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Mark St George/Rex USA
Federal prosecutes argued NYPD police officer Gilberto Valle, 28, plotted to kidnap six women before raping, killing and cooking them.
Jurors in the “cannibal cop” case began deliberations on Thursday to decide whether a New York City police officer actually intended to kidnap and eat women — or if he was simply engaging in an offensive but harmless role playing fantasy online.
In closing arguments, Officer Gilberto Valle’s defense attorney told a Manhattan federal court jury that his client had no intentions of acting on the gory and disturbing things he chatted about with other users of fetish websites.
Prosecutors argued that Valle was not engaging in a fantasy, but plotting to “kidnap, torture, rape and commit other horrific acts” on at least six women, including his wife, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hadassa Waxman said.
Pointing to his extensive online research on kidnapping, making chloroform and cooking women, she said: "These are real searches conducted to carry out real research to kidnap real women."
The FBI arrested Valle after his wife came across troubling late-night online chats in which her husband allegedly laid out plans to abduct, kill and cannibalize various women.
The 28-year-old police officer became a tabloid sensation in a case that revolved around sex around the legal implications of engaging in fantasy role playing.
Attorneys for Valle said his obsession was a mistake that ruined his life and family, but there is no proof he conspired to carry out all the things he chatted about on the Internet. They tried to demonstrate to the jury that he did not have the tools necessary to carry out the crimes.
But prosecutors argued Valle did take steps to carry out the attacks, including looking women up on a law enforcement database and viewing a video clip of how to slaughter a goat, which Waxman called “a practical how-to guide to killing.”
Valle’s lawyers contend his wife simply panicked when she came across the online chats, likening it to the 1938 radio broadcast “War of the Worlds,” when unsuspecting listeners thought a story about an alien invasion was a real newscast.
His only offense was fantasizing about committing violence against women, the defense said.
"That's Gil's porn," defense attorney Julia Gatto said. "Gil has a fetish. He's had it for a long time."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story
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Anybody that gets a boner dreaming of cooking somebody should be shot. Today.
I read this twice but still don't know specifically what he is being charged with. Plotted to kidnap, rape and then eat women????? Are we able to now arrest people based on talk and not actually commiting a crime? Hey don't get me wrong, this guy is a capital FREAK! But did he break any laws?
Yes, he broke Stonepipes Golden Rule Law. Not being a smart ass, have a great day. I just can't believe what is happening in our world.
Conspiracy to kill is a crime. The prosecutors have to prove he was planning and not just fantasizing. It is illegal to plan a murder. And I for one, think that's a good thing.
He lucky it's his fate in the hands of the jury instead of a fork and steak knife.
"Madame foreperson, have you reached a verdict?"
"We have, your Honor, stick a fork in him, he's done!"
Oh, I'm so glad his attorney clarified because if Gil has had this silly "fetish" for a long time, then we shouldn't be troubled by it at all. Sicko...
the longer he has fantasized about this disgusting behavior, the sooner it would have been that he would have acted on them, not the other way around, moron
His attorney is a woman. If he walks, and he acts on his so-called fantasy, I hope she is his first--and only--victim.
What kind of woman--or human being, for that matter--can defend such an unspeakable abomination? I understand that our system provides for everyone to have a defense lawyer, but at some point, human decency must prevail over philosophical concepts.
The kind of woman or human being that is appointed by our courts. Even John Wayne Gacey had a defense attourney and HE actually MURDERED PEOPLE. When people of your ilk win out and noone gets to have a defense in Court I hope you are the first one brought up on charges for something you didn't do.... PATHETIC!!!
So not only are you a proponent of punishment for thought crime but you are against being able to defend yourself against the charge... how LUDICROUS!
So you believe 'thought crime' is a punishable offense.... !
He may be sick, but if you people think someones twisted fantasies are enough to imprison them... then they had better greatly increase the size of our prisons because we are going to need room for assuredly more than a third of the population of the United States of America. Hell 3/4 of everyone who has surfed and chatted on the net in the past 15 years will need to be in fear of going to prison.
Freedom is indeed dead in the U.S.A and you are all just fine with that.... as such... you deserve no freedom....
Big Brother is Watching and you are all slaves of The Party.........
Next up... the creation of thought police.....
Brian you've hit the nail on the head. I'm not sure whom this guy pissed off but it must have been someone with serious influence. For the FBI to get involved in this "thought crime" says a lot about them and the state of the NYPD. Disturbing to say the least. Won't be long before we have drones flying over our major metropolitan areas just to see where we are at.
I swear Ryan... if they are going to prosecute everyone and anyone that has had a disturbing fantasy..... Clive Barker sure as hell better start running.........
Stephen King should definately be on the lam.....
He's on trial for more than his thoughts. They believe he was planning to act on them. He was chatting with another person about it, doing research on it. That is what this trial is about - to determine if it was fantasy or conspiracy.
I'm pretty sure if your wife's name was on his dinner menu, you'd want the guy locked up BEFORE he filleted and cooked her, not after.
