Mikhail Popkov

Mikhail Popkov
Born
Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov

(1964-03-07) 7 March 1964 (age 60)
Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russian SFSR, USSR[2]
Other namesThe Werewolf
The Angarsk Maniac
The Wednesday Murderer
MotiveHatred of prostitutes
Misogyny
Sexual sadism
Conviction(s)Aggravated murder (x78)
Attempted aggravated murder (x2)
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment
Details
Victims83 convictions; 86 confessed[1]
Span of crimes
1992 – 2010 (confirmed)
1992 – 2012 (possible)
CountryRussia
State(s)Irkutsk Oblast
Primorsky Krai
Date apprehended
June 23, 2012

Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov (Russian: Михаи́л Ви́кторович Попко́в; born 7 March 1964) is a Russian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile who committed the sexual assault and murder of eighty-three girls and women between 1992 and 2010 in Angarsk, Irkutsk, in Siberia, and Vladivostok in Far East, although he has confessed to and is suspected of at least eighty-six in total. He is known as "the Werewolf" and "the Angarsk Maniac" for the particularly brutal nature of his crimes; he would extensively mutilate the bodies of his victims and perform sexual acts on them. Popkov was also known as "the Wednesday Murderer"[3] due to bodies of his victims usually being found on Wednesdays. He is the single most prolific serial killer in Russian history.[3][4]

Popkov, a former police officer and security guard, was convicted of 22 murders in 2015 and sentenced to life imprisonment, and confessed to an additional 59 three years later; on December 10, 2018, he was convicted for 56 of the 59 additional killings, three of which the police could not find sufficient evidence with which to be proven, and given a second life sentence.[5][6] There were calls for Popkov to be executed, but this was unavailable as capital punishment in Russia is subject to a formal moratorium.[7]

  1. ^ Russian serial killer convicted of 56 more murdersThe Guardian
  2. ^ "Mikhail Popkov. Biography". 24SMI.
  3. ^ a b Brown, Richard, ed. (2022). The World's Most Evil Serial Killers: Crimes that Shocked the World. Sirius Publishing. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-3988-0737-2.
  4. ^ "Siberian Court Hands Additional 10 Years To Russia's Most-Prolific Serial Killer". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  5. ^ "'Werewolf' killer Mikhail Popkov convicted of 56 more murders". Sky News. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Mikhail Popkov: Russian ex-cop jailed for 56 more murders". BBC News. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Russian serial killer convicted of 56 more murders". TheGuardian.com. 10 December 2018.