Andrei Chikatilo: Difference between revisions

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'''Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo''' (October 16, 1936 - February 14, 1994) was a Soviet serial killer nicknamed '''The Butcher of Rostov''', '''The Red Ripper''', '''The Forest Strip Killer''' and '''The Rostov Ripper''' who committed the murder of women and children between 1978 and 1990.

'''Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo''' (October 16th, 1936 - February 14th, 1994) was a Soviet serial killer nicknamed '''The Butcher of Rostov''', '''The Red Ripper''', '''The Forest Strip Killer''' and '''The Rostov Ripper''' who committed the murder of women and children between 1978 and 1990.

==Early Life==

Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was born on October 16, 1936, in Yablochnoye, a village in the heart of rural Ukraine in the USSR. During the 1930s, Ukraine was known as the "Breadbasket" of the Soviet Union. Stalin's policies of agricultural collectivization caused widespread hardship and famine that decimated the population. At the time of Chikatilo's birth, the effects of the famine were still widely felt, and his early childhood was influenced by deprivation. The situation was made worse still when the USSR entered World War II against Germany, bringing sustained bombing raids on Ukraine.

Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was born on October 16th, 1936; in Yablochnoye, a village in the heart of rural Ukraine in the USSR. During the 1930s, Ukraine was known as the "Breadbasket" of the Soviet Union. Stalin's policies of agricultural collectivization caused widespread hardship and famine that decimated the population. At the time of Chikatilo's birth, the effects of the famine were still widely felt, and his early childhood was influenced by deprivation. The situation was made worse still when the USSR entered World War II against Germany, bringing sustained bombing raids on Ukraine.

In addition to the external hardships, Chikatilo is believed to have suffered from hydrocephalus (water on the brain) at birth, which caused him genital-urinary tract problems later in life, including bed-wetting into his late adolescence and, later, the inability to sustain an erection, although he was able to ejaculate. His home life was disrupted by his father's conscription into the war against Germany, where he was captured, held prisoner, and then vilified by his countrymen for allowing himself to be captured when he finally returned home. Chikatilo suffered the consequences of his father's "cowardice", making him the focus of school bullying.

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The recently unfettered media of Gorbachev's glasnost society placed enormous public pressure on police forces to catch the killer, and general police patrols were stepped up, with Burakov targeting likely areas with undercover police in an attempt to flush out the killer. Chikatilo evaded capture narrowly, on a couple of occasions, but on November 6, 1990, fresh from killing his final victim, Sveta Korostik, his suspicious behavior was noted by patrolling policemen at the station nearby, and his details were taken. His name was linked to his previous arrest in 1984, and he was placed under surveillance.

Chikatilo was arrested on November 20, 1990, following more suspicious behavior, but he refused at first to confess to any of the killings. Burakov decided to allow the psychiatrist, Bukhanovski, who had prepared the original profile, to talk to Chikatilo, under the guise of trying to understand the mind of a killer from a scientific context. Chikatilo, clearly flattered by this approach, opened up to the psychiatrist, providing extensive details of all of his killings, and even leading police to the site of bodies previously undiscovered.

Chikatilo was arrested on November 20th, 1990; following more suspicious behavior, but he refused at first to confess to any of the killings. Burakov decided to allow the psychiatrist, Bukhanovski, who had prepared the original profile, to talk to Chikatilo, under the guise of trying to understand the mind of a killer from a scientific context. Chikatilo, clearly flattered by this approach, opened up to the psychiatrist, providing extensive details of all of his killings, and even leading police to the site of bodies previously undiscovered.

He claimed to have taken the lives of 56 victims, although only 53 of these could be independently verified. This figure was far in excess of the 36 cases that the police had initially attributed to their serial killer.

