In court he will declare: I always say exactly what I think. There are pieces of bark pressed against her cheek, a scratch on her neck. With his conviction and sentencing, it seemed the Pichushkin nightmare might be over for the people of Moscow. [1] Ex-funcionrio de supermercado, conhecido na mdia russa como "Manaco do Parque Bitsa" ou "Assassino do tabuleiro de Xadrez". He started killing people in Moscows Bittsevsky Park. The judges ask Pichushkin if he wants to say anything. She covers her face. Until the night he was arrested, he lived most of his life at 2 Khersonskaya, where he slept on a couch in the first bedroom, which doubled as the living room. As his signature, hed push the vodka bottles into the gaping holes in their heads. In the late 1990s, the area around Bitsevsky Park became known as the hunting ground for a man the press called the Maniac. People would disappear into the woods in the park, into the tall birch trees just far enough away from the road that hiding behind them made one nearly invisible. (Her husband, the Maniacs father, moved out before Alexander turned 1.) The deepest of these interests was chess. The cop told Lobov to go home. Now everyone is leaving the courtroom, and the Maniac is putting his hands behind his back so someone we cant see can handcuff him. How could she have known? Thats because the people on Kherson-skaya, like so many Russian peasants in their crumbling urban hives, understand that in their country only certain people matter, and that they are not among them. Later he claimed that killing his victims made him feel like God since he could decide whether they would live or not. What emerged from months of plying Pichushkin with sandwiches and cigarettes, months of pretending that he was an evil genius, was not the Hollywood-style maniac everyone had imagined but an empty vessel, someone no one could organize into a tidy psychological portrait. The judge didnt hesitate, handing him a life sentence in prison the first 15 years of which were to be spent in solitary confinement. Pichushkin was convicted in October 2007. Criminologists, psychologists, and serial-killer aficionados weighed in online with theories and speculation. Pichushkin also said he threw a romantic rival out of a window the same year. He may even have tried to quash it. Once Pronin was dead, Pichushkin threw his body into a nearby well. He grew up on 2 Khersonskaya St. in Moscow, six minutes away from the north end of Bitsa Park where he would claim most of his victims. On pyanitsa. Pichushkina says she opened the door very slowly, and when she did, a column of men in uniforms pushed through the narrow corridor crammed with jackets and old bos and into the little bedroom/living room where Alexander Pichushkin was about to turn in for the night. Though she did not survive, the police were alerted to her disappearance and the fact that she had been wary of Pichushkin. It will be at least a one-night train ride away. Except for his mother and Suprunenko, almost everyone else is here at the recently renovated Supreme Court of Russia, on Povarskaya Street in the center of Moscow: Natasha Fyedosova, Pichushkins lawyer Pavel Ivannikov, the panel of three judges, the prosecutor in his royal blue military-style uniform, the babushkas who lost sons and husbands, the younger men and girls whispering into their cell phones, too scared to look at the Maniac, who looks bored, then amused, then angry. While he might not be as well-known as some American serial killers, Alexander Pichushkin alleged to killing at least 60 people in Russia. That fall and winter the killing continued, but it was less feverish; five or more people were murdered during this stretch. Sometimes, when the Maniac and his prey reached the well, he would propose a toast to his dead dog. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The judges will hand down their final decision today. These are the questions that keep surfacing and resurfacing. His description, although limited by police knowledge, was plastered on every news outlet it could be. Since Pichushkin was still a child, the damage would have been more severe, as a child's forehead provides only a fraction of the protection for the brain compared to an adult's. He doesnt have a career. