Andrei Chikatilo- the Rostov

Ripper

By Jennifer Carr

What makes a Serial Killer?

O Unusual motivation for acts that differ from the rest of society

O Abusive childhoodO Sexual/physical inadequaciesO Personality that is either very introverted

or very demandingO Often very well educated with a high IQ O Many times do not think what they’re

doing is “evil”O They may know it’s wrong, but they keep

doing it anyway

FamilyO Father drafted to serve against the Germans in

WWII (Roman), then was branded a traitor by their neighbors after being released by the American forces

O Mother a controlling, demining shrew (Anna)O Older brother Stepan who was apparently

kidnapped and cannibalized by starving neighbors when he was 10 during one of the many famines when Stalin started the crop seizures and redistributions (no record of Stepan or his death actual exists)

O Younger sister Tatyana

Early lifeO Born on October 16, 1936 in UkraineO Was born with a misshapen head due

to water buildup in his brainO Due to an illness he contracted in

childhood, Andrei suffered from chronic bedwetting, for which his mother would berate and abuse him forO The disease also made him impotent,

though he was able to sire 2 children

PersonalityO Extremely introverted

O Instead of gaining social connections with other people, he would descend into violent and sexual fantasies

O Was teased extensively about his impotency

O Was a very smart, if shy person

SchoolingO Applied to Moscow State University in 1953

O Passed the entrance exam but his school history was not good enough to gain him admission

O Performed his compulsory military service from 1957-1960

O Became a teacher of Russian Literature with a degree and taught at several schools until he was accused of molesting several students of both genders

Marriage and childrenO Married a woman introduced to him by

his younger sisterO He was unable to perform normal

intercourseO Would ejaculate outside and push the

sperm in manuallyO By this method he sired two children

O Ludmila, in 1965O Yuri, in 1969

O His wife would also berate him on his impotency, just like his mother

First signs of the Killer to be

O Andrei first ejaculated was at 17O Happened while chasing down one of his

sister’s 11 year old friends during a gameO After he tackled her and she was fighting

underneath him, the violence gave him a weak ejaculation, but with no erection

O From then on, he associated violence with sexual pleasure

O Derived pleasure form watching the bombing on his town from the war and the devastation it caused

First KillO Yelena Zakonova- 22 December, 1978

O 9 years oldO Had secretly rented out a shack near Rostov-

on-DonO Attempted to rape her, but when he could not

get an erection, he proceeded to choke and stab her

O It was during the stabbing that he managed to ejaculate, but again, with no arousal or erection

O Dumped her body into a nearby riverO Would go on to kill between 53-70 victims

Notable Murders, in order

O Yelena Zakonova-9 (F) December 22, 1978O First Murder

O Oleg Pozhidayev-9 (M) August 13, 1982O First ever male victimO Body was never recovered

O Laura Sarkisyan-15 (F)O While no direct date of death was clearly

determined, Russian authorities could tell she’d been killed sometime after June 18, 1983

O Her body was never found

Notable Murders (cont.)

O Unknown Female victim (18-25 years old) Summer 1983O Was most likely a prostitute who thought

Chikatilo was a potential clientO Natalya Shalapinina-19 (F) January 19,

1984O Friend of the 9th victim, Olga Kuprina

O Marta Ryabenko-45 (F) February 21, 1984O Chikatilo’s oldest victim

Notable Murders (cont.)

O Tatyana Petrosyan-32 (F) and Svetlana Petrosyan-11 (F); Mother and daughterO Killed May 25, 1984O First time two murders were committed at the

same time or of two relativesO Unknown woman (20-25 years old)

O Was killed sometime between 8th-11th of August, 1984

O Irina Gulyayeva-18 (F) August 27, 1985O Body was found day after Chikatilo murdered

herO Fastest any of the victims had ever been found

Notable Murders (cont.)

O Yuri Tereshonok-16 (M) September 15, 1987O Was one of the bodies Chikatilo himself led

the authorities to after his arrestO Unknown woman (18-25 years old)

O Was killed sometime between 1st-4th of April, 1988

O Yevgeniy Muratov-15 (M) July 14, 1988O First victim to be killed near Rostov since

1985O Tatyana Ryzhova-16 (F) March 8, 1989

O Killed in Chikatilo’s daughter’s apartment

Notable Murders (cont.)

O Aleksandr Dyakonov-8 (M) May 11, 1989O Killed one day after his 8th birthday

O Aleksey Moiseyev-10 (M) June 10, 1989O Second victim that Chikatilo lead authorities to

after his arrestO Aleksey Khobotov-10 (M) August 28, 1989

O Third victim that Chikatilo lead authorities to after his arrest

O Viktor Tishchenko-16 (M) October 30, 1990O Was the victim who wounded Chikatilo, helping

to arrest and convict himO Svetlana Korostik-22 (F) November 6th, 1990

O Chikatilo’s last victim

Common FactorsO Most Victims femaleO All but a few were under 25 years oldO Common injuries:

O Raped/StabbedO Eyes cut/gouged out

O He was extremely superstitious and believed that the victim’s eyes would retain his image after death

O Genitals/breast/tongues of victims removedO Semen usually left at scene on or near

victimsO This was before DNA testing, so guilty

individuals could not be determined easily

Media AttentionO While most serial killers thrive on media

attention, Chikatilo did notO Every time the police released information

on the crimes, he would go into a hibernation period until:O He thought it was safeO He couldn’t control his violent sexual urges

any longer

O A movie was made about Chikatilo called Citizen XO This was a play off the codename the police

called him (Suspect X)

ArrestO Chikatilo almost caught 1 time beforeO After he was finally caught as the real

perpetratorO It took so long originally because torture

was still an acceptable means of confession in the USSR at the time, so many false confessions were given

O Finally revealed everything to the psychiatrist assisting the police in profiling the killer, Alexandr Bukhanovsky

Trial and deathO Chikatilo determined to be sane enough to stand

trialO He was placed inside a cage to prevent the

families of the victims from killing himO Several time over the proceedings, he would drop

his trouser and reveal his genitals whenever someone in the crowd would accuse him of being homosexual

O He was found guilty of 53 if the 56 counts of murderO The only reason 3 didn’t count is because they

couldn’t find the bodiesO Was killed by a single bullet behind the right ear in

a soundproof room on Valentine’s Day, 1994

PsychopathO Was Andrei Chikatilo a psychopath?

O Had little remorse over the murdersO Did not see these acts as particularly evilO Did not target one specific group or ethnic

race for the murdersO Technically… yesO Was he evil?

O Because he felt no remorse for what he had done, and the murders were not committed for some higher goal (such as religion or ethnic cleansing), then yes I consider him evil

MotivesO Needed the feel of sexual powerO Whenever he would, he would go after

street girls and female runawaysO Boys were a last resort if he could not

lure away any womenO Preferred children, since they were free

of prejudice and would not “judge” him for what he did to them

O Would occasionally remove and keep the genitals, tongues or breasts of his victims as reminders