Having been declared sane and fit to stand trial, Chikatilo went to court on April 14, 1992, and throughout the trial he was held in an iron cage designed to keep him apart from the relatives of his many victims. Referred to in the media as "The Maniac", his behavior in court ranged from bored to manic, singing and talking gibberish; at one point he was even reported as having dropped his trousers, waving his genitals at the assembled crowd.

Having been declared sane and fit to stand trial, Chikatilo went to court on April 14 th,1992, and throughout the trial he was held in an iron cage designed to keep him apart from the relatives of his many victims. Referred to in the media as "The Maniac", his behavior in court ranged from bored to manic, singing and talking gibberish; at one point he was even reported as having dropped his trousers, waving his genitals at the assembled crowd.

The judge appeared less than impartial, often overruling Chikatilo's defense lawyer, and it was clear that Chikatilo's guilt was a foregone conclusion. The trial lasted until August and, surprisingly, given the judge's bias, the verdict was not announced until two months later, on October 15, 1992, when Chikatilo was found guilty on 52 of the 53 murder charges, and sentenced to death for each of the murders.

The judge appeared less than impartial, often overruling Chikatilo's defense lawyer, and it was clear that Chikatilo's guilt was a foregone conclusion. The trial lasted until August and, surprisingly, given the judge's bias, the verdict was not announced until two months later, on October 15th, 1992, when Chikatilo was found guilty on 52 of the 53 murder charges, and sentenced to death for each of the murders.

Chikatilo's appeal centered around the claim that the psychiatric evaluation which had found him fit to stand trial was biased, but this process was unsuccessful and, 16 months later, he was executed by a shot to the back of the head, on February 14, 1994.

Chikatilo's appeal centered around the claim that the psychiatric evaluation which had found him fit to stand trial was biased, but this process was unsuccessful and, 16 months later, he was executed by a shot to the back of the head, on February 14th, 1994.

The psychiatrist who had been instrumental in his capture, Aleksandr Bukhanovski, went on to become a celebrated expert on sexual disorders and serial killers.