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. They could do it together, he told him. He offered her a cigarette. She says he had a cat named Mursik and a fish tank, and that he loved the TV adaptation of Alexandre Dumass Countess of Monsoreau. A Moscow jury convicted Alexander Pichushkin, known to the Russian media as the "Bittsa maniac", after four hours of deliberation. Lyosha gdye? It was early evening. The Disturbing Story Of Alexander Pichushkin, The Russian Chessboard Killer Who Strove To Kill 64 Victims. Does she know why her son became a serial killer? He said he sometimes ejaculated when he killed. A cold night in December 2007. Over the next eight weeks, he killed nine more people. His goal was to kill at least 64 people (the same number of squares on a chessboard) so that he could surpass his idol, Andrei Chikatilo . He got a dog that he often walked in the park. Meanwhile, the young boy was also experiencing violent urges that prompted him to harm others. Pichushkin's childhood neighbors report before the accident the now-killer was "pleasant" and expressed great empathy for animals. [11], Upon conviction, Judge Vladimir Usov sentenced Pichushkin to life imprisonment, with the first fifteen years to be spent in solitary confinement. Pichushkin was left to return to his mother's home, after which he enrolled as a student. Shes a small woman, about five four, with dyed reddish-purplish hair, a weak voice, and a sickliness that seems ironed into her face. He says what he has to say. A week after his conviction, Pichushkins attorneys filed an appeal, requesting a more lenient sentence. Following his arrest the police discovered a chessboard with dates on all but two of the squares, apparently connected to the murders he committed. No, no, theres nothing. Thats all he says during the whole proceeding. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Pichushkin is remembered to have been an initially sociable child. Some faux camaraderieYou respect me, and I respect you, so lets drink!and then a surprise blow to the head, followed by a shove down the well. Now that corpses were appearing regularly, there were policesome in uniform, some in plain clothesscouring the park twenty-four hours a day. Showing no remorse, he later argued that he should be charged with more murders, keeping with his claim of killing 61 or 63 people (his story varied). He was very open about it. Had he hewed to his own routinetossing his victims into sewage wellsthe Maniac may never have been caught. I felt like the father of all these people, since it was me who opened the door for them to another world. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. Eventually some of the bodies turned up at a wastewater-treatment center about five miles away, having floated through the network of underground tunnels. "This first murder, it's like first love, it's unforgettable," he later said. Ted Bundy committed about thirty homicides; Jeffrey Dahmer, seventeen; Ken Bianchi, the Hillside Strangler, twelve. Nyet, nyet, nyetuy, he says. In 2007 he was sentenced to life imprisonment. The chain reared back and hit him in the head, damaging the frontal lobe of his brain. [3] This reignited Pichushkin's interest in killing. Because that is what I do, Pichushkin supposedly said. Alexander Pichushkin in his cell. He was 18 when he took his first life. Did something happen when he was little? [] Its more emotional. Two nights later, on July 16, 2006, close to midnight, everyone at 2 Khersonskaya was about to go to sleep when someone knocked at the door. By then the count was approaching thirty. The most important fact about Nikolai Zakharchenko is that he was the forty-first victim. He wanted recognition and respect. Suprunenko says he always stared straight at Pichushkin. He ended up sentenced to life in prison. Whom did he plan to marry? Who is he? And Pichushkin had to fight very hardhe was practically burstingnot to tell her she was sitting right next to him. He just walked or, more likely, stumbled. The Maniac killed at least forty-eight, putting him in rare company. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Alexander Pichushkin, Birth Year: 1974, Birth date: April 9, 1974, Birth City: Moscow, Birth Country: Russia. He was found guilty of 49 murders and three attempted murders. Source: allthatintresting During interrogation, the number of victims Pichushkin acknowledged continued to change. Peter Savodnik is a writer based in New York. Investigators discovered a chessboard with approximately 61 spaces marked off in his Moscow home. Welcome, or welcome back, to Twisted Minds, my name is James and today we're going to be deep diving into the case of Alexander Pichushkin, a Russian-born se. I just tried to raise him like a normal mother. She glances at the photographs on the refrigerator. He was then transferred from a mainstream school to a school for the disabled, as he was being bullied. What's for certain, though, is that there may be a handful of missing person cases in Moscow that will one day be linked to the Chessboard Killer. It's now known that Pichushkin committed his first murder around 1992 and that the death was ruled a suicide at the time. Before perestroika the system was better, says Alexander Bukhanovsky, the serial-killer expert. [14] He was filmed reenacting his crimes in great detail, a process which is a regular part of Russian criminal investigation. The fascination surrounding the Maniac