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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
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anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website today's episode features a series of
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extremely violent and graphic attacks against people and animals it won't be suitable for all listeners
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in December 2008 veteran journalist Caitlin Moran was surfing the web when she came across a link on a chat board
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the link was accompanied with the message see if you can keep your breakfast down and after watching this I
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couldn't over dramatic titles and comments compelling users to click links are a common sight in the Internet age
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there's even a turn for them clickbait Caitlin Moran took the bait in Caitlin's words the link took us to some
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footage shot on a mobile phone in some bland murky woodland it appears to be early summer 15 feet away there's a man
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on the ground it's immediately clear that a great many terrible things have happened to him quite recently and that
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it will die very very soon she watched 1 minute and 47 seconds of the eight-minute video before turning it
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off she couldn't stomach anymore however that short amount of time was etched into her memory a horror that would
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never leave her [Music] settled on the banks of the neva river in the south-central part of Ukraine is
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the city of Dnieper located near 400 kilometers southeast from the capital of Kiev
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Denis Pro his Ukraine's fourth largest city with a population of around 1 million people considered the major
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industrial center of Ukraine the cityscape is dotted with unsightly enterprises and manufacturing plants
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devoted to heavy industry residue from an industrial boom during the Soviet era the city was one of the most important
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manufacturing cities in the Soviet Union producing many goods from small articles
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like screws and vacuum cleaners to where craft engine pieces and ballistic missiles the city itself is
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characterized by its mix of architectural styles remnants of its rich history from Russian neoclassical
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structures of ornamental brick and stone to ambitious and unfinished Soviet architecture a symbol of poor economic
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planning which has plagued the city ever since it's not uncommon to find very large potholes and crumbling surfaces on
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many of the city's smaller roads trams along the leafy main strips are often in poor technical state a metro system
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opened in 1995 consists of one line with just six stations work on other stations
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was abandoned when the city ran out of money nevertheless Denis Pro is a powerhouse of Ukraine's business and
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politics the native city of many of the country's most important figures tourists flood the city visiting the
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various theaters museums parks restaurants and beaches by 2015 Deak immunization law out lured communist
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symbols within the city to comply with the law in May 2016 the official name of the city was shortened to Dnieper but
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prior to 2016 the city was named after Grigory Petrovski the communist leader of Ukraine
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back then the city was called to any proper troughs IND any proper trough skin 1988 two baby
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boys were born first came Victor sayenko on March 1 and a less than two months later on April 20 he gore soprano
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entered the world although living in the industrial city both boys were born into
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privilege or at least the comfortable middle class Victor's father was a computer engineer who worked with Public
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Prosecutions and Igor as father was a pilot who spent several years flying around the
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president of independent Ukraine both boys had mothers who doted on them Igor and Victor met at school and became
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instant friends they formed a trio with another boy Alexander honza who was Victor's friend since
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kindergarten and the oldest by two weeks Alexander did not have the wealth of his
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friends he lived in the poorer part of town where it was said rats the size of dogs roamed to the building's he had
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only his mother his father died when he was a baby the boys often found mischief their
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first brush with the law occurred when they were caught throwing stones and moving trains when police knocked on
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Victor's door and demanded compensation his parents paid up and grilled Victor when he explained that Eagle was the
