How Sneaky Russian Serial Killer was Finally Caught

This is a highly unique account of how murderers manage to evade punishment. The perpetrator, in this case, was Andrei Chikatilo, widely regarded as one of Russia's most notorious serial killers. However, other infamous murderers such as the chessboard killer and the killer cop Mikhail Popkov may contest this title. Chikatilo was consumed by a diabolical fury and committed unimaginable atrocities against his victims.

Andrei Chikatilo

For years, he got away with being MONSTER INCORPORATED. He probably shouldn't have because it was clear he was a monster as a young man. He was impotent since he was a small child, and some girls made fun of his non-functioning member. The young man's embarrassment transformed into hatred, and he groped his way through college while receiving harsh criticism.

He continued his troubling behavior while teaching Russian literature by touching and harassing his own classmates. Also, he would observe young women from a distance while acting repeatedly on his lusty desires. He was discovered and expelled from one school but was able to find another teaching position and carry on his predatory behavior. The Soviet Union's school system's unwillingness to admit the prospect of such a vile criminal developing from within their ranks is the reason how he was able to keep getting hired, which raises the question of how he was able to maintain his employment.

The educational system of the Soviet Union denied this man's crime and turned a blind eye to the atrocities he committed. However, even before he started his murderous rampage, investigators did not think a literature instructor was a suspect. They couldn't believe that such horrible crimes, involving brutal mutilation and even biting off body parts while the victims were still alive, could be committed by a former academic. When several of the victims' bodies were discovered torn apart as though by wild animals, the brutality of the murders gave rise to the nickname "Rostov Ripper."

Chikatilo was now working as a traveling businessman, which was the perfect employment for a serial killer. Due to Russia's size, remains could be buried in remote areas, making it challenging to connect the crimes. Moscow officials were hesitant to recognize that there was a serial murderer in Russia despite the growing number of victims and the horrifying crime scenes. They ruled out the notion, asserting that only in the morally bankrupt West were such crimes committed.

Moscow was forced to admit that a serial killer was among them as the death toll increased. There were hundreds of police personnel assigned to the case, many of whom were posted at the train terminals where the majority of the victims had vanished. Officers were placed on trains and in the vicinity of railroad depots as part of undercover operations that were started. Despite the increased police presence, Chikatilo was able to carry on his murdering rampage right in front of them. An undercover police officer once caught him at Donleskhoz station just after he had killed a woman. When the officer questioned him about the stains on his clothes, Chikatilo responded that he was a mushroom forager.

A forager of mushrooms with a good duffel bag, the cop noticed, hmm. It wasn't logical. The name Chikatilo was only accidentally discovered when another officer was checking through the names of the guys who had been questioned. Back in the day, he remembered seeing that name in connection with a missing person. Yet, this cop went further this time than he had previously.

The detective learned that Chikatilo had previously been expelled from several institutions for sexually motivated offenses and that other violent crimes had been linked to him in the past. These facts had never been put together before, but now they formed a coherent portrait of a violent and deadly person. Chikatilo has ultimately connected to the killings thanks to a DNA sample the investigator collected after realizing that he fit the killer's profile. After being apprehended, Chikatilo admitted to more than 50 homicides.

Chikatilo was placed under close observation before he was finally arrested just as he prepared to carry out another murder. He refused to acknowledge his wrongdoing, though, and the police had little hard proof against him. If an extraordinary event in the Soviet Union hadn't taken place, Chikatilo might have merely been given a brief prison term. He was subjected to a DNA test by the police, which connected him to the killings and provided the proof required for his conviction.

Alexander Bukhanovsky

As Chikatilo was taken into custody, the police decided against questioning him anymore and instead called in a psychiatrist by the name of Alexander Bukhanovsky. Before, Bukhanovsky had proposed that the assassin they were seeking was an educated, helpless sadist who detested women. Now that they were aware that he was correct, the police started to investigate the murderer's motives in a more subtle manner.

Chikatilo was addressed by Bukhanovsky, who expressed his belief that the man was a lonely person with a tragic past, including a traumatic childhood. Bukhanovsky was not aware at the time, though, of the starvation that had befallen Chikatilo's family or the fact that their neighbors had murdered and eaten Chikatilo's sibling. In addition to being blamed for his brother's passing, Chikatilo's mother had also accused him of wetting the bed, which may have influenced his decision to commit murder later on.

When Bukhanovsky described his horrific childhood experiences, which were unfathomable by any standard set by humans, Chikatilo was deeply touched. When he finally admitted to the killings, he was in tears. He disclosed several further deaths that the police were unaware of while still acknowledging the slayings they were looking into. He was later found guilty of 52 murders on October 15, 1992, and on February 14, 1994, he was shot in the back of the head to end his life.