Alexander Pichushkin was sentenced to life in prison in Moscow in 2007 for 48 murders, most between 2002 and 2006. Most people remember the names of infamous serial killers. Pichushkin's confession was aired on Russian television. Signature On July 27, 1992, 18-year-old Pichushkin committed his first murder. On February 23, 2002, he lured the pregnant saleswoman into Bitsa Park and pushed her into the same well where most of his victims were disposed of. Alexander "Sasha" Pichushkin was sentenced to life in prison, with the first 15 years in solitary confinement. Over the next five hours, she was repeatedly raped and assaulted by him, losing consciousness twice during the attack. Pichushkin's murderous impulses lay dormant for years until he began killing people in Moscow's Bittsevsky Park in the early 2000s. Criminal Charges Behind bars, the Moscow murderer is something of a celebrity. When future-serial killer Alexander Pichushkin was a child, he fell backward off of a swing. Feigning car trouble as he exited the back of his van, Black asked the young girl if she knew anything about engines. She clung to the sides of the well to avoid falling, but Pichushkin grabbed her head and repeatedly slammed it into the side of the well. [9], When Odtchuk's body was discovered the following day, Moscow police opened an investigation. Bryan, however, never saw his face and thus was left with the frustration of not knowing who it was that took the life of the one he loved. While Bryan Hartnell was attending school at Pacific Union College in San Francisco in the late 1960s, he had no idea that his bright future would forever be scarred by one truly horrifying day. Alexander Yuryevich Pichushkin, also known as The Chessboard Killer and the Bista Park Maniac, is a Russian serial killer who is believed to have killed between 50-60 people. According to GQ, some were still alive when they were thrown into the dump. Aged 33 at his trial, Pichushkin said he wanted to kill one person for each of the 64 squares on a chessboard, and crossed out a square for every kill, hence his nickname. A majority of Pichushkins victims were elderly homeless people, whom he found in Bitsevsky Park in Moscow, and lured in with the promise of free vodka, as reported by GQ. Just a few years earlier, such a prolific killer would have been sentenced to death. [16], Pichushkin claimed that deciding whether his victims should live or die made him feel like God. Each square represented someone who was killed. He also later claimed that had he not been stopped, the number would have only climbed. But neighbors told reporters that they saw a different side, remembering him as a quiet, sensitive animal lover, who wept when his pet cat died. [1] Ex-funcionrio de supermercado, conhecido na mdia russa como "Manaco do Parque Bitsa" ou "Assassino do tabuleiro de Xadrez". 9. He would go on to kill again 60 more times. They come so quick! In the early years, Pichushkin's victims were almost exclusively homeless, elderly men. She was caught in the current, and only by swiftly removing her jacket and boots did she manage to place her hands and feet on the sides of the drain and stop her further descent. At first, he didnt harm the women, telling them that he just wanted some money and that he would leave them alone. His total gave him a higher body count than Jeffrey Dahmer, Jack the Ripper, and the Son of Sam combined. It wasn't just chess that informed Pichushkin's murder spree, however. "It brought me colossal pleasure it is compatible to an orgasm," said the 43-year . It's unforgettable," he'd later say. [14], Once apprehended, Pichushkin led police officers to the scenes of many of his crimes in Bitsa Park, and demonstrated a keen recollection of how the murders were committed. A imprensa russa especulou que Pichushkin possa ter . Pichushkin is remembered to have been an initially sociable child. The ninth girl was still alive. [6][7] He later recanted this statement, saying that he would have continued killing indefinitely had he not been stopped. It was her testimony that helped convict Ramirez of his crimes during his trail and ensured that he received the death sentence. . Polikarpov successfully climbed out, but he suffered head trauma, causing him to remember nothing about the attack. In 2001, Ridgway was finally apprehended and sentenced to life in prison. Russian serial killer Alexander Pichushkin, nicknamed "The Chessboard Killer," was caught in Moscow and convicted in 2007 of killing 48 people. In 2006, authorities arrested Pichushkin for the murder of a female coworker. Chessboard Killer, is led into the court room at Moscows City Court in October 2007. When Pichushkin was 4 years old, he fell backwardoff of a swing. Between May 2001 and September 2005, Pichushkin attacked thirty-six victims; three of his victims survived their injuries. The hideous nature of his crimes has renewed interest in re-instituting Russia's death penalty. He then started regularly killing from 2001. The police began to take the murders more seriously when a former policeman named Nikolai Zakharchenko turned up dead. All Rights Reserved. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. And I think punishment by putting someone in a three-by-six cell is a lot greater than if you snuff out their life in a few seconds with a lethal injection.. Earlier that day, the two had gotten into an argument, and afterward she found herself distraught in a metro station in Moscow. Pichushkin then produced a bottle of vodka and offered him a drink, which he accepted. Unsatisfied with the ruling, however, he asked the court to please up his victim count by 11, bringing his total number of victims up to 60 murders, plus three attempted. Pichushkin moved in with his grandfather and was taught how to play chess. On March 10, 2002, after being led by Pichushkin into Bitsa Park with the promise of cigarettes and vodka, he was struck over the head and pushed down the well. When she approached, he grabbed her and placed one hand over her mouth, pinned her arms by her sides, and tried to pull her into his van through the back doors. I felt like the father of all these people, since it was me who opened the door for them to another world," he said of his crimes, according to Time. Chessboard Killer, is led into the court room at Moscows City Court in October 2007. The judge didnt hesitate, handing him a life sentence in prison the first 15 years of which were to be spent in solitary confinement. 