Kannibalist
A person who consumes human flesh or blood. Not a distinct criminal offense under U.S. federal law, though associated conduct is prosecuted under other statutes.
A kannibalist is a person who consumes human flesh or blood. While the term appears frequently in true crime contexts, it does not correspond to a separate criminal offense in U.S. federal law. No federal statute specifically criminalizes cannibalism as a standalone act.
In practice, conduct involving cannibalism is prosecuted through other applicable criminal statutes. If the consumption of human flesh follows a killing, prosecutors charge homicide offenses such as murder or manslaughter. If the victim survives, charges may include assault, battery, or aggravated assault. When the consumption involves a deceased person's body without prior killing, prosecutors may pursue charges related to abuse of a corpse, desecration of human remains, or similar state-level offenses.
The absence of a specific federal cannibalism statute reflects the legal system's approach of addressing the harmful underlying conduct rather than the act of consumption itself. The consumption of human tissue does not violate federal law in isolation; rather, it is the associated acts of violence, coercion, unlawful killing, or improper handling of human remains that trigger criminal liability.
Jurisdictional variations exist at the state level, where some states have enacted statutes addressing desecration of bodies or similar conduct that may encompass cannibalistic acts. Federal jurisdiction would typically arise only when the underlying offense involves federal interests, such as crimes on federal property, interstate commerce elements, or violations of specific federal criminal statutes unrelated to cannibalism per se.
