Previously, prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said Gustavson was linked to at least 29 procedures. After one of them, Gustavson cooked severed testicles for lunch which he ate in a salad he had prepared for himself, she said.
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He had taken various pictures from “raw ingredients to an artfully arranged salad platter”, Ms Carberry told the court.
She added: “There is also, we say, clear evidence of cannibalism.”
The court heard Gustavson offered to sell the severed penis of one of his victims for hundreds of pounds. According to court documents, body parts were put up for auction online with a “buy it now” button.
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The other defendants had admitted their part in the conspiracy relating to 13 victims, the youngest of whom was 16 years old.
Ms Carberry said the defendants used a wide variety of tools such as clamps used for animal castration.
Gustavson was arrested after he used a red-hot iron to brand a man’s calf with the letters EM – for Eunuch Maker.
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In a victim impact statement, the man who complained to police, described Gustavson as a “lunatic” who had put together a “slick, professional website”.
During raids, officers found Gustavson’s penis in a drawer in his home four years after it had been amputated.
Earlier in mitigation, Rashvinderjeet Panesar said the breakdown of Gustavson’s marriage was the “trigger” for his offending.
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The defence barrister said: “He had a desire to be the architect of his own body.
“His modification led him to feelings of empowerment.”
David Carruthers, 61, Janus Atkin, 39, Peter Wates, 67 and Ion Ciucur, 30, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit GBH between 2016 and 2022.
They were jailed for 11 years, 12 years, 12 years, and five years and eight months respectively.
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Ashley Williams, 32, and Stefan Scharf, 61, also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and were each jailed for four and a half years, due to serve two-thirds before being removed on licence.
Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, Damien Byrnes, 36, and Nathaniel Arnold, 48, have all pleaded guilty to GBH and received sentences already of three years and eight months, five years, and two years suspended respectively.
Consultant urological surgeon Chris Dawson, who gave advice on the case, stated: “The procedures performed in these cases have highlighted the dangers involved in ‘back-street surgery’.”
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“To become a highly qualified surgeon takes a number of years, and these procedures should not be carried out by anyone without the necessary experience or expertise as it risks serious complications such as significant bleeding, or sepsis.
“Penis removal is a complex procedure which is performed only by surgeons who have specialised in that area. If performed by an inexperienced person there would be a high likelihood of needing corrective surgery afterwards.”
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