Brazil sentences cannibal sect to lengthy prison time for human-filled empanadas

A jury in northeastern Brazil delivered sentences of 20-23 years in prison for three people convicted of killing two women, eating parts of their bodies and using some of their flesh to make and sell stuffed pastries, a court official said Saturday.

A weekend duty officer at the court in the city of Olinda said the seven-person jury handed down the sentences Friday night.

Jorge Beltrão Negromonte da Silveira was sentenced to 23 years in prison while his wife, Isabel Cristina Pires, and his mistress, Bruna Cristina Oliveira da Silva, each received 20-year terms.

The defendants' attorneys told reporters they would appeal the sentences.

The three were arrested in April 2012, and police said they confessed to the crimes.

At the time, the three reportedly told police they belonged to a sect that preached "the purification of the world and the reduction of its population."

Officers said the three lured women to their house by promising them a job as a nanny. Remains of the two women were found in the home's backyard.

Authorities said the trio used the victims' flesh to make thick "empada" pastries, which were eaten by them and a child who lived with them. The pastries were also sold to some neighbors.

Shortly after their arrest, police found a 50-page book written by Silveira entitled "Revelations of a Schizophrenic," in which he said he heard voices and was obsessed with killing women.