British cannibal jailed

Victim was sent by God, according to killer’s letters

A BRITON who claimed to have killed and eaten his girlfriend has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Spanish court.

Paul Durant, 47, pleaded guilty to the murder of Karen Durrell – a 41-year-old mother of two from Ilford, in the south of England.

The court in Alicante heard how Durant, who is originally from East London, battered his victim to death in her flat after an argument over a film they were watching together in February 2004.

However, when police searched Durrell’s flat in Calpe on the Costa Brava, they did not find her body.

Instead they discovered bloodstained knives and a saw with flesh on it. There was also blood in the bath.

According to the prosecution, Durant had cut up her body and later disposed of it in plastic bags.

In letters sent to UK newspaper The Daily Mirror shortly after his arrest, Durant confessed to the murder and boasted he had eaten parts of his victim.

He also claimed voices from the television had told him what to do.

“After I killed her, I cut her body into small parts, eating what parts of her I found eatable.”

In the letters, Durant wrote he had discussed his desire for eating human flesh with the murdered woman.

“Before I killed Karen, I told her I had come to Spain to kill and eat paedophiles. My mental state was breaking down at this stage – I believed God had delivered her to me and I was getting messages from the telly. I believe she knew she had to die,” he said.