Mikhail Popkov | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov 7 March 1964 |
| Other names | The Werewolf The Angarsk Maniac The Wednesday Murderer |
| Motive | Hatred of prostitutes Misogyny Sexual sadism |
| Conviction(s) | Aggravated murder (x78) Attempted aggravated murder (x2) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 83 convictions; 86 confessed[1] |
Span of crimes | 1992 – 2010 (confirmed) 1992 – 2012 (possible) |
| Country | Russia |
| 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]
- ^ Russian serial killer convicted of 56 more murdersThe Guardian
- ^ "Mikhail Popkov. Biography". 24SMI.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Siberian Court Hands Additional 10 Years To Russia's Most-Prolific Serial Killer". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
- ^ "'Werewolf' killer Mikhail Popkov convicted of 56 more murders". Sky News. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Mikhail Popkov: Russian ex-cop jailed for 56 more murders". BBC News. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Russian serial killer convicted of 56 more murders". TheGuardian.com. 10 December 2018.