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instigator of the incident they forbade Victor from seeing him yet Victor did not obey his parents they didn't bother
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following through on their punishment and soon Victor was back in the company of Igor the boys had a normal and
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seemingly happy upbringing although none of them liked attending school or doing
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their studies Igor and Victor had home computers and they enjoyed messing around on the Internet
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as they grew into teens they got mobile phones and they began to photograph in document everything they did
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Igor his mother had returned to her job as a high-ranking employee of the district State Administration and so
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eagle was left to entertain himself unsupervised a lot during their time at secondary school in
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Denney proper troughs the boys lived in fear of older and strongest students by the victor and Eagle were also
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frightened of heights and they were worried that this weakness would encourage bullies igor searched the
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internet for advice on how to overcome acrophobia and read that the best method was the face such fears head-on
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this led the boys to stand on a balcony of a 14th floor apartment for hours hanging over the railing and staring
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straight down at the ground eventually their fear of heights subsided and they deemed to face your fears method of
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getting over phobias a success with their new fee under confidence Viktor Igor and Alexander became increasingly
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aggressive and anti-social towards anyone they perceived as weaker than them picking on younger smaller boys as
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the leader of the three boys Igor led the group into increasingly serious acts of vandalism and hooliganism he had
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developed a fondness for a Dolph Hitler and would proudly tell everyone that he shared the Firoz birthday he liked to
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take photos of himself with a drawn on toothbrush style mustache in front of swastikas he sprayed onto any surface he
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could fallen in eighth grade Igor brutally beat another child and stole his bicycle which he then sold to
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Viktor although he drew the attention of police Igor was not charged it was rumoured that this was due to the
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intervention of his influential parents Victor's parents again forbade him to be
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friends with Igor but they didn't supervise the boy or question where he was going when he went out so the boys
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continued to see each other in 2002 a teacher complained to that Igor and Alexander had committed what was
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described as hooligan acts against it rather than charges being brought the boys were separated Igor was transferred
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to a neighboring school and Alexander was sent to a vocational school it didn't stop the young trio from
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terrorizing the district but nobody would notify the police because of the influence of Eagles parents his father
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was seemingly able to make any unpleasant issue simply disappeared Egor and Viktor had been happy with the
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results of their experiment for baiting their fear of heights when Alexander admitted to them that he
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had a phobia of blood Egor suggested using the same method to overcome his aversion Alexander would have to get up
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close and personal with large amounts of blood in order to beat his fear there were many stray and wild animals
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in the forest area near Alexander's house the boys took to capturing dogs and cats and slaughtering them they kept
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this up long after Alexander overcame his blood phobia when killing wasn't enough to satisfy they moved on to
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torture Igor would use the animal blood to paint swastikas on trees or fences nearby they would also take photos of
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each other posing with the animal carcasses collecting hundreds of gruesome pictures they believed that
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torturing animals would help them become tougher in adulthood one day they fashioned a wooden cross
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that they hung in the garage of one of the boys homes they nailed a white kitten to a crucifixion style then took
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turns shooting at it with pistols loaded with rubber bullets they filmed the kittens ordeal laughing has a died
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meanwhile the adults in their lives were seemingly oblivious to what the three teenagers were getting up to when they
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are not at school or home Igor's parents led very busy lives with their high-powered jobs and his father was
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often away for long periods flying Victor's father also spent a great deal of time at work but his mother was at
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home in 2005 when the trio were all around 17 years old they set upon and beat up two 15 year old boys there's
