(Updates with death threat reports) (Note graphic content)

MEXICO CITY, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A Mexican writer accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body was found dead hanging by his belt in a prison cell on Tuesday, the prison service said.

Jose Luis Calva, 38, who had been working on a book called "Cannibal Instincts," did not turn up for the morning roll call. Mexican media said he had committed suicide.

Calva was awaiting trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, Alejandra Galeana.

Police arrested Calva after they burst into his apartment in October and found a plate of fried human flesh on a dining table set with cutlery. They also discovered more flesh in a refrigerator and human bones in a cereal box.

Galeana's mutilated body was stashed in a bedroom closet.

Calva denied practicing cannibalism but said he had killed Galeana after an argument. He said he cut her body up to get rid of it but then decided to cook parts to feed to dogs, according to Mexico City prosecutors.

His latest girlfriend, Juana Mendoza, said Calva, who wrote poetry and had earned a living selling his work on the streets, left a note saying he had received death threats from other prisoners while in jail, El Universal newspaper reported.

He owed some $200 to several prisoners, she added, blaming prison authorities for not putting Calva under 24-hour protection.

The unfinished "Cannibal Instincts" book bore a cover photo of a man who looked like Calva wearing a mask similar to that worn by Anthony Hopkins in the 'Hannibal Lecter' films, starting with the 1991 Oscar winner "Silence of the Lambs".

In his apartment, police also found books on black magic and copies of the Hannibal Lecter movies, which tell the tale of a brilliant serial killer who eats his victims. (Reporting by Chris Aspin, editing by Eric Walsh)

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