Today the news feed is replete with headlines: “Angarsk maniac Mikhail Popkov has been finally charged with 60 counts of crimes under articles of “premeditated murder under aggravated circumstances,” “preparation for a crime and attempted crime,” and “murder.” The press reports. service Investigative Committee Russia by Irkutsk region"And there were 84 victims, which makes Popkov a more “productive” maniac than Chikatilo. When I read about this man, the hair on my head stood on end, but I know gossip girls love to discuss such topics (like me).
In my opinion, it is not at all a fact that he committed these 84 crimes; perhaps all the “hangings” were hung on him. And the investigation into this case was conducted completely out of hand. How many lives could have been saved... Read the history of the Angarsk series below.
Angarsk maniac
Serial killer in police uniform, Mikhail Popkov, terrorized Angarsk for more than 20 years. As follows from the results of the first investigation, in 1994-2000, “women disappeared in public places in Angarsk under unknown circumstances in the evening and at night.” Subsequently, their bodies with signs of rape and violent death were found in the city, as well as in the Angarsk, Usolsky and Irkutsk regions.
The dead were mostly young women aged 18 to 28 years. Almost all the victims were drunk at the time of the murder, the police emphasized. Their naked bodies were found near Angarsk in forests adjacent to country roads and in city cemeteries.
Most of the victims died from their wounds on the spot, three more died in the hospital. The “Angara maniac” killed the girls with an axe, knife, awl or screwdriver, inflicting at least a dozen blows. He also used a noose. The maniac policeman cut out the heart of one of the victims.
Typically, the victims of the criminal were women returning late at night from guests or bars, as well as those leaving home to go to the store to buy alcohol.
“In the only case where the victim was sober, she was not raped. The victim was first strangled with a scarf, and was stabbed when she was already dead,” the police noted.
The policeman was involved in three double murders, and he committed eight more crimes while on duty. In one of the episodes, Popkov left a police badge at the crime scene, returned for it and finished off the victim.
Series law enforcement agencies stubbornly ignored for 4 years. In 1998, the authorities finally formed an investigative team consisting of employees of the prosecutor's office, the Internal Affairs Directorate and the RUBOP (district department for combating organized crime), who was searching for the “Angarsk maniac”.
Another two years passed, and the matter still did not move forward. In this situation, the prosecutor of the Irkutsk region A. Merzlyakov sent an official request to the East Siberian transport prosecutor, in which he indicated that:
“In the city of Angarsk, for a number of years, serious crimes have been committed - murders of females on sexual grounds. This gives reason to believe that crimes are committed by one person (a maniac). The investigation of these crimes is particularly difficult. Taking into account that an employee of your prosecutor's office, senior justice adviser N.N. Kitaev. has extensive experience in investigating this category of cases and is currently engaged in scientific developments in this area, I ask you to allow N.N. Kitaev. provide advisory and methodological assistance in the investigation of the above-mentioned serial murders. Prosecutor of the Irkutsk region A.N. Merzlyakov."
Kitaev investigated 15 operational search cases concerning unsolved murders of women in the Angarsk region. Analysis of the materials clearly showed that the investigation into this case was not conducted actively enough, aggressively and professionally enough. Many operational and investigative positions were irretrievably lost. In particular, the protocols for the inspection of the scene of the incident were drawn up in many respects of poor quality. Some material evidence was not the object of research and then it is unknown where it went. Traditional shortcomings...
In addition, Nikolai Nikolaevich Kitaev concluded that, most likely, the list is not limited to 29 victims. At a minimum, it would need to be supplemented with ten more murders. However, the local law enforcement authorities, frightened by the “organizational conclusions” after the scandal in the Altai Territory with the missing students, chose not to renew and generally “freeze” this mournful list.
The general conclusion that Kitaev came to was completely disappointing:
“Basically, the possibilities of the investigation have been exhausted, and operational work on disclosure is either not being carried out, or its implementation is unsystematic and formal.
The state of control over operational investigative activities indicates its almost complete absence, connivance with representatives of bodies carrying out operational investigations, which for a long time entails the failure of operational employees to fulfill their immediate duties. The heads of the Department of Internal Affairs and the Department of Internal Affairs of the city of Angarsk, the heads of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Irkutsk Region, who supervise the operational investigation, have withdrawn themselves from proper departmental control, as a result of which dozens of intentional murders have remained unsolved, and the operational possibilities of exposing the criminal have been largely lost due to the time factor.”
The prepared “Certificate” with all the details and conclusions was read out by Nikolai Nikolaevich Kitaev to the prosecutor of the Irkutsk region Merzlyakov in his office. At the same time, employees of the Department of Internal Affairs, the Internal Affairs Directorate and the Regional Directorate for Organized Crime Control, who were involved in the case of the “Angara maniac,” were present. In conclusion, Kitaev proposed: if he is given the appropriate powers, he will detain the killer within 6 months.
According to eyewitnesses, after Kitaev’s “report,” a deathly silence reigned in the office. After some time, the prosecutor of the Irkutsk region, Merzlyakov, said: “Everything that was said here should not go beyond the boundaries of this office. Otherwise, Moscow will kick us all out.”
However, exactly the opposite happened. Soon after the events described (in March 2001), by order of the Prosecutor General of Russia V. Ustinov No. 2, the regional transport prosecutor's offices were liquidated, which is why they fired... Nikolai Kitaev, without finding a suitable place for him.
“In Russia today in different regions 35 series of murders committed, judging by the method and other parameters, by the same person (maniac) have not been solved. I have unique technique disclosure and investigation of such cases, which is proven by my many years of experience in various places USSR and post-Gorbachev Russia. I am ready, subject to my reinstatement in an equal position, to head the operational investigation team for any of these unsolved serial murders in any region of the country, I undertake to solve these crimes within 8 months. The group must have at least 4 investigators, at least 3 police officers, whom I will select myself.”
