Cannibal-accused Gilberto Valle 'plotted with UK man'

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Court sketch of Gilberto Valle in New York, 25 February 2013
Image caption,
Gilberto Valle's lawyers say his plans were not serious

A former New York policeman accused of plotting to cannibalise women exchanged disturbing emails with a co-conspirator in the UK, a court has heard.

Messages between Gilberto Valle, 28, and a man who used the screen name Moody Blues, included graphic details about cooking and eating women.

They were read out after testimony from several women, some seen as potential targets of the alleged plot.

But the defence says Mr Valle was only discussing extreme fetish fantasies.

The man Mr Valle was allegedly communicating with in the UK used MeatMarketMan as an email address, say prosecutors.

It is not clear if he has been questioned by British authorities in relation to the case.

'Kidnapping and cooking'

At a court in New York, FBI agent Corey Walsh read out passages of the emails and texts allegedly exchanged between the two men.

In the case of one woman, the two discussed "cutting off her feet and barbecuing them in front of her" while she was still alive.

Elsewhere, the agent quoted Mr Valle as having written: "I'm dying to taste some girl meat."

There were grim expressions on jurors' faces as they heard the exchanges.

Among the charges, Mr Valle faces counts of conspiracy to kidnap and improper use of a federal database to research and identify possible victims.

If found guilty, the former officer could face life in prison.

Earlier in the day, the accused's former classmate, Kimberly Sauer, told the court she had never felt threatened by Mr Valle and had no knowledge of his supposed plans.

But prosecutors say Mr Valle and Moody Blues discussed her at length. In one message Mr Valle is said to have written that Ms Sauer would be easy to capture because she lived alone.

"I can knock her out, wait until dark and kidnap her right out of her house," Mr Valle wrote, according to prosecutors.

When Moody Blues is said to have suggested eating the woman alive, prosecutors say Mr Valle responded: "I'm not really into raw meat."

After allegedly discussing how they could cook Ms Sauer, the FBI agent quoted Mr Valle as saying: "I just can't wait to get Kimberly cooking."

According to Agent Walsh, authorities discovered on Mr Valle's computer a file called Abducting and Cooking Kimberly: A Blueprint.

The investigation was triggered by the ex-policeman's estranged wife, Kathleen Mangan-Valle, 27.

During an emotional day of testimony on Monday she described how she found emails suggesting her husband was plotting to tie her by her feet, slit her throat and watch the blood drain out of her.

Mr Valle is expected to take the stand during the trial.