03 February 2014. Pichushkin called his first murder "like first love. Gun in hand, Speck forced his way into the home and herded the girls into the common room. Larry Flynt is famous as the outspoken and flamboyant publisher of Hustler magazine and the creator of a business empire. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Adnan Syed: A Complete Timeline of His Trial, Appeal and Killing of Hae Min Lee. Their stories serve as lessons in survival that we can all learn from, lessons that could very well save a life. Shortly after the trial, Pichushkin was sentenced to life in prison. "I felt like the father of all these people, since it was I who opened the door for them to another world.". Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacythese names and more ring unwanted through our collective psyche, their crimes too horrendous to ignore. Alexander Pichushkin, The Chessboard Killer, 49 victims . 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. However, by 1992, this practice had become insufficient to satisfy his urges. He was sentenced to death for this and many other crimes, including the murders of four other victims. After driving to a scenic lake in a remote part of the city with his girlfriend, Cecilia Shephard, the couple parked their car and planned to enjoy their day in privacy. One woman was hit on the head and pushed into the sewer alive in 2002. Alexander Pichushkin sits behind glass in a Moscow court October 29, 2007. Alexander Yuryevich Pichushkin, a.k.a. Growing up in an atmosphere of severe abuse and neglect, she was often beaten by her alcoholic father and was even raped repeatedly as a toddler. When the police arrived at his door, Alcala tried to stall them by claiming that he was in the shower, forcing them to kick the door in. His skull was smashed and a vodka bottle had been driven, neck first, into his brain. There, some drowned, their deaths possibly hastened by the vodka in their systems. Pronin accompanied him to an isolated area in Bitsa Park, whereupon Pichushkin pulled out a bottle of vodka and offered him a drink. The deepest of these interests was chess. "Having caught me, they saved many lives. He had also carelessly left the tire iron on her bedroom floor. He had some type of head injury around the age of 4 and spent time in an institute for the disabled as a child. She and two other boys were bound hand and foot. Alexander Pichushkin: The Shocking True Story of The Chessboard Killer. Police considered his macabre chess game evidence of 61 crimes, and the bodies they had located as evidence of 49 murders. The death toll exceeds the 48 murdered by "chessboard killer" Alexander Pichushkin, and the 52 murdered by Andrei Chikatilo during the Soviet era. Chess has, over the centuries, come to be associated with many things. Ratings: 6.86 / 10 from 14 users . Around the time of Chikatilo's trial in 1992, Pichushkin committed his first murder. Shoving a vodka bottle into the cracks of the skull he just split. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. As he now sits on death row awaiting his fate, Steward herself has actively campaigned against the death penalty, supporting what in California is known as Proposition 34, a ballot to replace all death sentences with sentences of life without parole. I killed in order to live, because when you kill, you want to live," he once said. It was on March 6, 1978, that both Mr. Flynt and his lawyer were shot by Franklin, who confessed in prison after being sentenced for another shooting in which he received the death penalty. Pichushkin, who used to own a dog, told him it was the anniversary of his beloved pet's death and that he wanted to visit his grave. Due to her lifestyle and a general fear of the police, Garde waited nearly two years after her attack before she contacted the authorities, and although her forthcoming would not lead directly to his capture, it did help law enforcement build a more solid case around the most prolific serial killer in the United States. Eight months after the discovery of the first mutilated corpse, police got a break. Currently, Spesivtsev is under . The investigation also turned up a few people who, years earlier, had been attacked by a stranger in Bitsa and survived. Sergey Shakhidzanyan/Laski Diffusion/Getty ImagesRussian killer Alexander Pichushkin looks on from a cell in a Moscow court room awaiting his sentence. Some of them were still alive at the time and . He was sent to a hard labour colony in Siberia, in a prison referred to as "Polar Owl". Russia did away with the death penalty not long after Chikatilo, though they considered re-instating it for Pichushkin. For Alexander Pichushkin, murder was a game. Somehow, however, people kept disappearing. Alexander Pichushkin: The Chessboard Killer. Pathology He is also famous for nearly being assassinated by one Joseph Paul Franklin in an attempt that left Mr. Flynt paralyzed from the waist down when he was hit by two bullets from Franklins high-powered rifle. Maria, desperate and alone, welcomed the company. [] Its more emotional. "This first murder, it's like first love. The killer was caught in 2006 when he killed his coworker, a woman who had informed . The note also contained his phone number. Inside a pocket was a ticket for a ride on the city's metro system, and soon police were looking over security camera footage. Russian serial killer Alexander Pichushkin, nicknamed "The Chessboard Killer," was caught in Moscow and convicted in 2007 of killing 48 people. I thought it would not be fair to forget about the other 11 people, he reasoned. It was Corazon Atienza who opened the door to her apartment on the night of July 13, 1966, and unknowingly allowed brutal mass murderer Richard Speck into her and her roommates lives. By and large, the cerebral sport seems, at least to those who don't play, to be the domain of nerds, Soviets, and the occasional, shall we say, colorful figure like Bobby Fischer. Ex-funcionrio de supermercado, conhecido na mdia russa como "Bitsa Maniac" ou "Assassino do tabuleiro de Xadrez". To conceal the bodies, he often threw his victims into a sewer pit. "In all cases I killed for only one reason. Which, since he was classed as a narcissist, must have caused him a great deal of frustration. One woman was hit on the head and pushed into the sewer alive in 2002. The Chessboard Killer, is a prolific Russian serial killer who murdered 48 people. 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