High officials of the Prosecutor General's Office were not interested in this proposal; the crimes of the Angarsk maniac remained unsolved, although there were several times more of them than the victims of the legendary Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac combined.
Suspects
One clue, which with a high degree of probability could give a hint to law enforcement officials and shed light on the identity of the Angarsk maniac, appeared in the investigation thanks to the surviving victim. It happened like this.
On January 28, 1998, Svetlana M. was found naked in the snow near the village of Baikalsk. At that time, she was a minor, she was unconscious due to severe head injuries.
She was refused to initiate a criminal case “on far-fetched grounds.” And only almost six months later, in June, after numerous complaints from Svetlana’s mother, the case was finally opened. Then, in June, the victim’s testimony was recorded for the first time.
The day before, January 27, she was returning home late in the evening. A police car stopped near her, and the driver in a police uniform offered to give her a ride home. She agreed. The driver took her into the forest, ordered her to undress, and hit her head against a tree, causing Svetlana to lose consciousness. I came to my senses already in the hospital.
After interrogation, she identified the policeman-driver of the Angarsk Internal Affairs Directorate, senior sergeant S. as the victim. The next day, of the three UAZ-469 cars presented to her, Svetlana confidently pointed to the sergeant’s official car: she remembered several characteristic details of the interior.
We again quote the “Certificate” of Senior Adviser of Justice N.N. Kitaeva:
“The criminal case does not contain forensic medical examination the victim. Senior Sergeant S., in his defense, could only say that he obviously looked like that criminal. The verification of his alibi is formal and limited to the interrogation of his cohabitant. S. drank and was debauched, infected his wife with syphilis, for which both were treated, their marriage was dissolved.”
Thus, criminal case No. 69207 on the fact of causing grievous bodily harm to Svetlana M., associated with sexual assault, did not develop...
The Angarsk maniac has remained undetected to this day, but experts have tried to piece it together psychological picture:
age - 35-40 years (year of birth 1963-1968);
height - above average (180 cm and above);
lives in Angarsk;
can use both official transport and have a personal car;
lives either alone or with parents. Not married. He is withdrawn and has difficulty communicating (which is why it is easier for him to come into contact with drunk women). May be described as socially disabled;
up to 16 years of age, it is possible to register with a psychiatrist in connection with oligophrenia, study in a auxiliary school or in a general education school with duplication of classes; has a vocational education (mechanic, driver);
works as a mechanic, service technician, and driver. May be service related railway tracks, stations, thermal power plants, as well as with work at the cemetery (11 out of 29 corpses were found in the area, the center of which is the city cemetery. - M.D.);
has a five-day working week, however, local business trips are likely, which allow him to stay late or not go to work in the days after crimes are committed on weekdays (on Wednesdays, crimes on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday);
may have a conviction in 1980 - 1985 for rape or murder (with stab wounds).
Capture
So, Mikhail Popkov: data for comparison with the psychological portrait: at the time of his capture he was 48 years old, at the time of the first crime - 32. I couldn’t find any data on his height, but then...
Popkov (you should rot in hell - this is from me personally)
It was possible to trace the killer only in 2012 (and that’s 16 years, comrades, SIXTEEN). Detectives noticed that near the places where several corpses were found, traces of the wheels of a Niva car were found. In this regard, they decided to check all owners of cars of this brand for involvement in the murders. Genetic samples were taken from them and compared with biomaterials left on the bodies of the victims. Thus, it was possible to establish Mikhail Popkov’s involvement in the massacres; by that time he had already former operational duty officer of the Department of Internal Affairs By Central region Angarsk.
On June 23, 2012, Popkov was detained in Vladivostok. Soon Popkov attempted suicide.
Popkov resigned from the internal affairs bodies in 1998, as soon as he received the rank of junior lieutenant. While retired, the officer worked for a private security company. He left there in 2011, after which he worked as a gravedigger and private taxi driver.
After Popkov’s arrest, the police decided not to attach of great importance because the maniac worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. “Now it is not so important who the criminal ultimately turns out to be: a former policeman, a military man, a doctor or someone else. The main thing is that the principle of the inevitability of punishment works,” the department’s press release stated.
Society orderly
Popkov's victims
It is difficult to talk about the motives of the killer policeman. Popkov himself said at the next court hearing: “When committing murders, I was guided by my inner convictions.”
During the first trial, he also tried to present himself as a “orderly” who rids society of immoral women. As a result, Popkov was nicknamed the “cleaner.” However, many of the maniac’s victims did not look like prostitutes.
During the first investigation, medical experts identified the defendant as having homicidomania (an irresistible urge to kill, characteristic of psychopaths) with sadistic elements. After the massacres, police officer Mikhail Popkov “detente, his mood, sleep and appetite improved.”
At the meeting, Judge Rukavishnikov read out references from Popkov’s place of service in the police and from neighbors. Both were positive. Popkov served in the Central Regional Department of Internal Affairs of Angarsk for about ten years - first as an assistant to the operational duty officer, then for his conscientiousness and literacy he was promoted and appointed shift duty officer.
The profile from the police department noted that Popkov enjoyed authority in the team, he was known as a good family man, a calm, balanced person. The authorities did not forget to mention that, as an employee of the police duty unit, Popkov worked at night as a taxi driver, and during vacations and after leaving law enforcement agencies, he drove cars from Vladivostok for sale.
On Far East Popkov made about a dozen trips. It can be assumed that during them he also committed murders. But Popkov himself is silent about this for now.
