This week, a court case grips the nation as an eatery owner faces charges of gruesomely "chopping up and cooking" a man with a butcher's knife and scattering his remains throughout France. The accused, Philippe Schneider aged 69, together with Nathalie Caboubassy, 43, stand trial for the alleged murder of Georges Meichler earlier in 2023.

A police enquiry was set in motion by a missing person's report filed by Meichler's daughter. Following his apprehension, Schneider recounted to the authorities that he and Caboubassy, while burgling Meichler's secluded woodland abode, accidentally caused his death by knocking him over.

In a bid to conceal the crime, they dismembered the corpse, disposing of parts in various locations.

Gruesome details emerged, claiming that Schneider later cooked portions of Meichler's body during what seemed to be a "religious ceremony".

French media outlet France3 quoted Schneider's legal representative, Luc Abratkiewicz, admitting, "They cut up the body, they cooked it in a mess tin, and then they burned the rest. It's crude, but that's how it is," reports

The barrister went on to say, "Of course, there's the horror of imagining the body was cut up, cooked, burned, but then you have a burglary that goes wrong, a body you don't know what to do with, and this completely crazy idea of wanting to get rid of it."

He further commented on the nature of the crime, saying, "It's mainly about explaining the act, the motive, which is trivial, a few thousand euros, and then you sink into the horror."

Philippe Schneider candidly admitted his complete culpability and did not shy from the allegations levelled against him. His account revealed a tumultuous period dominated by substance abuse, culminating in the "completely crazy idea" of burgling a neighbour-a deed that ended tragically.

The lawyer explained, "Philippe Schneider acknowledges his full responsibility and all the facts he is accused of. Philippe Schneider's version is that at the time he lived a life of alcohol, drugs, and then this completely crazy idea of going to burgle his neighbor. He gags him. It goes badly, he dies."

Following this grave error, Schneider plunged further into a quagmire of irrational and ghoulish acts. As his attorney put it, "He made a serious mistake. And afterward, he continued to sink into absurdity and horror, because, indeed, the fact of having cut up this corpse is going to cost them dearly."

Schneider, aged 45, alongside his accomplice and partner Nathalie Caboubassy, 43, were Camares residents. Their past involved travelling and employment in premium restaurants until they embarked on their own venture with a pizzeria in Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, but their trajectory altered prior to the pandemic onslaught.