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nothing to say why they chose those two targets or if their attack was motivated
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by anything what the records do say is that the trio pounded the smaller boys in the face until they were a bloody
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mess the victim suffered from concussion broken bones and permanently disfigured
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faces the parents of the victims tried to bring charges against Dave or Victor and
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Alexander but once again Eagle is well-connected and influential father intervened they got off with little more
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than a stern talking-to by their parents after graduating high school Victor went
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to the Denny proper troughs going and steel academy to study Python while studying he took on a job as a security
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guard neither of these things appealed to him nearly as much as playing around on the Internet
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hay and Eagle had discovered and enjoyed pursuing goal websites the pair became obsessed with looking at photos and
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videos of real murders they watched footage of drug cartel bosses torturing and executing and beheadings performed
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by extremists or terrorist groups until they were no longer shocked by anything the sites had to offer at the same time
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Eagles father bought him a car as a graduation present a green Daewoo bird Eagle was not in any hurry to get a job
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to get his father off his back about finding employment igor declared his de word to be a taxi cab and became an
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unlicensed taxi driver the taxi became the perfect ruse to cover up the new favorite pastime of igor victor and
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alexander the boys had taken to robbing people attacking strangers and stealing phones wallets and jewelry
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quite often they would pick up people in eagles car masquerading as a taxi then they take their unsuspecting victims
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somewhere quiet and rob them Alexander had drifted between odd jobs but was unemployed for much of the time coming
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from a poor household he saw the robberies as a necessity unlike Alexander neither Igor Norfolk
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that needed the money they did it for the thrill Alexander would later say he was becoming increasingly uneasy with
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the activities of his friends and the recklessness with which they would attack people fearing they might
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accidentally kill someone after two armed robberies on March 1 2007 Alexander claimed that he would not take
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part in them anymore in early June 2007 Igor and Viktor picked up a man and a woman in their
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makeshift taxi to rob them as usual previously the pair would conduct their robberies at night to give them the
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cover of darkness but this time they picked up their victims in daylight worried that the couple got a good look
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at them in their car by which they could be identified Igor and Viktor decided that a logical step was to kill them no
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details can be found in public records on how Igor and Viktor carried out the deed whether they planned it first or
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who did what to whom all we know is that crossing the line from robbery to murder
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apparently didn't disturb them it excited him on the evening of June 25 2007 33 year-old ekaterina real cheng
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co-hosted an evening at her home in denny proper troske in attendance was her best friend as
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well as her mother Natalya a sociable and outgoing woman a Katharina was a teacher at the local
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university and participated in local sports over dinner she spoke of her recent holiday to Turkey there was a
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good night spent laughing talking and eating at around 10 p.m. a Katerina offered to walk her friend home they
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invited a Katerina's mother Natalya to accompany them but she was too tired as the girls left to make the short walk
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Natalya settled into bed after a heavy sleep Natalya woke up at around 4:30 a.m. a sense that something wasn't quite
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right compelled her to check her daughter's room hey Katarina's bed had not been slept in
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in fact it didn't appear as though she had come home at all at 5 a.m. Natalya left the house and went outside to
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search for her daughter a short way down the path she spotted three women huddled
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around something on the ground as Natalya approached she realized the women were crowded around a body
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it was a daughter hey Katarina laying a pool of blood her hands stiff before her
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face as if she had been protecting herself from something Natalia later recalled the horror quote