During the first trial and immediately after the verdict, the wife and adult daughter Popkov supported him, went on dates, carried packages. They also performed on the television show “Let Them Talk” on Channel One. The wife and daughter confessed their love for Popkov and demonstrated faith in his innocence.
By now, both women had left Angarsk, where Popkov’s daughter worked as a school teacher.
This is how I hope this person spends his life. More precisely, not like that, but in solitary confinement, slowly going crazy.
Angarsk maniac Mikhail Popkov, convicted of murdering 22 people, admitted that he had more than 60 more victims. Thus, he has every chance of setting a record among domestic maniacs, surpassing Andrei Chikatilo (who committed 53 proven murders).
Mikhail Popkov, better known as the Angarsk maniac, recently confessed to another series of brutal massacres of women. At a court hearing to extend the killer's stay in the pre-trial detention center, he announced another 60 episodes - not counting the 22 for which he had already received a life sentence in 2015.
Popkov, a former policeman from Angarsk, has already confessed to the massacre of 59 victims, but the investigation is still ongoing. On this moment It is known that the maniac operated from 1992 to 2010 in the Irkutsk region.
After he left the service, former employee law enforcement agencies was engaged in driving cars from Vladivostok to Irkutsk.
While Popkov worked as an operational duty officer, he killed “fallen” women at night, using his official position. It is noted that Popkov showed his victims the crust and offered them a ride, then took them into the forest and raped them, after which they carried out reprisals.
It is known that the girls were not always intoxicated at the time of their meeting with the serial killer. Popkov soldered most of his victims and beat them on the head with heavy objects. The murder weapons were always different - axes, knives and nooses. He cut out the hearts of some women, and his other victims were found beheaded. In the region he was nicknamed “Angarsk Chikatilo.”
Popkov was arrested in 2012. At the trial, the maniac stated that he wanted to cleanse the city of " women lung behavior." DNA testing and the testimony of one of the surviving women helped establish his guilt.
In 2017, Popkov was charged with another 25 murders.
The maniac, answering the question why law enforcement officers could not find him for so long, said that he “simply left no traces” and did not confuse them.
“One corpse was found a few months later, the other literally the next day. And what? What could I do there if I came along with the operatives? Get rid of evidence in front of their eyes? Although I repeat once again: they were not there. The tracks should not be confused. There’s just no need to leave them,” Popkov noted.
Angarsk maniac Mikhail Popkov
According to him, he made only one mistake, leaving a trace from the car, although they could not figure him out from it. Popkov admitted that he even left behind the instruments of crimes, but without fingerprints.
He said that during all this time he was never even stopped to check the car. However, Angarsk Chikatilo still could not foresee everything.
“I could not have foreseen the DNA examination. Born in the wrong century. This is what they are like now modern technologies, methods, but did not exist before. If we had not reached this level of development of genetic examination, then... I would not be sitting in front of you,” Popkov emphasized.
The maniac complained that he could not hide anywhere, since they would still be looking for him. Popkov noted that he felt that sooner or later he would be detained.
Vladimir Kalinichenko - former special investigator important matters under the Prosecutor General of the USSR, who in his years handled the Chikatilo case and is now closely monitoring the development of the Popkov case.
“The psychology of the criminal is simple: he might not remember all his murders at once. Operational work is being carried out to restore his memory. Moreover, in the case of the Angarsk maniac, he has nothing more to fear - he already has a life sentence. There is plenty of time for memories. Who knows, if Chikatilo had not been sentenced to death, perhaps he, too, remembered new episodes,” explains Vladimir Kalinichenko.
“A maniac has a special property - he is fully aware of his actions, but cannot control them. At the same time, he is careful and calculating. Therefore, it was impossible to commit the number of murders that Popkov now repents of. In ten years, almost a hundred women! And this is in a fairly small area! Although, perhaps, someone was covering for him and there are undisclosed defendants in this case,” Vladimir Kalinichenko substantiates his point of view.
In any case, investigators still have to collect a lot of evidence, since, according to Vladimir Kalinichenko, in the distant 90s a lot was done to hide this evidence as thoroughly as possible.
Tatyana Gudelova, a psychologist of the riot police of the Main Directorate of the Russian Guard for the city of Moscow, also expressed her opinion: “A maniac can confess to more and more new crimes for three reasons: he is tormented by his conscience, and he longs for absolution; the criminal does not consider murder to be some kind of terrible act and treats him mediocrely; he is haunted by delusions of grandeur, that is, each new victim voiced makes him more famous than his predecessors."
"Most likely in the nineties, when Popkov entered the service, psychological tests No one has yet conducted this for recruits, or the deviation could have been missed due to its latency. That is, initially it was within the acceptable range, and then a certain shift occurred, and the beast awakened. And then everything worked according to the principle: unpunished cruelty is the same drug,” explains Tatyana Gudelova.
How Small child, who cleaned the apartment and boasts to his mother about all the new clean places, so Popkov, considering himself a “society orderly,” wants to show what a colossal job he has done. Let us note that so far the investigation has begun only on 47 episodes, since admitting to these 60 murders is one thing, but for investigators to find evidence for them is quite another. The only thing that can now make the work of law enforcement officers easier is if the killer remembers where the corpses are, then they can safely bring charges against him.
Information about new victims may appear from other sources. His relatives could also know who Mikhail Popkov killed and when. Despite the fact that a year ago the wife and daughter of the Angarsk maniac declared his innocence throughout the country through one of central channels, the former prosecutor is sure that they could not help but notice the “oddities” of their loved one.
“My wife and daughter convince me that they did not know that the Angarsk maniac and Mikhail Popkov are one person. But I can tell you one thing: relatives always lie. Chikatilo also had a family, and they saw perfectly well what the head of the family wears in his briefcase, Vaseline, a noose and a knife,” says Vladimir Kalinichenko.
