Russia's 'chessboard killer' ready to confess to 11 more murders, penal service says
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Alexander Pichushkin, a Russian serial killer jailed for life in 2007 for killing 48 people, has said he is ready to confess to 11 more murders, Russia's penal service said on Saturday.
Pichushkin, now 50 years old, targeted his victims, often homeless people, alcoholics and the elderly, around Bitsevsky Park, a large green place in southern Moscow. His killings lasted from 1992 to 2006.
He was nicknamed "the chessboard killer" by the Russian media because he told detectives in a confession that he had hoped to put a coin on every square of a 64-square chessboard for each of his victims.
Pichushkin has been held at the Polar Owl prison, in Russia's remote Arctic north, since being sentenced.
In a statement published on the Telegram messenger app on Saturday, Russia's penal service said that Pichushkin had told investigators he was ready to confess to 11 more murders of men and women.
Pichushkin has long been suspected of additional murders to those for which he was convicted.
He claimed during his trial to have killed 63 people, but prosecutors only charged him with 48 murders and three attempted murders.
If convicted of the additional murders, it would make Pichushkin Russia's second most prolific serial killer on record, behind Mikhail Popkov, a former policeman convicted of 78 murders.
(Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Taiwan jails Chinese ship captain for damaging undersea cables
TAIPEI (Reuters) -A Taiwanese court sentenced the Chinese captain of a ship to three years in jail on Thursday after finding him guilty of intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, in a case that alarmed Taiwan officials. Prosecutors said the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, damaging it. The court in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said the ship's Chinese captain, whom they identified only by his family name, Wang, was guilty of damaging the cables, though added he had denied the crime and that he can appeal. Wang admitted that he told the crew to drop anchor, but denied that he was guilty of damaging the cables, and that he was merely negligent in his duties, the court said in a statement. The court found that the captain had allowed the cargo ship to "wander", and that the cables broke due to the pulling of the anchor, it added. Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom suffered losses of more than T$17 million ($576,564) in repair costs, the court said. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Reuters was not able to locate a contact for a representative of Wang. China has previously accused Taiwan of "manipulating" possible Chinese involvement in the case, saying it was casting aspersions before the facts were clear. Seven other crew members of the ship have already been deported after prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence against them. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, compared with three each in 2024 and 2023, according to its digital ministry. ($1 = 29.4850 Taiwan dollars)
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Russian 7 June strike on Kharkiv: death toll rises to four
Emergency workers in Kharkiv have discovered the body of a fourth person killed in the Russian strike on the city on 7 June under the rubble. Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Telegram Quote: "Kharkiv: emergency workers found the body of a fourth person while clearing rubble at a civilian facility in Kharkiv's Kyivskyi district. Efforts are currently underway to recover the body." Aftermath of the Russian attack on Kharkiv Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine Details: Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Aftermath of the Russian attack on Kharkiv Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine "There is a possibility that people are still trapped under the rubble," the State Emergency Service reported. Background: At around 17:35 on 7 June, Russia used four guided aerial bombs to attack the Shevchenkivskyi and Kyivskyi districts of Kharkiv. A 30-year-old woman who worked for Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) was killed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that more than 40 people had been injured. Late on 7 June, Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, reported that a 62-year-old man had died in hospital from injuries caused by the strike, and two more people were in an extremely serious condition. It later became known that a children's railway instructor, Volodymyr Kovtun, had died from his injuries. On 11 June, the body of a third person was found under the rubble of a facility. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Russia used Grad rocket artillery in deadly Sumy attack on 3 June
Russian forces used a 122 mm BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system, with a range of up to 40 km, to strike the city of Sumy on 3 June. Source: Ukrainska Pravda article: Are you advancing on Tyotkino? We're tripping over the same mistake: What's happening in Sumy as Russian forces push forward (English translation coming soon) Details: On the morning of 3 June, Russian forces attacked cars at traffic lights in central Sumy, killing three people. Three others – a 17-year-old, an 86-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man – died in hospital. The man's 7-year-old daughter, Masha, was transferred to Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv with shrapnel in her lungs. Local media, Sumy Oblast Military Administration and later President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially reported that the Russians likely fired on the city with long-range rocket artillery. On social media, Sumy residents and journalists speculated it could have been a Russian Tornado MLRS, with a range of 120 km, suggesting no new threat to the city had emerged and urging calm. However, Ukrainska Pravda reports this is likely incorrect. Our sources in a law enforcement agency, later confirmed by the Office of the Prosecutor General, indicate the attack involved a BM-21 Grad, with a range of 20-40 kilometres. Russian forces used 122 mm extended-range 9M521 rockets in the city centre. These highly-explosive fragmentation rockets are designed for use against infantry, unarmoured, or lightly armoured vehicles. Fired from Grad or the upgraded Tornado-G systems, a single salvo can launch up to 40 rockets, each containing around 1,000 fragments. The maximum range is 40 km. BM-21 Grad MLRS Stock photo: Russian webpages Sources in law enforcement told Ukrainska Pravda that the Grad strike had been launched from Russian territory, confirming no heavy equipment, artillery, or MLRS is present in Russian-occupied villages in Sumy Oblast. Measuring 30-40 kilometres from the strike point in Sumy, the Grad system was likely positioned in Russian villages such as Sinyak, Kulbaki, or Novoivanovka to the north, or Guevo or Gornali to the east. Where could the Russian BM-21 Grad that attacked Sumy on 3 June 2025 have been located? Source: Ukrainska Pravda; DeepStateMap, an interactive map of hostilities in Ukraine Quote: "What are we saying here? The Russians managed to position a Grad system near the border and open fire, while Ukrainian units failed to detect or neutralise it. This represents a new level of risk for Sumy." More details: Nevertheless, the rocket artillery strikes on Sumy have not yet become widespread, suggesting the 3 June attack may have been an attempt to intimidate civilians and pressure Ukraine into negotiation compromises. The implication appears to be: "We're hitting Sumy with MLRS; you risk losing more if you don't meet our terms." However, even Russia's most severe attacks on Sumy, Kyiv, or other cities have not shifted Ukraine's resolve. They only strengthen Ukrainians' determination to defend their cities. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