reflected the enormity of his crimes, which seemed deeply Russian: oversize. His targets also included younger men and women. In this case, he did not say what he and 32 discussed before he attacked. Though he was no longer picky about who his victims were, he seemed to prefer the old homeless men. Written on the board, in all but two of the squares, were calendar dates. Prosecutors said most of his victims were killed in Bittsa Park in southern Moscow from 2001 until his arrest . By the spring of 2006, almost 50 people had vanished into them, never to be seen again. He first listed 48, then 49, then 61, and later said that it was so high hed simply lost count. People talked about hearing shouts and cries echoing through the trees. At the end of their game, Pichushkin invited Pronin to take a walk with him, claiming it was the anniversary of his dog's death and that he wanted to visit the grave in Bitsa Park. It made him feel important, he says. [8], When Odtchuk's body was discovered the following day, Moscow police opened an investigation. There were too many connections between the missing. He removed his weaponsometimes a hammer, sometimes a wrench with a tool used for removing nails; in this case he didnt specifyfrom his jacket and struck 32 on the head, hard, but not hard enough to kill him. Her body was found with a metro ticket in its possession, which led authorities to review surveillance tapes from the Moscow metro system. But nine years is a long time to wait, especially for someone who would later tell the court that for me, life without killing is like life without food for you. He must have understood that once he started killingnot dabbling or experimenting but really killing, and killing wantonlyhe wouldnt stop. He says Pichushkin doesnt have any sexual longings for men; he just doesnt care about women. Between May 2001 and September 2005, Pichushkin attacked thirty-six victims; three of his victims survived their injuries. As they trudged through the park, 32 didnt ask any questions about where they were going or why. She begins talking to herself. They can no longer see the road. While the police did question him in the case, it was later declared a suicide. The hideous nature of his crimes has renewed interest in re-instituting Russia's death penalty. She was seen walking on the platform along with Pichushkin. Ten of the Maniacs victims lived in the same four-building complex where he livedfour from 2 Khersonskaya; two from 4 Khersonskaya, next door; three from 6; and one from 8. In reality, Alexander Pichushkin was working days at a grocery store, making small talk with the hundreds of people who passed through his register every day. He mostly targeted homeless elderly men, luring them with offers of free vodka. GQ may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. He received life in prison without parole. This was strange; usually you had to hit the buzzer to get into the building. Victim number 32, a middle-aged man who disappeared in late spring 2003, was a typical target. "For me, a life without murder is like a life without food for you," Pichushkin reportedly said. He was now the Maniac. It was warm outside, and there were too many people around. Even Chessboard Killer is misleading, Suprunenko believes, because it suggests Pichushkin would have stopped killing when he reached sixty-four, the number of squares on a chessboard, as if his mission was to fill up a chessboard of death, as if he thought of murder as a game. Neither Suprunenko nor anyone else close to the investigation believes this. [3] Pichushkin was aware of the note, but was undeterred. The press dubbed Pichushkin the Bitsevsky Park Maniac and then the Chessboard Killer, because the police allegedly found a chessboard in his apartment on which he had recorded his murders, one per square. Nashyol rabotu v Khimkax. Number 32 was in a sour mood. He appeared to be in competition with one of Russia's most well-known serial killers, Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted of 52 murders in 1992. [12] Ten of his victims lived in the same four-building complex where he livedfour from 2 Khersonskaya; two from 4 Khersonskaya, next door; three from 6; and one from 8. They were kind to me, she says. Ad Choices, Russia had never seen anything quite like the prolific serial killer, The 20 Best New Menswear Items to Buy This Week, The Serial Killer Has Second Thoughts: The Confessions of Thomas Quick, J.Crew Makes Killer Suede Jackets Now, Too, Jack Black's Beard Is Coming In Quite Nicely. A twenty-minute slog through the snowy woods. They said they just wanted to talk to him about some burglaries, but I thought there were a lot of police for a burglar, and I asked Sasha, Did you rob someone? and he said, No. . For Alexander Pichushkin, murder was a game. 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