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Biography[]
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Early life[]
Artyom Varushkin was born on August 26, 1982, in Alexandrovsk, Perm Krai, and adopted by a local couple soon after his birth. He grew up as a withdrawn and unsociable person without any friends, and was considered an average student. Due to his short stature and average appearance, he was not popular with women, and despite having a girlfriend for a short period, she left him for another man shortly after Varushkin joined the Army. After learning of this, Varushkin became a misogynist, being unable to forgive his ex-girlfriend for her perceived betrayal.[1]
Upon completing his service at the Russian Naval Infantry, he was honorably discharged and returned to his hometown, where he lived at his mother's house at No. 6 Berezovy Lane. He soon found a job as a railway worker, but by the early 2000s, Varushkin developed an addiction to alcohol and became an alcoholic.[1]
Murders[]
Varushkin always committed his crimes in a drunken state, and always acted in the same manner - whenever he found a suitable victim, Varushkin would hit her in the face or neck, tear off her clothes, rape her and then strangle her. On occasion, he also stole the victim's money and personal belongings.[1]
He committed his first murder on December 5, 2002, with the victim being a young woman employed at an engineering plant. Varushkin waylaid her not far from her house, punching and kicking her around ten times before raping and ultimately strangling her with a shirt. This victim's body was found a month later in a snowdrift near a residential building.[1]
On February 21, 2003, Varushkin attacked another woman in a garage area, beating, raping and strangling her. Like the first victim, she also worked at an engineering plant.[1] Approximately two days later, on the night between February 23 and 24, he hit a young girl on the back of the head and was in the process of taking her clothes off when he saw a Lada Niva approaching, which frightened him off. The driver of the car later said to investigators that the assailant appeared to be rather short. The final attack to occur in February happened on the 27th, when Varushkin severely beat, raped and strangled a woman with a handkerchief on the veranda of a local kindergarten.[1]
On April 19, Varushkin hit a woman standing at the entrance of a residential building twice in the chest and face, but she immediately screamed for help, frightening him off. In June, he entered the Okhotnik store on Zhdanova Street and knocked a girl down, but then sensed danger and immediately ran away.[1]
Investigation[]
The spate of crimes caused a panic in Alexandrovsk, with personnel of the Internal Affairs Directorate being ordered to survey the city 24/7 and employees from the engineering plant being bussed to and from work after completing their shifts.[1] There were also rumors that members of local organized crime circles were looking for the maniac. In an attempt to catch the killer, Alexandrovsk's mayor offered a reward of 100,000 rubles for any information that would lead to his arrest.[2]
A forensic examination found that sperm left by the perpetrator was identical at all crimes. Despite this, the investigators' only real way to catch the killer was to patrol the streets, as witnesses gave vastly different descriptions of the assailant.[1]
Arrest, trial and imprisonment[]
On July 12, at about 5 o'clock in the morning, Varushking attacked another woman at the entrance of a residential building. While he was undressing and beating her, the woman screamed, prompting police officer Konstantin Morozov, who was patrolling the area, to come to her rescue and detain Varushkin.[1]
At first, he denied any involvement in the murders, but eventually confessed after he was confronted with DNA evidence that linked him to the crimes. Varushkin said that his initial intent was to only rape his victims out of a desire for intimacy, and only killed when he feared he was going to be identified.[2]
Subsequently, Varushkin underwent a psychiatric examination and was found to be sane to stand trial. During his stay at a pre-trial detention center, a cellmate poured a mug of boiling water on him.[1] On November 24, 2003, he was found guilty on all counts by the Alexandrovsk City Court, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Throughout the proceedings, he was noted for just sitting quietly and staring out the courthouse window at his former school, and for saying that he would have continued killing if he had not been stopped.[1]
Since his conviction, Varushkin has served his sentence at the White Swan Prison.[3] In 2023, several fake news articles spread rumors that he had been released from prison and had returned to Alexandrovsk, but it was later determined that Varushkin was still incarcerated. However, it was revealed that he had applied to change his surname to that of his birth father, and that he has maintained a profile on an online dating site from prison.[1]
Victims[]
Confirmed victims[]
| Name | Age | Date of Death | Cause of Death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed woman | December 5, 2002 | Strangulation | |
| Unnamed woman | February 21, 2003 | Strangulation | |
| Unnamed woman | February 27, 2003 | Strangulation |
Survivors[]
| Name | Age | Date of Attack |
|---|---|---|
| Unnamed woman | February 23-24, 2003 | |
| Unnamed woman | April 19, 2003 | |
| Unnamed woman | June 2003 | |
| Unnamed woman | July 12, 2003 |
Timeline[]
Bibliography[]
Literature[]
Articles[]
Documentaries[]
Television[]
YouTube Documentaries[]
Podcasts[]
In popular culture[]
Film adaptation[]
Related Articles[]
See also[]
Links[]
- Варушкин, Артём Валентинович at Wikipedia (in Russian)
- DACTYLOSCOPIC AND DERMATOGLYPHIC STUDY OF PAPILLARY PATTERNS OF SERIAL KILLERS (in Russian)
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Viktor Pravdin (June 19, 2023). «Ищет девушек на сайте знакомств!» Жителей Прикамья испугала новость об освобождении серийного маньяка. Komsomolskaya Pravda. Archived from the original on April 28, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Водка превращала бывшего морпеха в сексуального маньяка (Russian). NTV (July 30, 2003). Archived from the original on April 28, 2024.
- ↑ Это сладкое слово смерть (Russian). Moskovskij Komsomolets (July 6, 2005). Archived from the original on April 28, 2024.