The Irkutsk Regional Court granted the investigator's request to extend the maniac's stay in the pre-trial detention center until April 29. About two hundred volumes were collected on the maniac's first case. It is not yet known how many will be in the new one. How does it remain open questions, how many innocent souls this beast has killed, and why colleagues in the service did not notice the mental deviation of the policeman.
MOSCOW, January 10 - RIA Novosti, Sergey Lyutykh. The victims of the former Angarsk policeman and serial killer Mikhail Popkov, known by his nicknames “Angara maniac” and “cleaner”, could have been 81 people. This became known from an investigator at a meeting in the Irkutsk Regional Court, where the issue of extending Popkov’s detention in a pre-trial detention center was being decided. If this information is confirmed, the ex-policeman from Angarsk, who hunted people from 1994 to 2000, will become the bloodiest maniac in the history of Russia and the USSR.
Bloody count
Twenty-two murders and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm have already been proven and included in the guilty verdict dated January 14, 2015, according to which Popkov was sentenced to life imprisonment. At the same time, a RIA Novosti source in law enforcement agencies in the region reported that the defendant announced the murder of more than a dozen more people.
Source: Irkutsk maniac confessed to more than 10 more murdersCurrently, the investigation is checking him for involvement in similar crimes, said senior assistant to the head of the department Karina Golovacheva. She noted that investigators have been working with Mikhail Popkov for about two months.The investigation treated the ex-policeman’s words with skepticism, because exposed maniacs tend to attribute unnecessary things to themselves for the sake of notoriety. And for those sentenced to life imprisonment, participation in investigative actions and trials becomes the only available entertainment.
However, the information received from Popkov began to be confirmed during the inspection. The result of the work of investigators, operatives and forensic experts two years later was materials on 47 episodes of murder, charges for which were brought against the ex-policeman.
Senior assistant to the head of the ICR department for the Irkutsk region, Karina Golovacheva, told RIA Novosti that verification of data on the deaths of another 12 people continues, since in total he spoke about 59 victims (in addition to the 22 indicated in the court verdict).
Thus, we're talking about about the lives of 81 people tragically interrupted by a serial killer in uniform. Even without taking into account the 12 episodes that have not yet been identified by the investigation, the “Angara maniac” can be called the bloodiest maniac in the history of Russia and the USSR. For comparison, Andrei Chikatilo has 53 proven murders, and the “Bitsa maniac” Alexander Pichushkin has 49.
Policeman and gravedigger
Popkov, as typical of a classic serial killer, led a double life. The mother, wife and daughter did not believe the investigators for a long time; they brought parcels and notes with words of support to the pre-trial detention center. But after information about the arrest of the Angarsk maniac hit the media, the relatives had to urgently change their place of residence and hide, fearing revenge from the city residents.
The “Angara maniac” served in the police for just over ten years. It was this period of his life that he devoted to “hunting” people. He worked in the police department on duty, from where he left at night under various pretexts. He got behind the wheel of his car (sometimes while wearing uniform) and drove around the city. Colleagues probably thought that Mikhail was thus earning extra money as a driver. After all, these were the 90s, when many people’s salaries were not even enough for food.
According to a source in law enforcement agencies, Popkov was a very mediocre policeman and did not become famous for any achievements in his service. He worked every other day, mechanically fulfilling the required duties of the duty officer. The killer was much more active in free time and among his friends he was known as an excellent hiker, skier and cook.
No one was surprised that in Popkov’s trunk there were constantly dozens of different tools, including saws and chisels, which he used as murder weapons. After all, he was also a jack of all trades.
In addition, the maniac was constantly involved in physical education and even received the title of candidate master of sports in biathlon.
After leaving the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Popkov got a job as a security guard. It is known that the maniac’s father worked in a cemetery and his son helped him dig graves from the age of eight.
Cleaner
All of the maniac's victims are women. They themselves got into his car. Then Popkov met the passengers and offered to relax together. After drinking alcohol together, he would persuade his victims to have sex or rape them, and then kill them. Thus, Popkov, in his own opinion, was engaged in cleansing the city of libertines and for this reason he calls himself a “cleaner.”
© RIA Novosti/Aurora. Peter Romanov
© RIA Novosti/Aurora. Peter Romanov
Popkov experimented, using a variety of tools as weapons, and gradually increased the cruelty with which he took away human lives. He killed his first victim in 1994 with a blow to the head with a bottle. And in the summer of 2000 Popkov, he dealt with two women at once, taking them to a deep forest. One of the victims received 18 blows to the head with a screwdriver, and the other received 70 various wounds.
Long investigation
The search for the “Angara maniac” lasted almost two decades. Popkov was detained only in June 2012. Two clues led detectives to the killer: from the tires of his Niva and DNA samples. All owners of cars of this brand in the Irkutsk region who had the same blood type and Rh factor as the maniac were checked - more than 30 thousand people. Moreover, the operatives took DNA samples secretly from them.
As part of the investigation, 3.5 thousand genetic examinations were carried out. A long-term search for a maniac led detectives to Alexei Kutenkov, who attacked 12 children, as well as the man who killed a woman in 2010 and the leader of a criminal group involved in robberies and thefts, nicknamed Bison.
Popkov was detained in a train compartment on the way to Vladivostok. Special forces soldiers took part in the operation. However, the maniac did not resist, and soon even began to cooperate with the investigation.
According to information published by a number of Russian media, a serial killer has been found who has “outdone” Chikatilo himself. He is called the "Angara maniac", it is in the vicinity of this small town in the Irkutsk region he committed most of the currently known crimes.
