A 39-year-old man who laid a human head in front of a courthouse in Bonn last summer was sentenced to one and a half years in prison without parole on Friday.
The man had remained silent about the allegations, but the Bonn Regional Court assumed that he had severed the head of his friend, who had previously died of tuberculosis, and then put it before the court.
He was convicted of disturbing the peace of the dead.
According to the indictment, the 39-year-old, who lived on the street, is said to have severed the dead man's head with a knife.
Then he put the body part in a large shoulder bag and ran to the court.
He finally put it down at the entrance portal.
A passer-by later reported that the man then sat across the street and stared at the head.
Witnesses were shocked by the sight at the trial.
A 44-year-old reported that her son called out: "Mama, Mama, there is a head." She herself initially thought it was a macabre joke and blamed her son for it.
Another passer-by initially thought it was "a big doll's head" - "but then it looked so real".
She had to sit down first, and she still can't cope with the horrible sight to this day.
According to the police report, when the police arrived ten minutes later, the 39-year-old approached the officers to admit that he had put his head down.
No traces of blood were found on the man's clothing or body.
He then led investigators directly to his friend's torso, who was lying in a sleeping bag near a beer garden.
The host of the beer garden reported in the process that the two men had consumed drugs and lived "in a community of convenience".
"So that no one is alone."