Moscow’s ‘Chessboard Killer’ Convicted in 48 Murders

MOSCOW — A Russian serial killer, who drank vodka with his victims before bludgeoning them to death, was convicted of 48 counts of murder yesterday.At the end of a six-week trial that shocked the nation, Alexander Pichushkin, a supermarket porter known as the “Chessboard Killer,” sat emotionless while a juror read out each guilty verdict.Mr. Pichushkin, who is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison, never denied the murders but refused to enter a plea. For him, psychiatrists say, the real punishment is being denied the title of Russia’s most prolific serial killer.At the start of his trial, the 33-year-old complained about being charged with only 48 murders. He claims he has killed 63 times — 13 more than Andrei Chikatilo, the “Rostov Ripper” convicted in 1992.The morbid fascination Russians have for Mr. Pichushkin began last year when his confession was broadcast on television. In it, he said: “Life without murder is like life without food.”Mr. Pichushkin got his first taste for killing in 1992 when, at age 18, he strangled a school friend. He told the jury: “A first killing is like your first love. You never forget it.”The murders stopped for 13 years before Mr. Pichushkin embarked on a killing spree in Bitsevsky Park in Moscow.Most of his victims were alcoholics he befriended outside a subway station.He would share a bottle of vodka with them before luring them to a remote corner of the park. He threw some victims into sewage pits and strangled others, but most were dispatched by frenzied hammer blows to the head. After his “work” was finished, he would return to his apartment and record the murder by placing a coin on a chessboard. Police found 63 of the 64 squares had been filled in.Investigators, however, found only 48 bodies.Mr. Pichushkin maintained a perfect cover of normality at home, with neighbors describing him as quiet, gentle, and fond of animals.He was eventually arrested after killing a female colleague who had left a message with friends saying she had gone for a walk with him.The killer said he was aware of the message and the risk of being caught but couldn’t stop himself because “the mood was on him.” Like his first victim, his last was a close friend.

Moscow’s ‘Chessboard Killer’ Convicted in 48 Murders

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