Since 1994, young women and girls began to disappear in Angarsk, whose corpses were found quite quickly - the killer did not particularly hide them. In 1997-1998, 13 murders occurred at once. The women began to be afraid to walk alone, but the criminal began to kill two victims at a time. However, the victims were not robbed, and not all were raped. The method of committing crimes allowed law enforcement agencies to draw a terrible conclusion - a serial killer had begun to operate in the city.
The number of victims of the maniac kept growing, and the manifestations of his cruelty intensified. If he killed his first victim in 1994 with a blow to the head from a bottle, then in the summer of 2000, when he dealt with two girlfriends in the forest at once, he killed one with 17 blows to the head with a screwdriver, and on the body of the other there were 70 wounds inflicted by various objects .
In 2000, the series of murders suddenly stops. But the work of investigators does not stop. The search for the “Angara maniac” lasted 18 years. In 2002, on instructions from Moscow, an investigative and operational group of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation was created in the Irkutsk region. The leaders of the group also come from Moscow: from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the work was organized by the senior commissioner of the criminal directorate of the ministry Sergei Derzhavin, from the Prosecutor General's Office - senior investigator for especially important cases Valery Kostarev. Operators and investigators were recruited from local employees who knew regional specifics well. Among them are the head of the specialized operational group of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Irkutsk Region, police major (then police) Artem Dubynin and the detective officer of this department, Major Denis Pavlov. It is they who, ten years later, will bring the matter to an end, and Artem Dubynin will take personal part in the pursuit and capture of the killer.
While hunting for the “Angarsk maniac,” investigators simultaneously uncovered several equally dangerous crimes and defeated two organized criminal groups. In essence, Angarsk was cleared of organized crime. But the serial killer was never caught.
In 2008, the criminal case was transferred to Investigation Department Investigative Committee of Russia for Siberian Federal District. The investigation was headed by investigator Andrei Chernus. Operational support was provided by police officers led by Artem Dubynin.
Since the murders that could be included in the “series” had stopped by that time, a version arose that the criminal had left the city forever or had simply died. Trying to find out, operatives sent requests to colleagues in other regions, prisons and colonies, courts and mental hospitals, even to morgues. But the unpleasant prospect of slowly closing this business as unpromising loomed more and more clearly.
The results of the examinations were, to put it mildly, meager. They knew that the killer had blood type 3 with positive Rhesus, that blood was found in the semen (a disease of the genitourinary system), that some victims were hacked to death with the same ax, that near some places of the murder there were traces of the Niva's treads. And that's almost all. Moreover, not all crime scenes contain any traces at all. All collected traces, including biological ones, were carefully stored. And they eventually played their role.
The operatives decided to Once again summarize all the information collected and understand who to look for. They brainstormed and created a so-called psychological portrait of the criminal. As it turned out later, the result was an almost exact copy.
It is clear that the killer is a man: this was evidenced by the composition of the blood and semen found on the victims’ bodies. Detectives determined his age as being born between 1963 and 1968. Works on a shift schedule, has a car. Secondary education. He looks neat, but he looks not like an intellectual, but like a worker. Tall, well developed physically. At the same time, a version was put forward that the wanted criminal could be an employee or employee of any security or law enforcement agency, including a policeman, military personnel or rescue worker. The opera made only one mistake - they thought that he was either divorced or had an incomplete family. In fact, the killer was married, was considered an exemplary family man and loving father, raised a daughter.
The detectives had a portrait of the alleged killer, drawn from the words of a random witness. In November 1997, one of the future victims, Nina R., a few hours before her death, went into a convenience store to buy alcohol and snacks. Was with her unknown man. It turned out that Nina worked here as a salesperson, and her partner was standing behind the counter at that moment. But she decided to describe the appearance of her murdered friend’s companion only in 2004.
And finally, after for long years search, science came to the aid of the investigation and made it possible to identify the monster. In 2007, the Expert Forensic Center of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Irkutsk Region appeared the latest equipment for the biological department. In fact, a modern laboratory was created from scratch to study human tissues and secretions using DNA analysis. Materials on all murders and rapes (not only those related to the “Maniac” case) were sent for examination. And finally, in March 2009, the head of the laboratory, police colonel Pyotr Arzamazov, established the genotype of the person whose sperm was found in the bodies of three women killed in Angarsk. Now all that remains is a mere “trifle” - finding a person with a suitable genome. His search took another three years.
First, based on the available search characteristics, it was necessary to determine the circle of people of operational interest. All Niva drivers ended up here, especially those who in one way or another came to the attention of law enforcement agencies - for example, those who violated traffic rules, sold their car, or contacted about theft. All patients who consulted doctors about hemospermia (blood in semen) were checked. They checked prisoners with the third blood group and the same disease. We checked the relatives and acquaintances of the murdered women. And also - all former and current employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Penitentiary Service, the prosecutor's office, etc. in the Irkutsk region. Even disabled people. The initial list, organized in alphabetical order, amounted to over 46 thousand people. The list was sifted, as they say, through a fine sieve - the cost of a mistake was very high. Electronic program revealed repetitions or coincidences of names and facts, which could indicate involvement in the notorious “series.”
The final list was reduced to 589 of the most “promising” people, who were asked to take a DNA test. Over 3.5 thousand examinations were carried out. Former employee of the Angarsk police department Mikhail Popkov was also on this list. He provided biological epithelial samples and in June 2012 was identified as a wanted serial killer. The examination was again carried out by Pyotr Arzamazov. But by the time the identity of the killer became finally known, the maniac had disappeared.
He came to Angarsk with his parents and younger sister from Norilsk in 1967. The family was considered quite prosperous. Mother is a teacher at a technical school. My father has a more specific profession: gravedigger.
