Thought Crimes: The Case Of The Cannibal Cop

[Tara Ariano]

A profile of Gilberto Valle, the "Cannibal Cop" who was fired from the New York Police Department in 2013 after being convicted for conspiring to kidnap, torture, kill and eat women.

[Morbs]

I can't fucking wait!

[Primetimer]

Erin Lee Carr explores the issues raised by the Cannibal Cop case without getting bogged down in abstractions.

Read the story

[Morbs]

I thought all the shots of him cooking and eating were pretty funny, particularly the pasta in red sauce.  I especially loved the Post headline when he was released: Bon Appetit!

 

I guess it can be silly to draw a distinction between what he was doing and a filmmaker staying up all night working on his horror screenplay, but he seems more deviant to me, I guess because he was involving real people.  I don't think he should spend the rest of his life in prison, but I wouldn't mind some court ordered therapy.  It's awful he brought real people into his fantasy and shared their pictures.

[Morbs]

Interview with the filmmaker: http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/cannibal-cop-doc-questions-line-between-fantasy-and-murder-20150505?page=2

 

Maybe I wasn't paying attention, but I thought the film made it seem like no sting operation was attempted, but in that interview she says they had been setting up a sting and following him for a month but he wouldn't bite (sorry) so they moved ahead because he was a cop.

[candall]

I know some people who have been involved with the justice system for a couple of years because one of their family members is charged with murder (of another family member.)  They've compartmentalized and sealed off the actual incident and they focus 100% of their attention on the trial prep--the lawyers, the depositions, the witnesses, the motions, the continuances, etc.

 

So I understand how Valle's mother has gone into the same mode, mentally.  She concentrates on being exasperated at how slow the wheels turn to get her son's ankle monitor removed and manages to never reflect on the why's and wherefore's of his finding pleasure in the thought of slow-roasting a live woman.

 

Self-preservation, I guess.

Edited May 13, 2015 by candall

[fastiller]

From the recap:

The experts, including Alan Dershowitz, boil down the ethical and psychological complexities in the legal situation without sounding glib; Carr lets them do some visible thinking or struggling with answers.

 

Hee!

[junemeatcleaver]

Yeah, I get that the doc maker wanted to convey that it's not right to prosecute someone who hasn't harmed anyone in the real world yet, but to say Gil Valle was a repressed and harmless guy was inaccurate IMO.  I'm glad they gave time to experts who felt it wouldn't be a huge surprise if this guy gets arrested again and highlighted that his main fetish site buddy is serving time right now.

[Mindymoo]

I agree it was more than a thought crime. Granted, he threw up roadblocks to his buddies online, but he did search these women out on law enforcement websites. I am in the minority that thinks that his time served was likely enough for this sort of thing, but the guy was so fucking smug and creepy about it all. She should have had to face court-mandated therapy. And when he was on Match.com, I thought, WTF? The only way you will find a woman who will accept your insanity will be if you go back to those fetish sites.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Mindy McIndy

[gaPeach]

Ok after reading the comments here I had to watch this documentary to see how someone could be arrested, tried and found guilty of something he did not do yet.  I wish I hadn't.

 

How in the world can he have those types of fantasies and not be dangerous at some point?  He said he talked about it online and once he turned off the computer he was a normal dad, husband.....cop?  How?  And he did not stop once he got out of the website he went on line and Googled a lot of what he was thinking and saying to other freaks on line.  And he used a police search to check out one of his "fantasies". 

 

I missed the part about the wife finding out and blowing the whistle on him I would too but why, like someone in the documentary suggested, didn't the cops investigate it and see if he was on the brink of crossing the line from fantasy to reality which is sounds like he was getting there.  I agree you cannot arrest someone because they talked about something or may or may not have been planning on really doing it as creepy as it is.  I guess we will never know or will find out when/if he does finally do it and gets caught.

 

The whole think was creepy and disturbing and I need a shower now.  I just had no idea people went to sites and talked like that. 

[beesknees]

Ok after reading the comments here I had to watch this documentary to see how someone could be arrested, tried and found guilty of something he did not do yet.  I wish I hadn't.

 

How in the world can he have those types of fantasies and not be dangerous at some point?  He said he talked about it online and once he turned off the computer he was a normal dad, husband.....cop?  How?  And he did not stop once he got out of the website he went on line and Googled a lot of what he was thinking and saying to other freaks on line.  And he used a police search to check out one of his "fantasies". 

