Andrei Chikatilo: Difference between revisions

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==The Murders==

In September 1978, Chikatilo moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakhty Shakhty], a small [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_mining coal mining] town near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don], where he committed his first documented murder. On 22 December, Chikatilo lured a 9-year-old girl named Yelena Zakotnova to an old house which he had secretly purchased; he attempted to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape rape] her, but failed to achieve an ~~[http://en~~.~~wikipedia.org/wiki/Erection erection~~]. When the girl struggled, he choked her and stabbed her three times in the abdomen, ejaculating in the process of knifing the child. In an interview after his arrest, Chikatilo later recalled that after stabbing Yelena, the girl had ''"said something very hoarsely"'', whereupon he strangled her into unconsciousness before throwing her body into a nearby river. Her body was found two days later.

In September 1978, Chikatilo moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakhty Shakhty], a small [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_mining coal mining] town near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don], where he committed his first documented murder. On 22 December, Chikatilo lured a 9-year-old girl named Yelena Zakotnova to an old house which he had secretly purchased; he attempted to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape rape] her, but [[wikipedia:Impotence|failed to achieve an erection.]] When the girl struggled, he choked her and stabbed her three times in the abdomen, ejaculating in the process of knifing the child. In an interview after his arrest, Chikatilo later recalled that after stabbing Yelena, the girl had ''"said something very hoarsely"'', whereupon he strangled her into unconsciousness before throwing her body into a nearby river. Her body was found two days later.

Numerous pieces of evidence linked Chikatilo to the murder of Yelena Zakotnova: Spots of blood had been found in the snow near the house Chikatilo had purchased; neighbours had noted that Chikatilo had been present in the house on the evening of 22 December; Zakotnova's school rucksack had been found upon the opposite bank of the river at the end of the street (indicating the girl had been thrown into the river at this location) and a witness had given police a detailed description of a man closely resembling Chikatilo whom she had seen talking with Zakotnova at the bus stop where the girl had last been seen alive.Despite these facts, a 25-year-old named Aleksandr Kravchenko, who as a teenager, had served a prison sentence for the rape and murder of a teenage girl, was arrested for the crime and subsequently confessed to the killing. He was tried for the murder in 1979. At his trial, Kravchenko [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retract retracted] his confession and maintained his innocence, stating his confession had been obtained under extreme [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duress duress]. Despite his retraction, he was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment (the maximum possible length of imprisonment at that time). Under pressure from the victim's relatives, Kravchenko was retried and eventually executed for the murder of Yelena Zakotnova in July 1983. Following Zakotnova's murder, Chikatilo was able to achieve [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_arousal sexual arousal] and orgasm only through stabbing and slashing women and children to death, and he later claimed that the urge to relive the experience had overwhelmed him.

Chikatilo committed his next murder in September 1981, when he tried to have sex with a 17-year-old [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_school boarding school] student named Larisa Tkachenko in a forest near the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_River_%28Russia%29 Don River]. When Chikatilo failed to achieve an erection, he became furious and battered and strangled her to death.As he had no knife, he [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutilation mutilated] her body with his teeth and a stick.On 12 June 1982, Chikatilo encountered a 13-year-old girl named Lyubov Biryuk walking home from a shopping trip in the village of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donskoi Donskoi]. Once the path both were taking together was shielded from the view of potential witnesses by bushes, Chikatilo pounced upon Biryuk, dragged her into nearby [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undergrowth undergrowth], tore off her dress and killed her by stabbing and slashing her to death.

~~[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lyubov_Biryuk.jpg][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lyubov_Biryuk.jpg]~~Lyubov Biryuk, aged 13. Murdered 12 June 1982.Following Biryuk's murder, Chikatilo no longer attempted to resist his homicidal urges: between July and September 1982, he killed a further five victims between the ages of nine and nineteen. He established a pattern of approaching children, runaways and young vagrants at bus or railway stations, enticing them to a nearby forest or other secluded area and killing them, usually by stabbing, slashing and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evisceration eviscerating] the victim with a knife; although some victims, in addition to receiving a multitude of knife wounds, were also strangled or battered to death.Many of the victims' bodies bore evidence of mutilation to the eye sockets. Pathologists concluded the injuries were caused by a knife, leading investigators to the conclusion the killer had gouged out the eyes of his victims.Chikatilo's adult female victims were often [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitute prostitutes] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness homeless] women who could be lured to secluded areas with promises of alcohol or money. Chikatilo would typically attempt intercourse with these victims, but he would usually be unable to achieve or maintain an erection which would send him into a murderous fury, particularly if the woman mocked his impotence. He would achieve orgasm only when he stabbed the victim to death. His child victims were of both sexes; Chikatilo would lure these victims to secluded areas using a variety of ruses, usually formed in the initial conversation with the victim,such as promising them assistance or company, the offer to show the victim a shortcut,a chance to view rare stamps, films or coins or with an offer of food or candy. He would usually overpower these victims once they were alone, tie their hands behind their backs with a length of rope, and then proceed to kill them.

