Man cut off wife's lips and ate them

A prominent researcher at Sweden's Karolinska Instiutet is in custody for having cut off his wife's lips with a knife and then eating them.

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The man attacked his much younger wife in their home south of Stockholm after flying into a jealous rage over suspicions that his wife had been unfaithful, the Aftonbladet newspaper reported.

Prosecutors considered the attack to be so vicious that they requested the man be remanded in custody on suspicion of attempted murder.

During a remand hearing, however, the court ruled the suspicions should be classified as aggravated assault and ordered the man held on remand pending the filing of formal charges.

According to Aftonbladet, the researcher has admitted to cutting off his wife's lips in retaliation for a supposed love affair.

"It was honour related. He doesn't seem to regret a thing; he believes she insulted him," a source with knowledge of the matter told the paper.

Ingela Hessius Ekman, a lawyer representing the victim, said her client has suffered both physically and emotionally from the attack.

"She has very serious injuries; the doctors can't yet say whether or not she can be healed," she told Aftonbladet.

The researcher reportedly has several children from a previous marriage, but a few weeks after divorcing his first wife he married a much younger woman who he recently believed had cheated on him.

Karolinska spokesperson Claes Keisu told the Expressen newspaper that the man is no longer employed at the prestigious research institute.

"He has ties with us but his regular job is in another country," he said.

A former colleague called news of the attack "a shock" and recalled the researcher as "friendly" when they worked together.

The researcher's lawyer, meanwhile, refused to comment on his client's stance toward the accusations.

The man is scheduled to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before the expected filing of a formal indictment by June 7th.