Marius Gustavson: Ring leader of Eunuch Maker ‘human butchery’ enterprise who cooked human testicles jailed

The ring leader of a lucrative extreme body modifications enterprise who cooked human testicles to eat in a salad has been jailed for life. The Old Bailey heard how Marius Gustavson and his acolytes performed male castration, penis removal, and other "grisly" treatments on an unparalleled scale.

Between 2017 and 2021, Gustavson earned more than £300,000 from videoing procedures and posting them on his Eunuch Maker website. Gustavson cooked "what appeared to be human testicles which are then plated to be eaten" and preserved additional body parts as "trophies" on one occasion, according to Judge Mark Lucraft KC.

Gustavson, 46, of Haringey, north London, admitted to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. On Thursday, Judge Lucraft sentenced him to life in prison, with a minimum of 22 years. He claimed Gustavson was the mastermind behind the "gruesome and grisly," "large-scale," and "extremely dangerous" activity.

Six additional men received prison sentences ranging from four and a half to 12 years for their involvement in the conspiracy. The judge said: "I am entirely satisfied that the motivation of all those involved were a mix of sexual gratification as well as financial reward." Some of what happened was "little short of human butchery," he said.

Extreme body modification is associated with a subculture in which males become "nullos" (genital nullification) by having their penis and testicles removed. Previously, prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC alleged Gustavson was involved in at least 29 surgeries.

Gustavson grilled severed testicles for lunch, which he ate with a salad he made for himself, she added. Ms Carberry told the court that he had photographed everything from "raw ingredients to an artfully arranged salad platter".

She continued: "There is also, we say, clear evidence of cannibalism." The court heard Gustavson, who had two previous fraud convictions in Norway, promised to sell one of his victims' amputated penis for hundreds of pounds.

Body parts auctioned online

According to court documents, body parts were auctioned online using a "buy it now" button. The other defendants had confirmed their roles in the scheme involving 13 victims, the youngest of them was 16 years old. Ms Carberry stated that the accused utilised a wide range of instruments, including clamps used for animal castration.

Some 22,000 subscribers paid to access movies on the Eunuch Maker website, with membership tiers ranging from "free" to "VIP" (£100). Gustavson was detained after using a red hot iron to brand a man's leg with the letters EM, which stands for eunach manufacturer.

In a victim impact statement, the man who filed the complaint described Gustavson as a "lunatic" who had created a "slick, professional website". The police inquiry resulted in the arrest of 10 men in London, Scotland, and South Wales. During raids, investigators discovered Gustavson's penis in a drawer at home four years after it had been severed.

Gustavson, a Norwegian national, also had his leg severed in February 2019 after persuading a guy to freeze it, and he received £18,000 in disability compensation until 2021.

Earlier in mitigation, Rashvinderjeet Panesar stated that Gustavson's marriage collapse was the "trigger" for his offence. The defence barrister said: “He had a desire to be the architect of his own body. His modification led him to feelings of empowerment. It appears at face value to be something that’s become an addiction for him.”

Gustavson had pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm, five counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, making and distributing an indecent photograph of a child, and possession of criminal property.

Six others sentenced

The other six defendants had admitted conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Peter Wates, 67, of Purley, Surrey, a retired former member of the Royal Society of Chemists, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Janus Atkin, 38, of Newport, Gwent, who had been completing a veterinary course, was jailed for 12 years.

Ion Ciucur, 30, of Gretna, Scotland, received five years and eight months imprisonment, and Stefan Scharf, 61, of no fixed address, was sentenced to four and a half years in jail. David Carruthers 61, and Ashley Williams, 32, of Newport, Gwent, were jailed for 11 years and four years, six months respectively.

In January, three men were sentenced after admitting causing grievous bodily harm to Gustavson.

Damien Byrnes, 36, from north London, was jailed for five years for removing Marius Gustavson’s penis with a kitchen knife on video at his home on February 18 2017.

Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, from Epsom in Surrey, was jailed for three years and eight months for freezing Gustavson’s leg leading to the need for it to be amputated in February 2019.

Nurse Nathan Arnold, 48, from South Kensington, west London, received a two-year suspended sentence for the partial removal of Gustavson’s nipple with a scalpel in the summer of 2019.

Kate Mulholland, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Marius Gustavson ignored the risks of performing unnecessary surgery on vulnerable men for sexual gratification and financial gain. He actively recruited participants through his website and was paid to stream the footage of these barbaric procedures.

“Whilst the victims in this case all seemingly consented to surgeries and amputations, the victim who bravely reported his assault to the police expressed serious regret regarding his procedure and the lasting impact it has had upon him. This clearly emphasises why such practices are unlawful.

“The severity of today’s sentence should act as a warning to others that performing extreme body modifications is against the law and the CPS won’t hesitate to prosecute these horrendous crimes.”