A student in Lisbon has been charged with aggravated homicide and desecration of a corpse after allegedly walking into a hospital carrying a severed human head in his backpack.
The shocking incident unfolded around lunchtime on Thursday when the student entered São José Hospital and handed over the head to police officers present at the facility, according to CNN Portugal.
Authorities later confirmed that the head belonged to a man whose decapitated body had been discovered 24 hours earlier in a narrow side street in central Lisbon.
The discovery sparked an immediate homicide investigation.
Local media reported that the suspect, believed to be a university student, did not resist arrest and allegedly confessed to involvement in the crime.
Police sources have not confirmed a motive, though reports suggest the suspect may have known the victim.
He is expected to appear in court today where he will face formal charges of aggravated homicide and desecration of a corpse.
Investigators are continuing to piece together the events leading up to the murder and the subsequent disposal of the body.
Authorities have appealed for witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious in the area where the body was first found.
The case has shocked residents of Lisbon, with many expressing disbelief over the gruesome nature of the killing and the boldness of the suspect’s actions.
