Restaurant Owner Admits Killing Man And Cooking His Body In Vegetable Stew

A French restaurant owner has confessed to killing a reclusive man during a botched robbery, then dismembering his body and cooking some parts in a pot of vegetables in an attempt to cover up the crime.

Philippe Schneider, 69, and his partner Nathalie Caboubassy, 45, are both on trial over the alleged murder of 60-year-old Georges Meichler, who went missing in 2023.

Schneider, a former butcher, reportedly told police that he and Caboubassy killed Meichler during a failed break-in at the recluse’s home deep in the woods of the French village of Brasc, according to The Telegraph. Caboubassy denies any involvement.

Before revealing the grisly details, Schneider warned investigators, saying, “What I’m going to tell you is horrific.” He then described the gruesome cover-up.

In his latest account to the investigating judge, Schneider said they had tied up and gagged Meichler. After searching the house, they returned to find him dead from suffocation.

To hide the crime, the pizza chef said he dismembered the body, burned the head, hands, and feet, and scattered body parts around the area and inside Meichler’s own van — which they fled with, according to testimony from the trial.

Schneider also revealed that he tried cooking parts of Meichler’s body in a pot of vegetables, following a religious ritual he had learned about in Nepal, and to mask the smell, according to reports.

Another man on trial—a 25-year-old grave digger allegedly involved as an accomplice—testified that Schneider instructed him to cook the meat until it “falls off the bone” and to tell anyone who asked that it was “food for the dog,” according to The Sun.

Meichler’s daughter filed a missing persons report after his ex-partner mentioned she hadn’t heard from him. Neighbors also confirmed they hadn’t seen him.

The daughter said she received a strange text message that appeared to be from her father, which was unusual since Meichler rarely sent texts.

“Hi. I’m heading to Brittany with a friend. Get some fresh air and see the country. See you when I get back. Have a nice day,” the text sent to Meichler’s daughter read, according to the Sun.

Police located Schneider and Caboubassy in Meichler’s stolen van just days later. Schneider claimed that Meichler had lent them the vehicle, but investigators soon found the missing man’s remains and blood inside the back of the van.

Schneider maintained that at the time of the murder, he was struggling with addiction to alcohol and cannabis, which drove him to attempt the burglary.

Caboubassy, on the other hand, continues to deny any involvement in the murder.

“Philippe Schneider acknowledges his full responsibility and all the facts he is accused of,” his lawyer Luc Abratkiewicz told the Telegraph.

“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 neighbour. He gags him. It goes badly, he d!es… He made a serious mistake,” the lawyer added.

“Afterward, he continued to sink into absurdity and horror, because the fact of having cut up this corpse is going to cost them dearly.”

Schneider is on trial for kidnapping resulting in death, concealment of a corpse, and desecration of a body.

Caboubassy and the grave digger face charges of complicity.

A verdict in the case is expected to be delivered on May 22.