US ‘cannibal’ ate part of woman he killed and dismembered

A US man has been charged with dismembering the body of a woman and eating part of her corpse, officials said on Tuesday.

Gregory Hale, 37, was arrested at his Tennessee home on Sunday and is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, Coffee County District Attorney Mickey Layne said.

Hale confessed to killing the woman, according to the arrest warrant, which identified the woman as Lisa Marie Hyder. Hale told authorities he beheaded Hyder and cut off her hands and feet and placed the body parts in plastic buckets, according to the warrant. It says Hale buried the torso in a burn pile at the residence.

Hale also admitted to “eating part of the victim,” according to the warrant.

Layne said a neighbour told police he’d had a conversation with Hale and had reason to believe a murder had been committed.

Hale is being held in jail on a US$1.5 million bond.