The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs

"What, he's still alive?"
"He's still moving his arms after I ripped up his intestines."
-Suprunyuk and Sayenko in the video of Sergei Yatzenko's murder

Viktor Sayenko, Igor Suprunyuk, and Alexander Hanzha, collectively known as "The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs", were a pack of Ukrainian thrill killers who brutally killed dozens of people during a murder spree that lasted nearly four weeks. While Hanzha never directly participated in the murders, he is considered a part of the group as he was aware of the criminal activities.

History

Sayenko, Suprunyuk, and Hanzha were all born in 1988 to wealthy, influential parents and attended school together. The three individuals had several phobias, which they dealt with by doing strange activities, such as standing on a balcony of their apartment, hanging over the railing to combat their fear of heights. Hanzha had blood phobia, which Suprunyuk suggested tackling by actually torturing and killing stray dogs. The three then proceeded to do so and taking pictures of them standing beside the corpses. The boys were also apparently enthusiasts over the Nazi cause.

After graduating high school, Sayenko and Hanzha went to their respective jobs, while Suprunyuk, officially being unemployed, became an unlicensed taxi driver. The three took up robbing Suprunyuk's passengers, some of whom were reported to later wind up as their victims. On March 1, 2007, Hanzha committed two armed robberies that he would end charged for. Eventually, Sayenko and Suprunyuk apparently lost interest in robbing and decided to take it to the next step, murdering random people for the sheer thrill of it. On July 25, 2007, with Ekaterina Ilchenko and Roman Tatarevich, Sayenko and Suprunyuk initiated their killing spree, randomly picking pedestrians and then bludgeoning them with blunt objects, such as hammers and steel construction bars, and recording some of the murders. Several victims were also robbed of their possessions.

Multiple bodies would be found in one day, usually two. Additionally, some victims weren't killed in Dnepropetrovsk, but towns located in the surrounding areas. Their spree came to public attention after a survivor, fourteen-year-old Vadim Lyakhov, immediately ran to the police after his friend was murdered by them, and also when a victim, Natalia Mamarchuk, was beaten to death in front of many witnesses. The investigation was kept secret at first, but eventually, sketches were distributed and the victims' stolen possessions were listed to local pawn shops. The three were arrested a week after the spree ended, when Suprunyuk tried selling a mobile phone belonging to one of his victims. The phone had to be turned on to ensure it worked, allowing law enforcement agents to find it and trace its location, leading to the arrests of Sayenko and Suprunyuk.

Meanwhile, authorities invaded Hanzha's home and arrested him, but not before he managed to erase the information on numerous stolen mobile phones he attempted to flush down the toilet. Sayenko, Suprunyuk, and Hanzha were all charged for numerous instances of premeditated murder (excluding Hanzha), animal cruelty, robbery, and armed robbery. All three immediately made confessions, though Suprunyuk would go on to withdraw his. Eventually, all three men were found guilty to all of their respective charges. Sayenko and Suprunyuk were both sentenced to life imprisonment, while Hanzha was sentenced to nine years in prison, the brief sentence being because Hanzha never participated in the murders. Sayenko and Suprunyuk's ghastly videos of their murders received a large amount of attention. One of the videos managed to find its way into the Internet on December 4, 2008; it is a recording of the brutal murder of Sergei Yatzenko, who was killed on July 27, 2007. The leaking of the video received criticism, but it was later admitted that control over videos posted on the Internet was "virtually impossible".

Modus Operandi

Sayenko and Suprunyuk killed their victims by savagely bludgeoning them with blunt objects like hammers and steel construction rods. They often aimed for the faces, beating them so badly that the victims would be almost unrecognizable. Some of the victims were also subjugated to torture and mutilation, the latter of which included the gouging out of eyes, and some were also robbed of their possessions, which Sayenko and Suprunyuk would later sell at pawn shops.

The Academy Maniacs

Artyom Anoufriev and Nikita Lytkin were inspired by the maniacs to commit a killing spree of their own. Nicknamed "The Academy Maniacs", they killed six people and attempted to kill nine others during a five-month span in 2010 and 2011 in Irkutsk, Russia. On April 2, 2013, Anoufriev was sentenced to life in prison, while Lytkin was sentenced to 24 years, for the murders.

Known Victims

Sergei Yatzenko — Lyudmila Yatzenko holds a photo of her husband Sergei.

Unspecified date and location in 2005: Unnamed boy (beaten by Suprunyuck and his bike stolen; survived)
Unspecified dates and locations from 2005 to 2007: Numerous unnamed victims (all robbed only)
2007:
- March 1, unspecified locations: Two unspecified armed robberies (committed by Hanzha at Dniprodzerzhynsk)
- June-July: 21 killed, plus eight survivors, in the killing spree. Known victims are:
  - June 25, Dnepropetrovsk:
    - Ekaterina Ilchenko, 33 (bludgeoned with a hammer by Suprunyuck)
    - Roman Tatarevich (his head was smashed with blunt objects)
  - July 1, Novomoskovsk:
    - Evgeniya Grischenko
    - Nikolai Serchuk
  - July 6, Dnepropetrovsk:
    - Egor Nechvoloda
    - Elena Shram, 28 (bludgeoned eight times with a hammer by Suprunyuck)
    - Valentina Hanzha^[1]
  - July 7, Podgorodnoye:
    - Andrei Sidyuck, 14 (killed)
    - Vadim Lyakhov, 14 (attempted; he escaped)
  - July 12, Dnepropetrovsk: Sergei Yatzenko, 48 (struck repeatedly in the face with a hammer and stabbed in the eye and abdomen with a screwdriver)
  - July 14, Dnepropetrovsk: Natalia Mamarchuk, 45 (bludgeoned her with a hammer or a pipe while riding her scooter)
  - Unspecified dates and locations:
    - Unnamed woman (was pregnant; the fetus was ripped from her womb)
    - Lidia Mikrenischeva (survived)

On Criminal Minds

While the Dnepropetrovsk maniacs haven't been mentioned or referenced in Criminal Minds, they appear to be the direct inspiration behind Turner's Group. Both were killing packs consisting of three members (although all three members of Turner's Group participated in their killings, while only two out of the three Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs committed their spree), killed for the fun of it, recorded some of their murders, and killed their victims by savagely bludgeoning them with blunt objects, sometimes even up to the point where their victims were left unrecognizable. Sayenko and Suprunyuk's habit of robbing several of their victims and selling the items is also similar to how Ben Foster would rob some of his victims and sell the belongings. However, Ben sold the items for money for his medication, while Sayenko and Suprunyuk presumably sold them just for additional thrills. Additionally, it was originally thought that Ben's murders, all of which were extremely violent and random, and involved savage bludgeoning, were committed by a group of thrill killers, instead of just one severely psychotic individual.

Sources

References

↑ Valentina has no relation to Alexander Hanzha

[1] Valentina has no relation to Alexander Hanzha

[1]