 

I missed the part about the wife finding out and blowing the whistle on him I would too but why, like someone in the documentary suggested, didn't the cops investigate it and see if he was on the brink of crossing the line from fantasy to reality which is sounds like he was getting there.  I agree you cannot arrest someone because they talked about something or may or may not have been planning on really doing it as creepy as it is.  I guess we will never know or will find out when/if he does finally do it and gets caught.

 

The whole think was creepy and disturbing and I need a shower now.  I just had no idea people went to sites and talked like that. 

 

So, okay. I'm glad you watched this documentary.  My comment to you is - How effed up of a person do you have to be when the other fricken' deviant assholes on the people-eating website you frequent think you're the loose cannon?, you're the scary fucked up one in the bunch?  Ummmm.

 

I mean, there were a few times when the other posters in the chat room broke role-playing rank and actually asked Valle "Dude... Dude. I mean, are you for real?"  I was guffawing to high heaven and beyond at the irony of that.  Of course which sailed right over Valle's head.  

 

You know its gotta be bad when you are scaring the other sicko, deviant weirdos (who fantasize about eating people )in the Cannibalism People-Eating Chat Room.  I mean, is it just me or ...?  The scenes where Valle was cooking, eating, while the camera panned to the newspaper headline Bon Appetit made me laugh out loud.  Kudos to good camera work/film editing.  The Match.com thing had me ROFLMAO.  The people @ Match must've been literally losing their collective minds when this film came out.  What a way to kill one's business.

 

I really felt sorry for Valle's parents, his ex wife and his child.  Man, could you imagine the sheer horror his wife went through not to mention the ex high school (or was it college?) female friend Valle was stalking?   And he was a cop with a badge to boot?  No ma'am.

Edited November 2, 2015 by beesknees

[glowlights]

This man was filled with way too much self-pity for someone who publicly created a violent cannibal fantasy around real women in his life, who found out and were emotionally impacted. And HE's the victim?

 

And his mother's b.s. goes way beyond denial, imo. Oh sure, lady, the divorce caused this. Yeah. Here's a thought: maybe being the sort of parent who makes excuses for extremely vile behavior had something to do with this. 

[beesknees]

This man was filled with way too much self-pity for someone who publicly created a violent cannibal fantasy around real women in his life, who found out and were emotionally impacted. And HE's the victim?

 

And his mother's b.s. goes way beyond denial, imo. Oh sure, lady, the divorce caused this. Yeah. Here's a thought: maybe being the sort of parent who makes excuses for extremely vile behavior had something to do with this. 

 

Oh yeah, the mother was just beyond the pale ....  Being ride or die for your kids is one thing but she really pissed me off.  I said I felt sorry for the parents but really I felt badly for the father.  He was so devastated.  And disgusted.  I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for Valle.  You play you pay.  Dems the breaks.  The guy just makes excuses and takes no responsibility for his actions.

Edited November 4, 2015 by beesknees

[Proclone]

On 10/14/2015 at 1:48 PM, gaPeach said:

Ok after reading the comments here I had to watch this documentary to see how someone could be arrested, tried and found guilty of something he did not do yet.  I wish I hadn't.

 

How in the world can he have those types of fantasies and not be dangerous at some point?  He said he talked about it online and once he turned off the computer he was a normal dad, husband.....cop?  How?  And he did not stop once he got out of the website he went on line and Googled a lot of what he was thinking and saying to other freaks on line.  And he used a police search to check out one of his "fantasies". 

 

I missed the part about the wife finding out and blowing the whistle on him I would too but why, like someone in the documentary suggested, didn't the cops investigate it and see if he was on the brink of crossing the line from fantasy to reality which is sounds like he was getting there.  I agree you cannot arrest someone because they talked about something or may or may not have been planning on really doing it as creepy as it is.  I guess we will never know or will find out when/if he does finally do it and gets caught.

 

The whole think was creepy and disturbing and I need a shower now.  I just had no idea people went to sites and talked like that. 

I am really late to this party but I just watched this.  This is both a really thought-provoking and disturbing documentary, and despite being from New York (not the city but I'm close enough, we usually hear about these types of cases), I hadn't heard about it before.

I don't think that everyone that has violent sexual fantasies will act on them.  But on the other hand, Valle's fantasies seemed to directed at specific individuals (his wife, the women he looked up), which at least in my opinion, make it more likely that he'll act on them.  It's different to be aroused by the abstract idea of killing and eating (I can't believe I typed that) someone, then it is to be aroused by killing and eating a specific individual. And he also did take steps to make his fantasies reality.  You don't have to google how to make chloroform in order to write a fantasy about using chloroform.  And how many times do you google it before you actually give it a try?  That being said, I don't think googling should be considered an "overt act" for legal purposes (or I may be going to prison because I've googled some strange stuff in service of writing fiction at times).