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there was no face only parts of it Natalia screamed to the women that is my daughter call the police anda then
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collapsed not far away early morning Park walkers discovered the body of 45 year old Roman Tata
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ravaged homeless Roman had dozed off after a drinking binge on a park bench his body was found in a similar way to a
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cat arenas both their heads had been struck multiple times with a blunt object to the point of being
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unrecognizable that same night another man Victor Perez was attacked to me his housing estate he too was struck in the
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face he was fortunate that a woman from a nearby hair salon began shouting she frightened the attackers away leaving
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the 58 year old man in a pool of blood but alive six days later on July 1 two more bodies were found
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Eugene Grushenka ended nikolai search or little is known about their murders or the victims themselves they too were
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beaten so badly with a heavy object that their skull split open five days after that on July 6 the two young killers had
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their most prolific day yet Victor had spent the day and evening with his girlfriend he then called Igor to come
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and pick him up the two decided they would carry out a few robberies before bed to earn some extra money
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Igor and natural odd a young man recently discharged from the Army was heading home in the early hours after a
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fun night out drinking and clubbing he made it almost inside his house when attacked from behind
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neighbors were startled by the blood-curdling screams of a girl's mother when she discovered her son's
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bloodied body on the doorstep just around the corner from where the returned servicemen lived nighttime
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security guard yelena SRAM was walking home after finishing her shift early because she
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wasn't feeling well yelena was a hard-working single mother who walked the five blocks home from
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work regularly she was almost home when she came upon her killers Elena's mother
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would later say quote there was not a part of her that was not destroyed when we arrived at the morgue
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we couldn't recognize her tasked with the job of identifying the body Elena's sister could only rely on her clothes
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and and hair then valentina hands are a mother of three who also had been the sole carer for her disabled husband was
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murdered shortly after yelena there had now been seven similar murders in less than two weeks in an area of little more
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than a million people despite the similarities in the attacks local police had yet to link them no warnings were
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issued to the residents of the industrial district that had arranged killer or killers were on the loose
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the following day July 7 13 year old Andre City York and 14 year old of adamantly iqaf from Paducah hrodna
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around 15 kilometers from Demi proper troske woke up extra early to head off to catch fresh fish as a treat for their
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mothers the two young friends had gone fishing together many times and usually had a
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third boy with them but their friend was not allowed out for this trip it was still dark and would be for some time
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his mother was afraid something might happen to him and refused to let him go fishing so Andre and vadym set off on
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their bicycles without him carrying nothing but their fishing rods as they paddled along the familiar country road
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leading to the samara river a green colored taxi overtook them it stopped a little way ahead the two occupants got
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out of the vehicle and stood in the middle of the dark road as the teenagers approached on their bikes The Strangers
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turned and swung sharply at them with heavy pipes knocking them to the ground Andre was knocked unconscious
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immediately but vadym managed to jump up and start running like something out of
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a horror movie he heard the taxi engine roar as he ran it started to bear down on him
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Nevadans intimate knowledge of the area that had been his home all his life served him well he veered off into the
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surrounding bush land where he found a place to heart the taxi slowed and passed the area where vadym had left the
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road although petrified he managed to stay quiet while the driver of the taxi continued to search for him after a
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while the car turned away and returned back from where it came once he was sure that the attackers had gone had him
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emerged from the shrubbery and rushed to check on his friend Andre lay in a pool
