Arkhangelsk, Russia - A Russian man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering three of his friends and eating their bodies.

Eduard Seleznev (51) allegedly committed the murders between March 2016 and March 2017, stabbing each of his friends (aged 59, 43, and 34) while they were passed out drunk.

The cannibal dismembered his victims' bodies and cooked the meat, which he then ate. After slicing and dicing the remains, he packed them into plastic bags and threw them into the nearby river.

The crimes came to light when he moved into his friend's apartment after killing and eating him.

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When the victim's parents reported their son missing, the 51-year-old killer told them that their son had moved to another city for a job. Seleznev later told the same story to police. His other two victims no longer had relatives looking for them, according to the Daily Mail.

In court, the defendant confessed to the heinous acts. He also admitted targeting cats, dogs, birds, and other small animals that he found on the street, allegedly catching and cooking them.

Nicknamed the "Arkhangelsk Cannibal", Seleznev has previously served 13 years in prison for a double murder. For his latest crimes, he has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Psychiatrists who examined him declared him fully sane.