I don't think what he actually did warrants a conspiracy charge.  I think there should have been an investigation and perhaps a sting to see if he would actually take steps in the real world to further an actual kidnapping.  Would he actually make chloroform?  Would he actually put a pully in his basement?  Would he gather tools for a possible abduction?  For me, he needed to do something real and tangible in the real world to warrant a conspiracy or attempted kidnapping charge. 

I'm not a huge fan of Alan Dershowitz, but I do agree with him in this case, that Valle would have probably done something at some point is not enough to send him to jail for the rest of his life.  It is just too Minority Report, where we're guessing at what people's actions will be and treating them as inevitable.  I can't really fault the NYPD for taking swift action, if Valle had actually done something could you imagine the headlines, "NYPD Ignores warnings of Cannibal COP!"  But I really do think the jumped the gun and there should have been a full investigation.  I really don't think given what they showed of his chats that they could have gotten him to do something real and tangible to further a conspiracy.  For what he actually did, which is misuse NYPD databases, I think the time he did was fair.  I'm honestly not sure if the Maryland trip was an actual furtherance of action or if the trip happened and he just used it to continue his fantasy. 

In any case, I seriously hope his former wife has a restraining order against him.  And I hope he doesn't have contact with his child, especially since she appears to be a girl. The fact that he doesn't think having fantasies, and telling others those fantasies in detail, about raping, killing and eating his wife didn't affect their relationship is just astounding.  I honestly don't know if he believes it or it's part his "I'm not a bad guy" schtick.  I would have a lot more...I don't really know if sympathy is the right word, but I'd be less worried for his family, if he at least admitted to being seriously screwed up and that his fantasies are potentially dangerous.  If he said at any point that he's now seeking therapy, I would also feel better.  He acts like these fantasies can be turned off or that he's in control of them, which isn't true.  Violent sexual paraphillias can't be cured but therapy can help those that suffer from them avoid actually acting on their urges.  The fact he acts like he was just a husband who liked porn a lot and his wife just overreacted his disturbing to me.  And I really don't have any doubt that part of his attraction to the NYPD is that he gets power over others.  I don't want to psychoanalyze (but I will anyway), but it seems to me that he has issues with feeling powerless and perhaps inferior, which is why he's never self-critical in any of the documentary and seems to insists that he was a good, husband, father and cop when he patently wasn't any of those things.  In his fantasies he's powerful, he has power over the life and death of a woman, in fact, he literally consumes them, in his fantasies he's the alpha male that maybe he isn't in real life.  I have no doubt without help those fantasies have the potential to escalate especially when he's under stress and feels more inferior.  He mentioned being monitored (not the ankle bracelet ) and I hope that's for an extended period of time.  Unfortunately, I doubt he'll have a hard time finding a girlfriend, but she'll likely be as messed up as he is.

[Liamsmom617]

 Jesus fucking Christ...I just watched this for the first time yesterday. "Unsettled" doesn't BEGIN to cover my state of mind. I'm usually a big propoent of the "It's not for me to judge someone else's kink/fetishes", but good Gawd.  I think Gil would have eventually followed through with making his fantasy a reality, and he had the means to do so. This is just terrifying AF to me. The psychology of this is fascinating....why would this man be so into this? He appears to be very close with, and coddled by, his mother. Why the desire to make women suffer so? Enough so to get off on it? I just don't get it.....

Edited January 19, 2019 by Liamsmom617

[Luckylyn]

I know I am years behind but I just watched.  Three things in my opinion made law enforcement getting involved warranted.  First, he used the police database to look up victims addresses.  Two, he shared pictures and details about women he knew with his cannibal chat friends.  Three, the trip to Maryland that he told his chat friends he planned to use to gather intel on a potential victim was a clear sign of escalating to me.  He went beyond just writing fantasies in the chat.

The way he seems to have so little self awareness or remorse of his actions make it clear that he would probably do it all again if he could get away with it.  He speaks of the situation as if it were an inconvenience to him.  I saw no empathy towards his wife are the women who he targeted.  
 

It would have been better if the police had put an under cover officer in the chat to see if he would further implicate himself.   Still I can understand why they didn’t because he was aware his wife knew everything and would have been on his guard.   His wife was potentially in danger from him at that point because of what she knew and so I get law enforcement moving quickly to apprehend him. 

I keep thinking of that military guy who started out breaking into women’s homes to steal underwear and then over time escalated to rape and murder.   Some predators don’t start with violence right away but over time start crossing more and more lines.  I think in Gil’s case he was becoming dangerous because he was going beyond to chat to real world actions.