Radik Tagirovich Tagirov (Russian: Радик Тагирович Тагиров, Tatar: Радик Таһир Улы Таһиров; born May 1982[1]), dubbed the Volga Maniac, is a Russian serial killer[2][3] who murdered 31 elderly women in and around the republic of Tatarstan between 2011 and 2012. In March 2024, he was sentenced to life in prison.[4]
Radik Tagirov | |
|---|---|
Радик Тагиров | |
| Born | May 1982 (age 42) |
| Other names | "The Volga Maniac" |
| Motive | Robbery |
| Conviction(s) | Murder x31 Attempted murder x3 Assault x34 |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 31 |
Span of crimes | 2011–2012 |
| Country | Russia |
| State(s) | Tatarstan, Ulyanovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Udmurtia, Perm, Samara, Bashkortostan |
Date apprehended | December 1, 2020 |
Early life
editRadik Tagirov was born in the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which later became the Russian republic known as Tatarstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After reaching adulthood, Tagirov pursued a locksmithing career in Tatarstan's capital city of Kazan. In 2009, after being convicted on petty theft charges, he spent the next four years as a vagrant who wandered from place to place looking for means to survive on the street.[2][4]
Murders
editFrom March 2011 to September 2012, a series of similar murders of elderly women occurred in the Volga and Ural federal districts. All victims were single women aged 75 to 90 years old, each living in a khrushchevka. According to investigators, Tagirov entered the apartments while pretending to be an employee of a utility company[2] or the social service. All victims were strangled with improvised items (for example, a bathroom robe belt) or his own hands. After the murders, Tagirov would steal money and valuables from the apartment.[2]
The first nine murders took place in Kazan. One of the victims survived, but, being blind, she could not describe her attacker.[2] Similar murders took place in Ulyanovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Izhevsk, Perm (two in April 2012) and Samara (two in April–May 2012). By August 1, 2012, there were eighteen murders.[5] Between September 25 and 27, 2012, the last three murders were committed in Ufa.[6] The total number of murders was originally suspected to be 32.[7]
On September 26, 2012, the alleged perpetrator was captured on a CCTV camera at the entrance of one of the victims' homes. Following this, a facial composite was created.[8]
Investigation
editIn 2013, a reward of 1 million rubles was promised in return for information beneficial to the investigation. In the same year, a theory was put forward that the killer was hiding in Sakhalin Oblast.[9]
On February 6, 2017, the Deputy Head of the Main Criminalistics Directorate of the Criminal Investigation Service of the Russian Federation, Ivan Streltsov, told reporters that the investigators had reason to believe that the person being sought was a resident of Udmurtia.[10]
On March 28, 2017, a 37-year-old Kazakh native was arrested in Samara on suspicion of involvement in the murders, as he had killed two elderly women there on March 25 and 27, 2017.[11][12][13]
On May 25, 2017, investigators suggested that the offender was a native of Tatarstan and studied in one of Kazan's schools.[14]
Arrest, trial and imprisonment
editOn December 1, 2020, Tagirov was detained and confessed to at least 25 of the murders. DNA evidence and shoe prints were used to identify him as the murderer. He claimed to have killed the victims "painlessly" in order to survive on the streets.[2][15] He later recanted his confession, claiming that he slandered himself under stress.[16]
Tagirov's trial began in October 2022. On March 21, 2024, he was sentenced to life in prison for 31 murders, several attempted murders, and 34 assaults.[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "«Поволжский маньяк» Радик Тагиров: кровавый след на карте России" (in Russian). www.inkazan.ru. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Russia detains suspected serial killer dubbed the "Volga maniac"". www.cbsnews.com. December 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ "Russian man confesses to killing more than 25 women, investigators say". the Guardian. 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ a b "Volga Maniac serial killer who posed as plumber jailed for murdering 31 elderly women". The Independent. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ "В Поволжье и на Урале ищут маньяка, убивающего пенсионерок: 18 жертв". NEWSru.com. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Жертвами приволжского маньяка-душителя стали уже более 30 старушек". NEWSru.com. 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "В Приволжье разыскивают маньяка, жестоко убившего 32 пенсионерки". TOPNews.RU. 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Серийный убийца пенсионерок попал на видео в Казани". Новости Татарстана и Казани. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ ""Приволжского маньяка", убившего больше 30 старушек, ищут на Сахалине за 1 миллион рублей". NEWSru.com. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Маньяк, убивший несколько десятков пенсионерок в ряде регионов России, может быть из Удмуртии - СКР". Interfax-Russia.ru. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "В Самаре поймали маньяка, убивавшего пенсионерок". Комсомольская правда. 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Пойманный в Самаре возможный "Поволжский маньяк" разыскивался за убийство в другом городе". ПРО город Самара. 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Предполагаемый "Поволжский маньяк" остается пока под арестом". КТВ-ЛУЧ. 2017-06-04. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Учителей Татарстана призвали искать маньяка среди своих выпускников". Вечерняя Казань. 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- ^ "Russian man confesses to killing more than 25 women, investigators say". TheGuardian.com. December 2020.
- ^ "Тихий душитель. Что мешало поймать убившего 30 женщин "поволжского маньяка"". RIA Novosti. March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ "'Volga Maniac' gets life sentence for killing 31 Russian women". Reuters. Retrieved 22 March 2024.