By the way, is this not where the root cause of the fatal shift in Popkov’s psyche lies? From about the age of 8, he began working part-time at a cemetery, helping his father dig graves. He would briefly return to this profession in 1994 - on the eve of committing his first murder. Maybe frequent contact with someone else's death has become a habit, turned into a routine routine for him?
In general, everything was fine with him, like everyone else - school, polytechnic school, emergency service in the radio engineering troops. In 1986, he got married and got a job as a machinist at the Angarsknefteorgsintez plant. It was here that a year later there was a turn in his biography - the factory meeting gave him a Komsomol permit to serve in the police. He was a conscientious guy, a non-drinker, a family man, politically savvy, and served in the army.
The opinion of others about the serial killer (as often happens) was only positive. Popkov was known as an excellent tourist, skier, and advocate healthy image life. He was constantly involved in physical education and even received the title of candidate master of sports in biathlon. Popkov was also a jack of all trades. Therefore, no one was surprised that in Popkov’s trunk there were constantly dozens of different tools, including an axe, hammers, saws and chisels, which he used as a weapon for murder and dismemberment of corpses.
Popkov worked for four years as a patrol policeman at the Angarsk station and retired in 1991. at will- I wasn’t happy with the salary. True, he did not go into business, but into the fire department, where he worked for another two years. Then - a short episode work history at the city cemetery and again for almost six years of service in the police.
In the police, after a short internship, senior sergeant Mikhail Popkov first becomes an assistant to the operational duty officer of the Central Department of Internal Affairs of Angarsk, and then an operational duty officer, receiving the rank of “junior lieutenant”. This position allowed him to be aware of all criminal events and operational activities taking place in the city. Moreover, having received a signal to call the police, he himself sent a squad to the scene of the incident, reported what had happened “on command” and transmitted orders from his superiors to patrols and rapid response groups. In addition, he accepted all kinds of applications and appeals from citizens.
Mikhail Popkov proved himself with the best side from the very first days of service. In addition to punctually fulfilling his duties, he, on his own initiative and even in his personal Niva, began to take part in trips to incident sites and to participate in the arrest of criminals. The management treated the manifestation of such consciousness not only kindly, but also with gratitude. Of course, there are not enough people and cars, it’s the dashing nineties. Moreover, Angarsk was built by prisoners and is still surrounded by colonies. After serving their prison sentences, many remained in the city, which made the situation in the city consistently criminal. Once, during his arrest, Popkov cut down with a machine gun a man trying to escape dangerous criminal. The prosecutor's office checked and found the use of weapons lawful.
Popkov retired in 2000, having earned a minimum length of service pension, which caused general surprise. And since then he has formally worked in various private security companies. And informally, since 2004, he has been driving foreign cars to the Irkutsk region from the Far East.
Immediately after taking the DNA test, Popkov went on the run. First I went to my mother in Lipetsk to say goodbye, then to my sister in Moscow for a couple of weeks. And then he boarded train No. 1 "Russia", traveling along the route Moscow - Vladivostok. He was going to either settle in the Primorsky Territory, which he knew well (the taiga is large), or cross the border and take refuge somewhere in China.
The fact that the killer was Popkov became known on June 13, 2012. Now it was really a matter of technology to catch him. Police Major Artem Dubynin went with an operative and two security officers to arrest him. They caught up with him on June 24 on the train, when there were two stops left before Vladivostok.
Perhaps Popkov was preparing to resist - he had a backpack between his legs, in which - hunting rifle with a folding stock. Moreover, it is ready to immediately open fire - with a loaded magazine attached and a cartridge in the chamber. But what kind of resistance was there - the maniac did not even notice how two special forces materialized in the compartment, took him to a painful hold and fastened the handcuffs.
For everyone who knew Mikhail Popkov, the news that he was the serial killer came like a bolt from the blue. No one could believe that this pleasant, non-drinking and generally completely positive person- maniac. Popkov, as typical of a classic serial killer, led a double life. The mother, wife and daughter did not believe the investigators for a long time; they brought parcels and notes with words of support to the pre-trial detention center. When Popkov's guilt was irrefutably established, the family had to leave the city.
Popkov almost immediately began to give frank testimony. The pattern of the crime was the same: driving his own or an official car, Popkov (often dressed in a police uniform) offered to give a ride to this or that woman, or even two people at once. During the trip, he chatted nicely with them and got to know them Family status, then offered to relax together in nature. If a woman refused, citing the fact that she was married, or had a loved one, or was avoiding casual acquaintances, Popkov would give her a ride home and even accompany her to the entrance. If a woman, succumbing to the charm of a handsome policeman, agreed to spend time with him, she signed her own death warrant.
The algorithm of his actions never changed: buying strong alcohol, arriving at the place, drinking the woman until she is unconscious, depending on the mood - rape, even of an already dead victim. Murder, usually by blows to the head with a heavy instrument. His experience as a police officer allowed Popkov to leave virtually no evidence.
Popkov committed some of the murders while on duty - the image of an enterprising campaigner came in handy. Like, I went personally on call - there was no one else to send. But the call, alas, turned out to be false. And this happened more than once. Moreover, he often himself brought task forces to the places where his own victims were discovered. And he watched with interest as his colleagues examined the bodies and discussed versions of what happened. He listened especially carefully to the operatives' plans to find the killer.
Miraculously, she survived the attack of serial killer Evgeniy Protasov: “I got into Popkov’s car only after he showed me his police ID. In general, I would never go with a stranger, because our parents teach us this from childhood. At the confrontation, I recognized him immediately, but he said that he didn’t remember me. I then told him: “You don’t remember me, but I remember you.”
