Andrei Chikatilo - Citizen X
Andrei Chikatilo, one of the world's worst serial killers, murdered up to 53 young girls and boys in Russia starting in 1982 and ending in 1990, when he was captured.
Lyubov Biryuk was his first victim. She was murdered on June 1982 on her way to the market. Her body was found later that year in october, it contained a numerous amount of stab wounds, most to the breasts and she was also stabbed in the eye sockets.
The Russian investigation teams technology was archaic in nature, so it made it more difficult to catch killers. They didn’t publicise the kills, fearing panic and embarrassment. The men in charge of the investigation were Viktor Burakov and Colonel Fetisov.
Three more victims were found stabbed many times and they also had knife wounds in the eye sockets.
Burakov and Fetisov, meanwhile were linking the cases showing that the killer started with girls, but added young boys to his list of victims. Burakov and Fetisov thought that the killer lured his victims at the train station in town. The stations were then monitored by plain-clothes detectives, looking for any suspicious behaviour or anyone talking to young boys or girls.
The killer began mutilating the genitals of his victims. On girls he would gouge the breasts, and destroy the vagina, uterus and bladder or abdomen. On boys, he would mutilate the penis, scrotum and anus.
Chikatilo was discovered in the train station trying to pick up children. Plain-clothes detectives picked him up and took him to the police station. In searching his bag they found vaseline, rope, dirty towels and a kitchen knife. His blood was typed, and it revealed that he had A blood. The killer was determined to have AB blood, from tests done on semen samples found on the victims. Chikatilo was then released.
A profile of the killer was done by Dr. Bukhanovsky, a leading Russian psychologist. He called the killer Citizen X and concluded that X was not a homosexual and possibly had a wife and children. He called the killer a sadist, and by mutilating his victims was some form of dominance.
Years later Burakov remembered Andrei Chikatilo, and how he was their main suspect. Burakov contacted Chikatilos work boss and found out he was off on the days of the murders. Andrei was searched and there was a cut on his finger, and his genitals had abrasions on them. Andrei denied to how it happened, but when his bag was searched his kitchen knife was found.
Bukhanovsky questioned Chikatilo and he confessed to the murders. Chikatilo told how he got sexual gratification from murdering and mutilation, and he also told of cannibalism. Chikatilo admitted to at least 53 murders and also led police to some undiscovered victims.
The reason for the blood type discrepancy still hasn’t been found out. Some say it was a rare blood disorder, where the blood and semen have different types.
Chikatilos reasons for gouging at his victims eyes was that he believed that the victims eyes kept an image of the killer in them after death.
Chikatilo was found legally sane and sentenced to die for the 53 deaths. He was executed by a gunshot to the head in 1994.
