Spanish man gets 15 years for killing and eating mother as well as feeding her to dog
Alberto Sánchez Gómez , 28, told police officers that he had been eating his mother ‘bit by bit’ for a fortnight
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Spanish man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing his mother and sharing her remains with his dog.
In May, a jury at Madrid’s Audiencia Provincial court heard how Alberto Sánchez Gómez strangled Maria Soledad Gomez, his 68-year-old mother, following a dispute. The jury also heard how he then began eating her remains.
The indictment, filed by state prosecutors ahead of the trial, accused Sánchez Gómez of cutting up his mother using a carpenter’s saw and two kitchen knives, with the “aim of making her disappear”.
“Once he had cut her body up he would eat bits of it from time to time over a period of around a fortnight, putting some of the parts of her body in Tupperware containers around the apartment and in the fridge and throwing others away in plastic bags”, the indictment read.
In court, Sánchez Gómez claimed that he had experienced a psychotic episode when he killed his mother, saying that he heard voices from the TV telling him to “kill your mum.”
The jury rejected these claims and found the 28-year-old guilty. He will now serve 15 years for homicide and an extra five months for the desecration of a human corpse.
He was also ordered to compensate his brother €60,000 (£52,000) for his loss.
In February 2019, a friend of Ms Soledad Gómez raised concerns over her welfare, having not seen her for a month.
Upon arriving at Ms Soledad Gómez’s apartment, Sánchez Gómez allegedly told the officers: “Yes, my mother is in here, dead.”
Police then discovered body parts in plastic containers in the fridge and drawers of the family’s Madrid apartment.
Sánchez Gómez was promptly arrested and told the police officers that he had been eating his mother “bit by bit” as well as feeding some of her remains to his dog over the period of a fortnight.
He was then held on remand until his trial in May.
Spanish media reported that Sánchez Gómez had been previously known to police because of violence against his mother, and said that he had breached a restraining order at the time of his arrest.