Popkov, according to his own statement, was engaged in cleansing the city of “sluts” and for this reason he calls himself a “cleaner.” According to some sources, as a result of some random relationship, Popkov became infected with syphilis and thus took revenge on the “loose women”; according to others, Popkov found his wife with another man, but saved the family for the sake of his daughter, and took out the accumulated hatred on “frivolous” victims. Popkov stopped his crimes, according to his explanation, as a result of the onset of impotence.
Twenty-two murders and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm were proven and included in the guilty verdict dated January 14, 2015, according to which Popkov was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The defendant then claimed to have killed more than a dozen more people. At first, investigators were skeptical about the ex-policeman’s words. However, the information received from Popkov began to be confirmed during the inspection. Two years later, the result of the work of investigators, operatives and forensic experts was materials on another 47 episodes of murder, charges for which were brought against the ex-policeman. The verification of data on the deaths of another 12 people continues, since in total he spoke about 59 victims (in addition to the 22 indicated in the court verdict).
Thus, we are talking about the lives of 81 people, tragically interrupted by the Angarsk serial killer. Even without taking into account the 12 episodes that have not yet been identified by the investigation, the “Angara maniac” can be called the bloodiest maniac in the history of Russia and the USSR. For comparison, Andrei Chikatilo has 53 proven murders, and the “Bitsa maniac” Alexander Pichushkin has 49.
But this may not be all of his crimes. Investigators are now carefully studying the period of Mikhail Popkov’s biography associated with trips to the Far East to buy foreign cars. Did he kill somewhere else? Despite the fact that Popkov was declared sane and fully aware of what he was doing, he is susceptible to homicidomania. This is a mental disorder that causes an irresistible desire to kill. There are periods of "calm" for 2 - 3 years, and then again you want blood. It’s scary to imagine what else he could have done in 12 years outside of Angarsk and the Irkutsk region.
If Popkov, during the DNA test, had suddenly written a confession (after all, he had already realized that he would definitely be found out), then he would not even have been given a life sentence, he would have been given 25 years, and then this “positive” type could have come out on parole. Even in prison he tries to maintain good physical fitness, hopes that fate can still make a sharp turn in a favorable direction.
In case of danger, threat to life or other difficult life situations the person contacts the police. Everyone needs protection, and who else but law enforcement agencies can provide it in difficult moment? But what if there is a maniac hiding behind the mask of a law enforcement officer? Angarsk policeman Popkov proved by example that you can successfully live a double life for several years. At work he is a decent employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in his free time he is a terrible Angarsk maniac.
Biography
Born on March 7, 1964 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Three years later the family moved to Angarsk. left much to be desired, and at the age of 16 Popkov got a job in a cemetery to dig graves. After graduating from college, he joined the army, where he served as a senior radio interception operator for two years. He began working in the police in the mid-90s of the last century. Colleagues spoke of him with positive side. The assistant operational duty officer made a favorable impression. A tall, athletic man received the nickname Misha Smile, for his friendliness and good spirits. He was kept in good standing, and no errors were found in his work. His former colleague described Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov as an efficient and decisive person. For this he received an officer rank. However, in 1996, an incident occurred that no one paid attention to at the time, although it could have been the first bell.
While detaining a gang of robbers, Popkov shot one of them in cold blood. At that time, this did not become a high-profile case, since the rampant behavior of all kinds of criminals was rapidly gaining momentum. Resistance to arrest became a pretext for murder. For Popkov himself, this episode had no significance at all - by that time he was already operating with might and main on the territory of Angarsk and keeping his bloody account.
Family
The Angarsk maniac hid for a long time behind the guise of an exemplary family man. In 1986, he married Elena Mishurova, who a year later gave birth to his daughter. The wife held the position of passport officer in the same duty department as Popkov. Their daughter was growing up, and from the outside they seemed like an ideal family. But this was just an illusion. One day, an Angarsk maniac returned home and found used condoms in a bucket. He did not kill his wife - he believed that his daughter should grow up in a complete family. But he could not forgive his betrayal of his wife and harbored a cruel grudge against the entire female race. He suspected that his wife's betrayal was far from an isolated incident. They lived only 50 meters from the site, and no one had ever heard screams or scandals in their house. As Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov later admitted during interrogations, he was afraid every morning that he had killed his wife at night.
Pies and the first victim
The history of the Angarsk maniac began in 1992. One of the first victims was a twenty-year-old girl who was rushing to the station to meet her mother. Popkov, in his service Niva, offered to give the lonely traveler a lift to her destination. At five in the morning he asked his boss to go get some pies, and met his first victim. He did not take the girl into the forest and dealt with her right there - near the station. Two hours later, the body was discovered, and Popkov, as if nothing had happened, went to the scene of the murder as part of the operational investigation team.
Motivation
To justify his crimes, Popkov came up with a good motive - he killed only those women whose behavior seemed defiant to him. He stopped if he saw a tipsy lady voting and offered to give her a ride home. During the trip, he entered into a dialogue and invited the girl to continue the fun at his apartment. If the victim gave consent, then he dealt with her without regret. If she refused, he honestly took her home. During the investigation, he received the nickname “cleaner.” He himself explained his crimes by the desire to cleanse the city of fallen and unfaithful women. When meeting another woman, he asked if she had a husband and children, and then offered to spend time with him. The victim's response influenced his decision.
It is believed that this is how he took revenge on his wife in the person of all the “walking” women. But the investigation found that among his victims were non-drinkers and single girls. How could he justify such cruelty towards them? The Angarsk maniac could not find an answer to such questions or said that he did not remember such cases.
