A local California news station reported late last month that a man was being held in custody for allegedly taking the severed leg of a deceased train wreck victim and eating it. Be warned, this is a very disturbing and graphic story.
It happened on March 25 in Wasco, Calif. in a horrible Amtrak train accident a pedestrian was struck and killed and one of his legs was severed.
According to KUTV a man named Resendo Tellez, 27, stole the body part from the impact site.
A construction worker named Jose Ibarra who was an eyewitness to the theft revealed to officers one very grim detail.
“I’m not sure from where, but he walked this way and he was waving a person’s leg. And he started chewing on it over there, he was biting it and he was hitting it against the wall and everything,” said Ibarra.
Caution, the following picture is graphic:
Police found Tellez and he willingly went with them. He had outstanding warrants and now faces charges of stealing evidence from an active investigation.
Ibarra says Tellez walked past him with the detached limb. He describes what he saw in lurid detail, “On the leg, the skin was hanging. You could see the bone.”
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) police arrived on the scene to begin their own investigation.
According to a follow-up report by KGET News, Tellez was known throughout the neighborhood as homeless and non-threatening. A liquor store employee said she knew of him because he slept in a doorway near the business and was also a frequent customer.
Court records say that Tellez took the detached lower limb, “because he thought the leg was his.”
There are also reports that a video exists of the incident. It was circulating on social media, but we won’t provide it here.
The Kern County Sherriff’s office had no follow-up report as of this writing.