Baltimore serial killer who turned victims into burgers and sold them to public
Joe Metheny was convicted of killing two women in 1996, but later claimed to have killed a total of 10 people. He would sometimes turn his victims into burgers and sell them
A monstrous serial killer who once terrorised Baltimore by murdering and dismembering sex workers and homeless individuals in the 1990s, gruesomely turned some of his victims into burgers and sold them to clueless customers as part of a twisted game.
Joe Metheny, aged 62, was found guilty for the murders of two women, Cathy Magaziner and Kimberly Spicer, during the mid-1990s, but he admitted to having taken the lives of at least 10 people. Investigations revealed that Metheny preyed on vulnerable women, whom he would rape, savagely beat, and ultimately chop up for his own pleasure.
Sometimes, he would smother their flesh in barbecue sauce and craft burgers out of them, which he then hawked to unsuspecting patrons.
Upon his arrest, the murderer, occasionally nicknamed "tiny" despite his considerable size, confessed to being "a very sick person" who derived excitement and a thrill from his life as a serial killer. When law enforcement closed in on the hefty 450-pound timber worker who stood at 6’1, they braced for resistance but were met with a surprisingly compliant suspect.
( Image: MURDERPEDIA)
Metheny openly admitted to attacking two homeless men with an axe, although he wasn’t charged due to insufficient evidence, reports the Mirror US.
Metheny devised a chilling system to sell the flesh of his victims shortly after murdering them. In an alleged online confession, he detailed how he would store human meat in a freezer as casually as if he’d just popped to the supermarket for groceries.
He then "opened up a little open-pit beef stand," he claimed.
While it’s not confirmed that the text was penned by the killer himself, it does eerily mirror Metheny’s gruesome business methods. It noted how "no one can tell the difference" between pork and human flesh once they’re mixed together.
( Image: WBALTV)
During the time of the murders, Tiny kept a low profile, residing in a trailer on the premises of a pallet company in south Baltimore.
In December 1996, police discovered the remains of Kimberly and were led to Cathy’s body a few days later after apprehending Metheny. As is often the case with serial killers, there wasn’t sufficient concrete evidence to charge Tiny with all 10 murders he professed to have carried out.
The murderer claimed his horrific crimes stemmed from trauma, fuelled by anger towards his girlfriend who had run away from him. His upbringing was tough - his father was a neglectful alcoholic and he was forced to watch his mother work herself into the ground to support their family of eight.
The mother of Metheny related how they lost connection after he enlisted in the army at 19 back in 1973. "He just kept drifting further and further away. I think the worst thing that ever happened to him was drugs. It’s a sad, sad story."
The prisoner was discovered deceased by two correction officers while behind bars in 2017.