Lyubov Biryuk, aged 13. Murdered 12 June 1982.Following Biryuk's murder, Chikatilo no longer attempted to resist his homicidal urges: between July and September 1982, he killed a further five victims between the ages of nine and nineteen. He established a pattern of approaching children, runaways and young vagrants at bus or railway stations, enticing them to a nearby forest or other secluded area and killing them, usually by stabbing, slashing and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evisceration eviscerating] the victim with a knife; although some victims, in addition to receiving a multitude of knife wounds, were also strangled or battered to death.Many of the victims' bodies bore evidence of mutilation to the eye sockets. Pathologists concluded the injuries were caused by a knife, leading investigators to the conclusion the killer had gouged out the eyes of his victims.Chikatilo's adult female victims were often [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitute prostitutes] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness homeless] women who could be lured to secluded areas with promises of alcohol or money. Chikatilo would typically attempt intercourse with these victims, but he would usually be unable to achieve or maintain an erection which would send him into a murderous fury, particularly if the woman mocked his impotence. He would achieve orgasm only when he stabbed the victim to death. His child victims were of both sexes; Chikatilo would lure these victims to secluded areas using a variety of ruses, usually formed in the initial conversation with the victim,such as promising them assistance or company, the offer to show the victim a shortcut,a chance to view rare stamps, films or coins or with an offer of food or candy. He would usually overpower these victims once they were alone, tie their hands behind their backs with a length of rope, and then proceed to kill them.

On 11 December 1982, Chikatilo encountered a 10-year-old girl named Olga Stalmachenok riding a bus to her parents' home in Novoshakhtinsk and persuaded the child to leave the bus with him. She was last seen by a fellow passenger being led firmly by the hand by a middle-aged man.Stalmachenok was lured to a cornfield on the outskirts of Novoshakhtinsk before she was killed. Chikatilo stabbed the girl in excess of 50 times around the head and body, ripped open her chest and excised her lower bowel and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uterus uterus].