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of blood his face was crushed but he was still breathing he appeared to be trying
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to say something but it was impossible to make out any words vadym tried to stop some of the bleeding
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with his t-shirt and put his jacket under Andres head to comfort him before heading to a busier road to try and get
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help car sped by the frantic blood-spattered teenager until finally someone stopped
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and agreed to take the boys to the hospital Andre was pronounced dead on arrival of Adam's nightmare was only
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just beginning though when the police arrived at the hospital they promptly arrested him for the murder of his
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friend according to his mother they wouldn't allow him to call her before snatching him from hospital to
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interrogate him back at the station when the traumatized teenager began to pass out in the backseat of the police
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vehicle a policeman poked him violently with his weapon to wake him up at the station they grilled vadym about the
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death of Andre in Fantom maintained to the story of the two pipe wielding taxi driving killers and provided police with
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physical descriptions of the attackers to yung lean Caucasian men with short dark hair unconvinced of his bizarre
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story police tried to shake vadym by threatening to keep him in a Cell overnight and later sent him to a youth
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detention center when vadym story didn't change police finally contacted his mother who arrived
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shortly after she wasn't allowed to comfort Fadem nor accompany him and during police questioning
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according to her police beat her son in an attempt to get him to confess to the murder only after she threatened to go
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to the public prosecutor was vadym finally released vadym was racked with nightmares and
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could not be left alone afraid the killers would come back for him now that there was an eyewitness police
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finally started looking into similar crimes in the preceding wakes searching for a link to the murder of Andre armed
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with sketches from badams descriptions police stepped up the hunt for the two young killers bringing in detectives
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from Kiev although no official announcement was made the people of Denny proper trust talked among
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themselves news spread that there were killers on the loose preying on the weak and vulnerable
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the locals dubbed them did any proper traffic maniacs it was clear to the town's folk that a serial killer was
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carrying out the attacks but there was no pattern among the victims as experts pointed out serial killers nearly always
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prefer a specific type of victim but these people had nothing in common there were a range of different people
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innocently going about their business apparently attacked at random the killers appeared to deliberately target
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victims who were not likely to be able to fight back the elderly drunks young teenagers or unsuspecting women who were
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simply in the wrong place at the wrong time [Music] thank you for listening we'll be back
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slash case file zip recruiter the smartest way to hire Sergei yatsenko had cheated death twice
00:30:08
around in 1990 while working on a farm he lost control of the tractor he was driving and I rolled into the river he
00:30:16
could have jumped out of the cabin when he tried to save the expensive farm machinery for its owner and we end up
00:30:22
pinned under water by the time he was freed Sergei was clinically dead from drowning rescuers managed to resuscitate
00:30:32
him and get him to hospital where doctors declared his survival a one-in-a-million chance a young father
00:30:40
at the time Sergei went on to devote himself to his family he had a wife Ludmila who adored him and two sons who
00:30:49
grew up to be fine young men and who married young women whom Sergei came to love as if they were his own daughters
00:30:56
Sergei worked hard to give his family everything they needed he was a wonderful cook a loving father always
00:31:03
cheerful and met all of life's challenges with good humour when a grandson came along Sergei could not be
00:31:11
happier he took it upon himself to teach his daughter-in-law how to swaddle and bathe the baby
00:31:17
Sergei couldn't get enough of caring for and playing with his grandson and taking
00:31:22
him for long walks Sergei his life was dealt a second blow when he developed a cancerous tumor in
00:31:29
his throat the needed emergency surgery there was another life-and-death moment for Sergei which he faced with strength
00:31:36
and dignity Sergei is wife ludmila said quote when the tumor was discovered he did not
00:31:45
complain he did not whine he took everything like a man they were both over joyed when the
00:31:54
operation was successful but as a result Sergey was left unable to speak in anything more than a whisper of a few
00:32:01
words at a time he lost his job but Lyudmila said his family heard him and that was what mattered people often
