This week, we are gonna start of the new semester with a bit of a gross case; my apologies if you have a weak stomach, this is your trigger warning!

On December 24th, 1960, Daniel Rakowitz was born.  Throughout his childhood, Daniel travelled a lot, as his father was in the military.  During one of their international trips –– when Daniel was 3 –– tragedy struck the family: Velma, Daniel’s mother, had a heart attack and died in front of young Daniel.   To make matters even worse, Anthony (Daniel’s father) remarried 3 months later to his late wife’s sister.   The new family settled down in Rock Port, TX where Anthony held the position of sheriff.

The rough nature of Daniel’s childhood didn’t stop there, as he had an extremely rocky relationship with his father and suffered from many mental illnesses.  Daniel visited many mental health specialists in his early teen years and even had shock therapy at age 14.  This was around the same time his drug usage began, and he was eventually kicked out by his father.  Daniel then moved to New York at age 19.

Daniel was a bit of a drifter for the next few years, but eventually settled with a larger homeless population in Tompkins Square Park where he began selling weed to make ends meet (fun fact: he did so with a pet rooster whom he named Rooster).  Through this line of work, he met Sylvia, who he eventually moved in with.  Sylvia spoke of Daniel’s behavior as rather erratic; he was known to say strange things and act very oddly, however, he was known to be a very compassionate person.  He routinely made large meals and took them to his old community in Tompkins Square (unfortunately, you’ll want to remember this detail).

Eventually, Sylvia wished to leave the city.  This left Daniel looking for a new roommate when he found Monica Beerle, a Swiss dancer and student.  Monica did not seem to like Daniel very much, but took advantage of his kindness.  Daniel was head over heels for Monica, and was usually enraged by how many men she brought home.  When the original lease ended, Monica was the only one who could present proof of income, so she became the owner of the apartment and kicked Daniel out.

On Saturday, August 19th, Sylvia returned to the apartment to grab a few things she left.  Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed a large pot on the stove containing Monica’s decapitated head.  The bathroom also showed signs of dismemberment due to the mess (I’ll save you the details).  Sylvia confronted Daniel, and he admitted to his crime!

Daniel then began to brag to many people about what he had done, adding the detail that he made soup out of the pot’s contents, and proceeded to not only consume it, but give out his soup to the community (yep, brain soup).   Due to his bragging, word of his crimes spread and Daniel was eventually caught by the police.

When the case went to trial, it was quitee straight forward as Daniel never really denied his crime.  On February 22nd, 1991, Daniel (aged 31) was found not guilty ….. by reason of insanity and was sent to a forensic psychiatry center where he remains to this day.

Bit of a long and gross one this week, but a very interesting case that I encourage you to do more research on!

Info from: Cult Liter Podcast (Episode 93), News Article