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 ==The Murders==
-In September 1978, Chikatilo moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakhty Shakhty], a small [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_mining coal mining] town near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don], where he committed his first documented murder. On 22 December, Chikatilo lured a 9-year-old girl named Yelena Zakotnova to an old house which he had secretly purchased; he attempted to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape rape] her, but failed to achieve an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erection erection]. When the girl struggled, he choked her and stabbed her three times in the abdomen, ejaculating in the process of knifing the child. In an interview after his arrest, Chikatilo later recalled that after stabbing Yelena, the girl had ''"said something very hoarsely"'', whereupon he strangled her into unconsciousness before throwing her body into a nearby river. Her body was found two days later.
+In September 1978, Chikatilo moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakhty Shakhty], a small [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_mining coal mining] town near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don], where he committed his first documented murder. On 22 December, Chikatilo lured a 9-year-old girl named Yelena Zakotnova to an old house which he had secretly purchased; he attempted to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape rape] her, but [[wikipedia:Impotence|failed to achieve an erection.]] When the girl struggled, he choked her and stabbed her three times in the abdomen, ejaculating in the process of knifing the child. In an interview after his arrest, Chikatilo later recalled that after stabbing Yelena, the girl had ''"said something very hoarsely"'', whereupon he strangled her into unconsciousness before throwing her body into a nearby river. Her body was found two days later.
 Numerous pieces of evidence linked Chikatilo to the murder of Yelena Zakotnova: Spots of blood had been found in the snow near the house Chikatilo had purchased; neighbours had noted that Chikatilo had been present in the house on the evening of 22 December; Zakotnova's school rucksack had been found upon the opposite bank of the river at the end of the street (indicating the girl had been thrown into the river at this location) and a witness had given police a detailed description of a man closely resembling Chikatilo whom she had seen talking with Zakotnova at the bus stop where the girl had last been seen alive.Despite these facts, a 25-year-old named Aleksandr Kravchenko, who as a teenager, had served a prison sentence for the rape and murder of a teenage girl, was arrested for the crime and subsequently confessed to the killing. He was tried for the murder in 1979. At his trial, Kravchenko [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retract retracted] his confession and maintained his innocence, stating his confession had been obtained under extreme [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duress duress]. Despite his retraction, he was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment (the maximum possible length of imprisonment at that time). Under pressure from the victim's relatives, Kravchenko was retried and eventually executed for the murder of Yelena Zakotnova in July 1983. Following Zakotnova's murder, Chikatilo was able to achieve [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_arousal sexual arousal] and orgasm only through stabbing and slashing women and children to death, and he later claimed that the urge to relive the experience had overwhelmed him.
 Chikatilo committed his next murder in September 1981, when he tried to have sex with a 17-year-old [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_school boarding school] student named Larisa Tkachenko in a forest near the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_River_%28Russia%29 Don River]. When Chikatilo failed to achieve an erection, he became furious and battered and strangled her to death.As he had no knife, he [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutilation mutilated] her body with his teeth and a stick.On 12 June 1982, Chikatilo encountered a 13-year-old girl named Lyubov Biryuk walking home from a shopping trip in the village of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donskoi Donskoi]. Once the path both were taking together was shielded from the view of potential witnesses by bushes, Chikatilo pounced upon Biryuk, dragged her into nearby [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undergrowth undergrowth], tore off her dress and killed her by stabbing and slashing her to death.
-[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lyubov_Biryuk.jpg][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lyubov_Biryuk.jpg]Lyubov Biryuk, aged 13. Murdered 12 June 1982.Following Biryuk's murder, Chikatilo no longer attempted to resist his homicidal urges: between July and September 1982, he killed a further five victims between the ages of nine and nineteen. He established a pattern of approaching children, runaways and young vagrants at bus or railway stations, enticing them to a nearby forest or other secluded area and killing them, usually by stabbing, slashing and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evisceration eviscerating] the victim with a knife; although some victims, in addition to receiving a multitude of knife wounds, were also strangled or battered to death.Many of the victims' bodies bore evidence of mutilation to the eye sockets. Pathologists concluded the injuries were caused by a knife, leading investigators to the conclusion the killer had gouged out the eyes of his victims.Chikatilo's adult female victims were often [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitute prostitutes] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness homeless] women who could be lured to secluded areas with promises of alcohol or money. Chikatilo would typically attempt intercourse with these victims, but he would usually be unable to achieve or maintain an erection which would send him into a murderous fury, particularly if the woman mocked his impotence. He would achieve orgasm only when he stabbed the victim to death. His child victims were of both sexes; Chikatilo would lure these victims to secluded areas using a variety of ruses, usually formed in the initial conversation with the victim,such as promising them assistance or company, the offer to show the victim a shortcut,a chance to view rare stamps, films or coins or with an offer of food or candy. He would usually overpower these victims once they were alone, tie their hands behind their backs with a length of rope, and then proceed to kill them.
+Lyubov Biryuk, aged 13. Murdered 12 June 1982.Following Biryuk's murder, Chikatilo no longer attempted to resist his homicidal urges: between July and September 1982, he killed a further five victims between the ages of nine and nineteen. He established a pattern of approaching children, runaways and young vagrants at bus or railway stations, enticing them to a nearby forest or other secluded area and killing them, usually by stabbing, slashing and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evisceration eviscerating] the victim with a knife; although some victims, in addition to receiving a multitude of knife wounds, were also strangled or battered to death.Many of the victims' bodies bore evidence of mutilation to the eye sockets. Pathologists concluded the injuries were caused by a knife, leading investigators to the conclusion the killer had gouged out the eyes of his victims.Chikatilo's adult female victims were often [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitute prostitutes] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness homeless] women who could be lured to secluded areas with promises of alcohol or money. Chikatilo would typically attempt intercourse with these victims, but he would usually be unable to achieve or maintain an erection which would send him into a murderous fury, particularly if the woman mocked his impotence. He would achieve orgasm only when he stabbed the victim to death. His child victims were of both sexes; Chikatilo would lure these victims to secluded areas using a variety of ruses, usually formed in the initial conversation with the victim,such as promising them assistance or company, the offer to show the victim a shortcut,a chance to view rare stamps, films or coins or with an offer of food or candy. He would usually overpower these victims once they were alone, tie their hands behind their backs with a length of rope, and then proceed to kill them.
 On 11 December 1982, Chikatilo encountered a 10-year-old girl named Olga Stalmachenok riding a bus to her parents' home in Novoshakhtinsk and persuaded the child to leave the bus with him. She was last seen by a fellow passenger being led firmly by the hand by a middle-aged man.Stalmachenok was lured to a cornfield on the outskirts of Novoshakhtinsk before she was killed. Chikatilo stabbed the girl in excess of 50 times around the head and body, ripped open her chest and excised her lower bowel and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uterus uterus].