Suspected Serial Killer Arrested in Moscow


	// 29.06.2006 // 17:42 // Suspected Serial Killer Arrested in Moscow Russian authorities say they have arrested a man suspected of no less than 61 killings. The police announced that he was detained Sunday on suspicion of killing a woman in Bittsevsky Park in southern Moscow on June 14. During the massive manhunt, the police employed the latest technical means including Interior Ministry aviation, the authorities said. Although the suspect, 32-year old Alexander Pichushkin, has reportedly confessed to 61 murders throughout Moscow, claiming to be the notorious "Bittsevsky Park Maniac," the City Prosecutor's Office doubted whether the suspect was in fact responsible for these crimes. The police, however, voiced hope that one of the most horrendous serial killers, who plagued Moscow for nearly a decade, had finally been apprehended. Trail of Blood Killings in Moscow's vast Bittsevsky Park occurred sporadically since 2000. However, the latest streak dates back to last October, when an elderly man was discovered, killed by a blow to the head. Other bodies followed. The killer developed a well-established pattern: until the last one, his victims were all men aged between 50 and 70, killed by a blow to the back of the head with a heavy object. Most of the victims were poor elderly men or homeless people. The police, determined to catch the killer, assigned plainclothes officers to patrol the park. On February 19, 2006, one such patrol attempted to check the ID of a suspicious man who tried to run and then turned on the policemen with a knife. Shot in the leg, the man later claimed he mistook the plainclothes policemen for robbers. The suspect was therefore released. The suspect was therefore released. Recent murders in the park included that of two men on June 4 and April 21, and a woman on April 13. Three pensioners were killed and six people attacked in the park in December and January. As the victims were all male, some psychologists speculated that "the maniac" may in fact be a woman with a grudge against men. In March, another ID check led to the detention of a man who was dressed as a woman and had a hammer in his bag. However, the suspicious transvestite had an alibi for all the murders and was released. The last victim, a woman, was discovered June 14, prior to the arrest of the suspect. Although the police have yet to disclose the details of the arrest, they say that the killer had invited the woman, a co-worker of his, for a walk in the park, where he struck her down with a hammer. But the victim left a note to her son with the suspect's cell phone number. All other victims were chosen randomly. Upon meeting a victim, the killer would make small talk, then suggest a drink in the park before striking a blow to the victim's head when his guard was down. The "Mad Chess Player" During interrogations, Pichushkin described in great detail his manhunt and admited that he was "aroused" by splitting sculls, the Zhizn tabloid reported. After the appearance of the latest police sketch of the suspected killer, Pichushkin changed his appearance. Pichushkin, who has already been nicknamed "Mad Chess Player", said he had initially planned to commit 64 murders, one for each space on the chessboard. He also said there were three checks vacant, thus admitting to have killed 61. However, the police have found only 14 bodies in Bittsevsky Park, and the investigators doubt the detainee's testimony, since he cannot remember where he had hid the other corpses. "This case will likely turn out to be even bigger than that of the celebrated maniac Chikatilo," a police spokesman said. Andrei Chikatilo, who killed 53 teenagers and children in southern Russia, was condemned to death and executed in 1994. By Oleg Liakhovich The Moscow News