00:32:11
spoke of Serge's kindness and gentle nature but he was also a proud man he looked after his unwell mother as well
00:32:19
as his wife and the four dogs that he had given her home to unable to sit at home and feel sorry for himself he
00:32:27
accepted any odd job that others would offer him he was happy to take on building tasks fixing cars
00:32:33
garbage collection driving or make deliveries on his motorbike according to Ludmila he even waved baskets and
00:32:41
fashioned household goods his voice was slowly being restored and he could speak
00:32:47
whole sentences though still in a whisper on the afternoon of July 12 2007 48 year-old Sergei told his wife Ludmila
00:33:00
that he was going to get some fuel for his motorbike afterwards he planned to go and see his grandson just as he did
00:33:07
every chance he could get Sergei set off along the quiet wooded shortcut that led
00:33:16
to the highway between Denny proper troske and the village of Tehran ski later that evening
00:33:22
Sergey failed to return home Ludmila caught his mobile phone but there was no answer she then found her
00:33:30
daughter-in-law only to find out Sergei never arrived to her place as he planned
00:33:36
the Miller immediately knew something wasn't right Sergei would always let her know where
00:33:42
he was and if he was going to be late Ludmila was worried her husband had had an accident or fallen ill as he was
00:33:50
inclined to overexert himself ukrainian regulations meant she could not file a missing-persons report until he had been
00:33:57
missing for 72 hours she didn't sleep that night the following day was spent posting flyers and photographs of her
00:34:06
husband around town and asking others if they had seen him nobody heard Ludmila did not give up she continued to
00:34:17
scour the streets enlisting help from family and friends until exhaustion forced her to return home it was two
00:34:26
days later when Ludmila received a phone call and motorbike that matched the description of the one who missing
00:34:33
husband had been riding was spotted lying in a bush off a nearby highway the men who had spotted her led Ludmilla and
00:34:40
her sons to the location the family searched the area trudging the dense woodland along the road where they
00:34:49
eventually came across a body they recognized that immediately from the gray neatly pressed suit
00:34:56
it was Sergey his face had been destroyed on July 14 two young homeless siblings her brother and sister were
00:35:09
carrying in a Hut of rags and cardboard they had built tucked away in a secluded
00:35:14
part of Denny proper troske they watched as 45 year old Natalya mum Shahrukh drove past on her moped as she drove
00:35:23
towards two young men loitering nearby one knocked her off her moped then dragged her into nearby bushes when
00:35:32
police arrived Natalya was found in the shrub beaten to death the two siblings were able to give police a clear
00:35:42
description of the perpetrators which matched tho is provided by young vadym Lea cough rumours of a pair of
00:35:50
psychopaths at large were now sweeping the city of Denny proper troske late night clubs and restaurants in the
00:35:57
district and city outskirts were empty tourists stayed away from the industrial centre children were kept inside the
00:36:06
tension was made all the more unbearable by the Silence of the news and to the absence of any official information from
00:36:13
the police over the next few days from July 14 to 16 two mutilated corpses were discovered in and around at any proper
00:36:25
troughs every day each one struck in the face repeatedly with a blunt instrument
00:36:30
and many of them stopped as they lay on the ground in most cases the mutilation rendered the victims unrecognizable
00:36:40
denne proper troske was now host to an unusual number of funerals young vadym and the iqaf was forbidden by his mother
00:36:48
to attend at the memorial service of his friend Andre CityWalk as he was still traumatized by the murder and the police
00:36:55
then trying to blame him for it perhaps if vadym had attended he would have noticed two uninvited and familiar
00:37:03
looking guests Igor and Victor would attend the funerals and grave sites of their victims to take selfies in some
00:37:12
photos they give their headstones the middle finger has one final act of humiliation and disrespect more murders
00:37:21
followed in such rapid succession that there is little information available about individual victims in records or
00:37:27
newspaper reports from the time a task force established to find to those responsible grew to encompass almost
00:37:34
every single law-enforcement officer in the region officials would later say that they had over 2,000 police officers
00:37:41
dedicated to the hunt for the two young male killers still this information was kept out of the newspapers both to avoid
00:37:49
panic and in the hope that the suspects wouldn't know the police were on to them
00:37:54
this was despite the killer's knowing that they had been spotted several times and had even left some survivors
00:38:06
seventy-year-old of lydia macaroon yeshiva was walking her three dogs near her home when she noticed two young men
00:38:13
nearby taking photographs she assumed too that they were looking at the nearby real estate and didn't think of much of
00:38:20
it as the path found its way through bushes secluded for many people who might be about she was struck from
00:38:27
behind and fell to the ground unconscious Egor and Viktor took turns kicking her in the face
00:38:34
hoping to dislodge what they thought were gold crowns on her teeth Lydia's dog started barking loudly
00:38:41
spooking the pair they shot the dogs with rubber bullets killing two and injuring the other the commotion caused
00:38:50
by the dogs forced the pair to run away before they killed Lydia she suffered serious internal and external injuries
00:38:57
her jaw was shattered and her face had to be rebuilt knowing that the killers had robbed their victims police
00:39:07
distributed sketches of the wanted men under lists of stolen property to local pawn shops the official story of what
00:39:16
exactly led to the events of July 23 2007 varies what is known is that two young men visited at any proper troughs
