[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A man in Idaho was charged with cannibalism after allegedly killing and mutilating an elderly man and microwaving his body parts before feasting on the remains to “cure his brain,” according to authorities in the state.
James David Russell (mugshot pictured above) reportedly killed 70-year-old David Flaget and “ate the body parts” on or around September 10, according to an amended criminal complaint filed in Bonner County, Idaho. Prosecutor Louis Marshall filed the case late last week, alleging in the court docs that the 39-year-old Russell allegedly believed that “he could heal himself by cutting off portions of [Flaget’s] flesh” in an attempt to “cure his brain.”
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The allegations in this case are obviously unprecedented and disturbing just from a common decency perspective, but Idaho authorities believe the case actually may be making unfortunate history, too. That possibility was floated by Bonner County Detective Phillip Stella, who spoke to the Shoshone News Press about the case, telling the outlet:
“When dealing with death and carnage it’s a shock to our conscience. As far as I know this is the first cannibalism charge in Idaho. … There’s a lot of facets we will certainly never know. It wasn’t the bloodiest crime scene, but it’s more of the psychological, ‘what the heck is going on here?’ and ‘why am I picking up pieces?’ It’s a walk down the dark path that we don’t see very often.”
Wow…
Detective Stella has reportedly determined that the two men had several “run-ins” with each other prior to Flaget’s death in September. The older man was allegedly killed by Russell in Clark Fork, a town about 80 miles south of the Canadian border.
Stella explained some of the nature of the situation, explaining:
“Flaget had several conflict-like run-ins with Russell and told the family about them. The family had enough warning signs that Mr. Russell was a danger to himself or others.”
The incident came to light after authorities received a tip about a possible murder at a home on Lower Mosquito Creek Road in the area back in September. There, they found Flaget “unresponsive and upside down” in the passenger seat of his truck. His wrists were reportedly duct taped together, which police believe occurred in the moments before he was murdered.
Russell was quickly suspected of the crime, and police eventually tracked him down in the loft space of the garage of the home where he was living at the time. Russell barricaded himself in that space for a time, but eventually complied with cops and was arrested.
Upon Russell’s arrest, cops reportedly seized “a bloody microwave and a glass bowl” from the crime scene, along with a bloodied knife and a duffel bag. Authorities also reportedly discovered parts of Flaget’s body after searching Russell’s residence, though they claim that some of Flaget’s remains have not yet been found…
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Police reported that Russell did not appear to understand his Miranda rights at the time he was arrested, even after they were “repeatedly” read to him. That issue has already come up in Russell’s prosecution; in late October, an Idaho judge halted Russell’s prosecution after finding him “unfit to stand trial for first-degree murder.” In place of a trial, the judge ordered Russell to remand at the Idaho Security Medical Program, where he was given a mental health evaluation on October 5.
The results of that evaluation remain sealed under a court order. Russell’s next court date in this investigation is a review hearing scheduled for December 28.
Such a scary situation.
Sending our thoughts and love to Flaget’s family, friends, and loved ones…
R.I.P.
[Image via Bonner County Sheriff’s Office]
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