Got a taste for it
Working in the authorities allowed Popkov to completely control the investigation. He was among the first to arrive at the crime scene and had access to all the collected materials. It didn’t cost him anything to “clean up” his tracks already during the investigation. Operatives did not rule out this possibility. In addition to the fact that the maniac carefully cleaned up after himself and did not leave any evidence, he could easily destroy even those grains that fell on the investigator’s table. No one could have imagined that the beast was hiding among the law enforcement officers themselves. The years 1997-1998 became the bloodiest for him, because it was then that several of his victims were discovered at once.
At this time, he feels as safe as possible and does not seek to get rid of bodies. On the contrary, he throws them in accessible places, so that he can then watch as his colleagues struggle to catch the criminal. But even such a “professional” made serious mistakes a couple of times.
Surviving victims of the Angarsk maniac
Among the many women who were unlucky enough to be in the way of serial killer, only two managed to survive. Svetlana Misyavichus and Evgenia Protasova were found in terrible condition. The first was considered dead and sent to the morgue. Where she suddenly came to her senses. But after the injuries she received, she was unable to identify the maniac by sight. Both girls were on the verge of life and death. They had to go through many operations and long rehabilitation. But still, they were able to provide the investigation with important data - thanks to them, it was established. That the maniac's name is Mikhail and he works in internal organs. This was confirmed by a button from a jacket found near one of the victims.
Covering my tracks
Popkov understands that such information may sooner or later lead to him. IN Lately he did not try to cover his tracks and often left behind biological material on the bodies of his victims. It's time to correct the mistakes. He retired from the police in 1998. This did not surprise either his friends or colleagues. Times were hard and few people remained in service after retirement. Having settled in a private security company, he was unable to establish himself as good employee. Soon he leaves this job too. He no longer gets a job and earns extra money as a private driver.
Methods of murder
The victims of the Angarsk maniac were women and girls aged 15-40. The murderer had no special preferences. His lethal kit included: Phillips screwdrivers, a sapper blade, a knife, and an axe. He always carried all these devices in his car. As the maniac later admitted, sometimes he would let the victim go in the forest and then play “catch-up” with her. All the girls were raped before they died. It has been proven that sometimes victims died from one strong blow to the head with a screwdriver. As the maniac later admitted, he did not feel any regret or remorse. However, he did not experience this feeling even in prison.
Consequence
The Angarsk maniac Mikhail Popkov was detained only on June 23, 2012. By that time, according to investigators, the killer had already recorded 22 murders. It was possible to shed light on the personality of the maniac with the help of molecular genetic examination. In 2003, biological materials were collected from the body of his next victim, and this bore fruit almost ten years later. Popkov himself by this time was engaged in ferrying cars from Vladivostok. He was detained right on the train. During interrogation, he admitted that he had a venereal disease and therefore stopped the series of murders. If it were not for premature impotence, there would be many more victims.
Court
The victims' parents, children and close relatives were present at the trial. None of them saw remorse on the maniac's face. He himself did not admit his guilt and refused to ask for forgiveness from those present in the hall. Many noted that, looking at this man, it was impossible to assume that he was a maniac. There was not an ounce of madness in him or a wild sparkle in his eyes, like the same Chikatilo. He looked absolutely calm and listened to the sentencing with indifference. The life sentence did not upset the bloodthirsty maniac. Still smiling, he gave interviews to journalists. He seriously thought about how he would live if he was released after 25 years. And he still believed that he was doing a good deed by clearing the city of fallen women.
The worst is yet to come
After the trial, Popkov suddenly began to confess to his crimes. He not only admitted the 22 murders charged against him, but also spoke about the remaining cases. He was in no hurry to reveal all his cards and tried to prolong the investigation. The Angarsk maniac not only took upon himself 62 more murders - he remembered all the details and indicated the places where the crimes were committed. Among his victims was his colleague, police captain Evgeniy Shurikhin, who was strangled in 1999. The investigation immediately latched on to this information and suspicions arose that this particular person was Popkov’s partner. It was impossible to imagine that 84 murders could be committed by one person, without any help. The maniac himself neither confirmed nor denied this information. Soon this version was recognized as untenable.
He was regularly taken to crime scenes for investigative experiments. It turned out that Popkov has a phenomenal memory and remembers every crime in frames. How the sun shone, what instrument he used to kill the victim, and what time it was at that moment. The monster with a smile told and showed the places and details of the crimes. The investigators' last doubts disappeared - this man really killed so many people.
Five years later
In 2017, several programs were broadcast on television about the Angarsk maniac Mikhail Popkov. Mother and sister came to the programs and declared their relative’s innocence. They convinced him that he was an exemplary family man and in his letters denied involvement in all the episodes of which he was accused. Even after watching the footage of the investigative department and his confession on camera, they did not waver in their confidence. However, the mother said that even if he is guilty, she will not stop loving him like a son. But he must be punished.
Decades later, relatives found out who was responsible for the deaths of their mothers, daughters and sisters. They had to listen to the maniac’s terrible confessions and learn all the details of the murders of people close to them. On the question of where the Angarsk maniac sits. Popkov confessed to sixty murders while still in the Angarsk pre-trial detention center. In January 2017, he was transferred to pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the Irkutsk region. No one can rule out the fact that after some time he will continue to confess to murders. After all, while he talks about his crimes, he has the opportunity to go to the scenes of murders and enjoy hours of illusory freedom.
The Irony of Fate
Just recently, journalists again attended a meeting with the maniac and this time brought him unpleasant news. He did not know that his wife filed for divorce immediately after his arrest. But the biggest blow for the maniac was the news that she had married the investigator who was leading his case.
The woman, because of whose betrayal he began to kill innocent victims, struck him again. This news had a noticeable impact on his emotional state.
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