Threat to eat hearts of nieces

Hannibal Lecter. Photo / Supplied

In an eerie echo of movie Silence of the Lambs a jailed rapist threatened to shoot his nieces and eat their hearts on his release.

In the movie, serial killer Hannibal Lecter - played by Sir Anthony Hopkins - talked of eating a victim's liver with some fava beans and a bottle of chianti wine.

Now Faaleaga Faaleaga has been sentenced to a further 10 months for threatening to kill his sister's daughters.

Faaleaga is serving 11 years for the rape and abduction of a 16-year-old in 2007.

In 2009 he wrote to his sister from Auckland Prison, threatening his nieces after alleging they had intimidated his younger brother.

"Tell your children to wait until I return," he said. "I will eat all of their hearts."

Faaleaga later claimed he regretted the threat and tried to retrieve the letter from prison authorities.

But a jury found him guilty of threatening to kill, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

At the Auckland High Court Justice Judith Potter was told Faaleaga apologised to his sister by phone.

But Justice Potter placed little weight on his remorse because he made no attempt to convey his apology by other means, for example letter.

Auckland Prison manager Neil Beales said prison authorities were "always extremely concerned" to hear of anyone receiving unwanted correspondence from a prisoner.