NY woman bares cop-husband’s fetish for cannibalism

NEW YORK—The estranged wife of a New York City police officer struggled to keep her composure on Monday as she testified about discovering shocking e-mails and other evidence on his computer showing he had discussed killing her and abducting, torturing and eating other women.

“I was going to be tied up by my feet and my throat slit, and they would have fun watching the blood gush out of me be- cause I was young,” Kathleen Mangan-Valle told a Manhattan jury that one chat revealed.

Mangan-Valle, 27, also read about plans to put one friend in a suitcase, wheel her out of her building and murder her. Two other women were “going to be raped in front of each other to heighten their fears,” while another was going to be roasted alive over an open fire, she said.

“The suffering was for his enjoyment and he wanted to make it last as long as possible,” she said.

Mangan-Valle broke down in tears several times, but the emotional peak of the day came when a defense attorney showed her pictures of Officer Gilberto Valle in uniform feeding their newborn daughter, prompting both she and Valle to openly weep as the judge sent the jury away for an afternoon break.

The drama came on the first day of testimony at the closely watched trial of the 28-year-old Valle, a baby-faced defendant dubbed the “Cannibal Cop” by city tabloids.

Valle is accused of conspiring to kidnap a woman and unauthorized use of a law enforcement database that prosecutors say he used to help build a list of potential targets. A conviction on the kidnapping count carries a possible life sentence.

The officer has claimed his online discussions of cannibalism were harmless fetish fan- tasies. But in opening statements on Monday, a prosecutor said “very real women” were put in jeopardy.

“Make no mistake,” said Assistant United States Attorney Randall Jackson. “Gilbert Valle was very serious about these plans.”

Defense attorney Julia Gatto argued that her client “never intended to kidnap anyone.” She added: “You can’t convict people for their thoughts, even if they’re sick.”