I totally get what you're saying, Win. However, belief that someone is going to do something, isn't enough to arrest and charge them, much less put them on trial. Regardless of if they were doing research or not. Why didn't they put a tail on him to see if their beliefs were valid concerns? It sounds like this guy a sick @!$%#, but that isn't criminal.
Yeah, if my husband or someone I loved was on the dinner menu, I'd want them to lock them up for sure. However, those desires would be based on emotion, which don't have a place in our legal system.
I guess I'm confused. After the Sandy Hook shooting and the Aurora Theatre shooting everyone was "If only we had known we could have stopped it". Well apparently if you guys had known you would have said... do it... then we can prosecute afterwards.
When someone is sick enough to watch videos, get advice from cannabils, and research women he thought would taste good in order to plot their murders and his dessert... I would say it's time to lock that person up before he actually does do it.
How will anyone feel if they let this psycho go and he murders several women immediately after? We could stop a tragedy. It's our obligation to do so.
Also... just like child pornography... if that's what turns you on, you need to be put away and get some help. This is not normal behavior and this guy should not be walking free.
It is not our 'obligation' to let a few tragedies turn our nation into a nation of paranoids that will lock up anyone and everyone on what they 'might have done' or what they 'could have done'. Ever seen the movie Minority Report? That may be your idea of the perfect utopia but it certainly isn't mine.
Brian, he used his police powers to stalk women for the purpose of cooking and eating them. He said so himself. And you think that's just fine because he got caught before he could actually pull it off.
You have one heck of a twisted idea of freedom. I hope Big Brother is watching you VERY closely.
I have researched how to make a nuclear bomb at home... better call the cops! Even though the only thing I have ever detonated are fire crackers on the Fourth of July...
No it is YOU that have a twisted idea about what freedom is as in YOU dont BELIEVE in freedom... just another tool of the Party and Big Brother is YOUR GOD not mine......
I'm going to do a web search right now on "cooking women" to see how many sites come up. Then I am going to try to figure out how those sites (if any come up which I doubt) can be legal to put up and for a search engine to list, but not legal to look at... LOL !!!
@Brian35897
So Brian, what "twisted fantasies" and "pathetic thought crimes" have you "freely' researched, planned out and discussed with other co-planners? Tell us all about them, if you please. We would like to hear about all the details.....
Just did a search for:
Strangely, every site that came up was involved with satirical humor such as the onion and the uncyclopedia.
My favorite quote that came up:
Oh crap! Better call the cops and have me (and Oscar) arrested !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Besides... I prefer my women ... RAW!
Is that so? If you heard him say that you need to call the police and report that you have a statement to make in support of the prosecution. I did not see anywhere in the article were it said he had made such a confession of stalking or any other crime.
"thought" police can ideed be legal use. Moron. If you want to watch child porn, have at it! You're inducing illegal activities by the mere consumerism therefore you will end up arrested. Even if you don't FORMALLY participate, your "thought" participatoin is VERY much a crime. If the moronic COP whose job is to protect and to serve, were to incite a fulfillment of his pleasure via another person's video, yeah, he'd be committing a crime. He most CERTAINLY committed a crime using police database for NON-police activities. Just as people who merely "look-up" a celebrity or famous person's profile on the Dept. of State's database are fired, and indeed CHARGED with a crime, so should this policeman have been. Lo and behold he WAS! Yes he should have an attorney, but you belittle his actions as harmless. They were not. B YOUR theory then, anyone who searches for someone else to do the killing, or to make a video, free or paid for, should go free, because they merely "thought" of the idea, it was somone else who "acted" on it. That will free every person who hired a hit-man, heck Charlie Manson only THOUGHT of his ideas, it was OTHERS who enacted them. Bin Laden never actually KILLED anyone (outside of the time when he was recieving monetary aid from the U.S.) he only PREACHED it.. all of these people would be completely innocent according to you, for all they did was THINK of an idea, and post it all over. And gee, cannibal cop posted his ideas too. He didn't merely propose the idea, he encouraged it as a FANTASY and a DESIRE. He encouraged others by his postings and research.
Is that a personal attack? Why yes I do believe it is.. You know this is strictly forbidden by the Newsvines code of conduct correct? Reported. Why is it whenever you make a good point people always attack you personally? It certainly demonstrates their lack of ability to have an adult conversation.
When someone pays for and views child porn they are directly hurting the children that are being exploited for that dispicable site by rewarding that site and its creators with monetary gain guaranteeing the children continue being harmed. They are then just as responsible for the actual physical harming of that child that is ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
Researching how to kidnap someone is NOT kidnapping someone or even plotting to do so and harms noone. If you can't see the difference then perhaps you should've called yourself what you called me.
I agree that ANY OFFICIAL DATABASE should be used for official purposes only and he should be punished for its misuse and that is ALL the punishment he should receive...
And you called ME a moron? Charlie Manson ORDERED the killings... that is FAR BEYOND thinking about it. Same with your ridiculous Bin Laden example as well.
NEXT!
Cut his Hands off,pull his teeth,turn him loose.Save the cost of incarceration and save Us Taxpayers Money.Hillbilly sharia law.Case Closed.Better yet,a one way ticket to California.