Known as one of the worst serial killers of all time, Andrei Chikatilo roamed the streets of Rostov-on-Don for nearly 12 years, killing, sexually assaulting, and mutilating at least 52 women and children.
For 12 years, beginning in 1978, Chikatilo stalked his victims in bus and train stations, on the streets and in cafes.
He targeted lost souls, including drifters and the mentally challenged, as well as excellent students from good families, naive young women and helpless little girls left unattended.
The Rostov Ripper used his self-described âmagnetismâ to persuade his victims to follow him down dark forest paths, where, in Chikatilo’s words, he would be seized by trembling excitement and ambush them, crushing them with his 200-pound frame.
Chikatilo would then tie their hands, rape them and slash them with a foot-long knife. The killer would often gouge out his victimsâ eyes, cut out and chew on their sexual organs and stuff their mutilated bodies with soil.
During the hunt for the Rostov Ripper, there were hidden cameras at train stations and undercover policewomen dressed as runaways. Other undercover officers would dress as rail workers and mushroom pickers.
Although the efforts to catch the killer resulted in the arrest of more than 200 rapists and dozens of murderers, this was a somewhat frustrating achievement as none of the criminals apprehended had been the man they really wanted.
âNobody connected to this case has anything to boast about,â former senior investigator Amurkhan Yandiev said.
But on November 19, 1990, the investigators made a promising breakthrough.
A policeman who was patrolling the train station saw Chikatilo walk from the woods before stopping to clean his boots and coat in a puddle. He also noticed there was a smear of blood on his cheek and what appeared to be a deep cut on his finger.
After Chikatilo was arrested, the killer not only admitted to the 36 murders which were known to the police but also described 17 more that they were unaware of.
“I was like a crazed wolf,” Chikatilo told the court.
There was no remorse in his voice; if anything, he sounded proud that he “just turned into a beast, into a wild animal.”
During a series of court appearances, Chikatilo was kept locked in an iron cage to keep him safe as the distraught relatives of victims threw themselves at the guards in an attempt to get their revenge.
âWhy bother trying him? If they gave him to me, Iâd tear him apart. Iâd gouge out his eyes and cut him up. Iâd do everything to him that he did to my daughter.â Adding emotionally, âMy daughter had 46 knife wounds, her womb was cut out. Why did he do that? What did he need with it? How can you torment someone like that?,â Paulina Ishutina, the mother of one of Chikatiloâs victims, said.
