A notorious Russian serial killer, Alexander Pichushkin, has indicated he is ready to confess to 11 additional murders. Currently serving a life sentence for the killings of 48 people, Pichushkin has been in prison since his conviction in 2007. He is now 50 years old and has been incarcerated in a remote Arctic facility known as the Polar Owl prison.
Pichushkin’s crime spree spanned from 1992 to 2006, primarily targeting vulnerable individuals such as the homeless, alcoholics, and the elderly in Moscow’s Bitsevsky Park. His chilling moniker, the "chessboard killer," comes from his claim that he aimed to place a coin on each square of a chessboard for every victim he claimed.
During his original trial, Pichushkin boasted that he had killed 63 people, but he was formally charged with 48 murders and three attempted murders. Over the years, there have been suspicions that his actual victim count could be higher. Recently, he communicated to investigators that he is willing to admit to 11 more killings of both men and women, as reported by Russia’s prison service.
If these additional confessions lead to new charges and convictions, Pichushkin could become Russia’s second most prolific serial killer, following Mikhail Popkov, who was convicted of 78 murders. This latest development raises questions about the extent of Pichushkin’s crimes and the impact on the families of his victims.