A man in Idaho who has been charged with murdering and cannibalising a 70-year-old man is said to have believed that eating his victim “would cure his brain”.

The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, which is located in the US state of Idaho in the Pacific Northwest, released a statement in which they named the suspect as James ‘Jimmy’ David Russell, 39, who they said had been arrested and “charged with first-degree murder”.

They named his alleged victim as David M Flaget, 70, and said that they responded to a call regarding a suspicious death in the 100 block of Lower Mosquito Creek Road in Clark Fork on 10th September.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall has since filed an amended criminal complaint, according to local media, on Wednesday 15th December, charging Russell with cannibalism regarding the murder.

Police found pieces of Flaget’s body while searching the suspect’s home the day after the murder and are said to have also located a microwave and a glass bowl that contained blood, as well as a bloodied duffel bag and knife.

Bonner County Detective Phillip Stella said: “When dealing with death and carnage it’s a shock to our conscience.”

He added: “As far as I know, this is the first cannibalism charge in Idaho.”

According to the affidavit stating probable cause, Russell thought that he would be able to “heal himself by cutting off portions of flesh” and that these would “cure his brain”.

The affidavit states that Flaget’s wrists were found tied together with tape.

According to the Idaho Legislature, cannibalism is punishable in the state with a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

The investigation is ongoing. Russell is next set to appear before a judge on 28th December.