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-'''Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo''' (October 16, 1936 - February 14, 1994) was a Soviet serial killer nicknamed '''The Butcher of Rostov''', '''The Red Ripper''', '''The Forest Strip Killer''' and '''The Rostov Ripper''' who committed the murder of women and children between 1978 and 1990.
+'''Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo''' (October 16<sup>th</sup>, 1936 - February 14<sup>th</sup>, 1994) was a Soviet serial killer nicknamed '''The Butcher of Rostov''', '''The Red Ripper''', '''The Forest Strip Killer''' and '''The Rostov Ripper''' who committed the murder of women and children between 1978 and 1990.
 ==Early Life==
-Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was born on October 16, 1936, in Yablochnoye, a village in the heart of rural Ukraine in the USSR. During the 1930s, Ukraine was known as the "Breadbasket" of the Soviet Union. Stalin's policies of agricultural collectivization caused widespread hardship and famine that decimated the population. At the time of Chikatilo's birth, the effects of the famine were still widely felt, and his early childhood was influenced by deprivation. The situation was made worse still when the USSR entered World War II against Germany, bringing sustained bombing raids on Ukraine.
+Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was born on October 16<sup>th</sup>, 1936; in Yablochnoye, a village in the heart of rural Ukraine in the USSR. During the 1930s, Ukraine was known as the "Breadbasket" of the Soviet Union. Stalin's policies of agricultural collectivization caused widespread hardship and famine that decimated the population. At the time of Chikatilo's birth, the effects of the famine were still widely felt, and his early childhood was influenced by deprivation. The situation was made worse still when the USSR entered World War II against Germany, bringing sustained bombing raids on Ukraine.
 In addition to the external hardships, Chikatilo is believed to have suffered from hydrocephalus (water on the brain) at birth, which caused him genital-urinary tract problems later in life, including bed-wetting into his late adolescence and, later, the inability to sustain an erection, although he was able to ejaculate. His home life was disrupted by his father's conscription into the war against Germany, where he was captured, held prisoner, and then vilified by his countrymen for allowing himself to be captured when he finally returned home. Chikatilo suffered the consequences of his father's "cowardice", making him the focus of school bullying.
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 The recently unfettered media of Gorbachev's glasnost society placed enormous public pressure on police forces to catch the killer, and general police patrols were stepped up, with Burakov targeting likely areas with undercover police in an attempt to flush out the killer. Chikatilo evaded capture narrowly, on a couple of occasions, but on November 6, 1990, fresh from killing his final victim, Sveta Korostik, his suspicious behavior was noted by patrolling policemen at the station nearby, and his details were taken. His name was linked to his previous arrest in 1984, and he was placed under surveillance.
-Chikatilo was arrested on November 20, 1990, following more suspicious behavior, but he refused at first to confess to any of the killings. Burakov decided to allow the psychiatrist, Bukhanovski, who had prepared the original profile, to talk to Chikatilo, under the guise of trying to understand the mind of a killer from a scientific context. Chikatilo, clearly flattered by this approach, opened up to the psychiatrist, providing extensive details of all of his killings, and even leading police to the site of bodies previously undiscovered.
+Chikatilo was arrested on November 20<sup>th</sup>, 1990; following more suspicious behavior, but he refused at first to confess to any of the killings. Burakov decided to allow the psychiatrist, Bukhanovski, who had prepared the original profile, to talk to Chikatilo, under the guise of trying to understand the mind of a killer from a scientific context. Chikatilo, clearly flattered by this approach, opened up to the psychiatrist, providing extensive details of all of his killings, and even leading police to the site of bodies previously undiscovered.
 He claimed to have taken the lives of 56 victims, although only 53 of these could be independently verified. This figure was far in excess of the 36 cases that the police had initially attributed to their serial killer.
-Having been declared sane and fit to stand trial, Chikatilo went to court on April 14, 1992, and throughout the trial he was held in an iron cage designed to keep him apart from the relatives of his many victims. Referred to in the media as "The Maniac", his behavior in court ranged from bored to manic, singing and talking gibberish; at one point he was even reported as having dropped his trousers, waving his genitals at the assembled crowd.
+Having been declared sane and fit to stand trial, Chikatilo went to court on April 14 <sup>th</sup>,1992, and throughout the trial he was held in an iron cage designed to keep him apart from the relatives of his many victims. Referred to in the media as "The Maniac", his behavior in court ranged from bored to manic, singing and talking gibberish; at one point he was even reported as having dropped his trousers, waving his genitals at the assembled crowd.
-The judge appeared less than impartial, often overruling Chikatilo's defense lawyer, and it was clear that Chikatilo's guilt was a foregone conclusion. The trial lasted until August and, surprisingly, given the judge's bias, the verdict was not announced until two months later, on October 15, 1992, when Chikatilo was found guilty on 52 of the 53 murder charges, and sentenced to death for each of the murders.
+The judge appeared less than impartial, often overruling Chikatilo's defense lawyer, and it was clear that Chikatilo's guilt was a foregone conclusion. The trial lasted until August and, surprisingly, given the judge's bias, the verdict was not announced until two months later, on October 15<sup>th</sup>, 1992, when Chikatilo was found guilty on 52 of the 53 murder charges, and sentenced to death for each of the murders.
-Chikatilo's appeal centered around the claim that the psychiatric evaluation which had found him fit to stand trial was biased, but this process was unsuccessful and, 16 months later, he was executed by a shot to the back of the head, on February 14, 1994.
+Chikatilo's appeal centered around the claim that the psychiatric evaluation which had found him fit to stand trial was biased, but this process was unsuccessful and, 16 months later, he was executed by a shot to the back of the head, on February 14<sup>th</sup>, 1994.
 The psychiatrist who had been instrumental in his capture, Aleksandr Bukhanovski, went on to become a celebrated expert on sexual disorders and serial killers.