00:39:25
pawn shop to try and sell a mobile phone they were offered approximately $20 us for the item if it was in working
00:39:32
condition to test the device the shop clerk pressed the power button sure enough the screen flickered to life
00:39:42
as soon as the mobile phone was turned on they released a signal that was immediately intercepted by police the
00:39:50
phone belonged to one of the victims police stormed the pawnshop and confronted the killers Victor sayenko
00:39:58
in degausser pro-nuke police conducted searches of their homes as well as that of their old but since
00:40:06
distant friend Alexander honza when police descended on Victor's apartment they were refused entry for around 40
00:40:15
minutes before Victor's father finally let them in police retrieved items from the wardrobes of the suspects according
00:40:24
to the investigator who backed the clothes there was not a single item from Igor and Victor's belongings that were
00:40:30
without bloodstains there jeans sneakers and jackets were all soiled in varying intensity of red and brown among the
00:40:40
evidence collected was a bloody earring belonging to one of their victims computer storage devices as well as the
00:40:48
murder weapon a yellow handled hammer igor also had a copy of Adolphe Hitler's Mein Kampf and had collected newspaper
00:40:58
articles relating to crimes he had committed the plumbing within Alexander hands as property was dismantled a
00:41:07
plumber extracted watches and three mobile phones which belonged to three of the murder victims once under arrest all
00:41:16
three suspects were quick to crumble and confess to their crimes later there were
00:41:21
questions raised about the methods used by Ukrainian police to extract to those confessions video released to the press
00:41:29
showed alexander the only one without influential parents obviously severely beaten there were no marks on either
00:41:37
Igor or Victor in Victor's videotaped confession he first said he acted alone but soon admitted that he was in the
00:41:48
company of Eagle when the detective asked him how many they had killed Victor responded quote I don't know I
00:41:57
don't remember how many maybe 19 the detective asked the question everyone wanted the answer to
00:42:06
why Victor seemed unable to answer and first he claimed that he didn't know why eventually he admitted that he killed
00:42:16
for money he then volunteered his partners motive quote Igor Igor just liked to kill when a detective asked
00:42:29
Igor in his interview what he felt when he killed the teenager replied quote what do you feel when you cut a sausage
00:42:41
by the end of the day Igor and Victor had confessed to killing at least two 19 people in the previous four weeks by the
00:42:49
time formal charges were laid igor victor and alexander were charged with involvement in 29 separate incidents
00:42:56
including 21 murders and eight more attacks where victim survived igor was charged with 27 of the cases including
00:43:06
21 counts of capital murder eight armed robberies and one count of animal cruelty victor was charged with 25
00:43:15
instances including 18 murders 5 robberies and one count of animal cruelty alexander was charged with two
00:43:23
counts of armed robbery from March 2007 after which he claimed to have withdrawn
00:43:28
from the activities of his friends and did not participate in the murders once the arrests were made the Ukrainian
00:43:40
people were outraged as they heard the litany of crimes about which they had been for the most part kept in the dark
00:43:46
despite the spate of brutal murders all carried out in the same manner the city of denne proper troughs didn't warn its
00:43:53
citizens nor did they put a curfew into effect although some individual crimes made the local papers there had been no
00:44:01
major news stories of people being randomly attacked murdered and mutilated by serial killers had they been told
00:44:09
people would have taken more precautions if there had been news stories up the young vadym and other witnesses had come
00:44:16
forward everyone would have been wary of two young men stopped on the side of a lonely road or otherwise behaving
00:44:23
suspiciously law enforcement and media alike tried to establish a motive for the
00:44:29
killings robbery didn't provide an adequate explanation many of their victims had nothing worth stealing
00:44:36
there were vagrants young boys going fishing travellers needing a taxi not people who would typically be expected
00:44:44
to be carrying valuables rumors circulated the police had not caught all of the perpetrators in particular there
00:44:53
was the matter of Daniel Kozlov a close friend of Viktor sayenko since kindergarten he was known to regularly
00:45:00
hang out with Egor and Viktor neighbors recalled many times spotting the green day we were pulling up outside Kozlov
00:45:07
his house that would honk for him and Kozlov would emerge from the house and climbing to the vehicle before it headed
00:45:13
off Kozlov was arrested some reports say for the murders others for hooliganism he too was the son of a powerful and
00:45:24
well-connected father with ties to officials surprisingly he admitted to having knowledge of the crimes having
00:45:31
seen video and pictures taken by the killers and hearing them brag about robbing and killing the killers urged
00:45:38
Kozlov to join them saying there was the prospect of making a lot of money they showed him their expensive computer
00:45:45
equipment which they claimed was rewards of their crimes people thought that it was quite likely that Kozlov was
00:45:52
involved in at least one murder but the combination of his willingness to talk and his rich and well-connected family
00:45:59
meant that he was never charged and he soon disappeared from sight the parents of the three accused rallied around them
00:46:09
Alexander's mother had no influence or contacts Betty Gore and Victor's parents through all of their resources and
00:46:16
connections into setting their son's free they maintained firmly that their sons were innocent of all crimes and
00:46:23
were four guys for the true criminals whose power and wealth provided them with immunity their public support was
00:46:31
met with considerable skepticism Alexander's mother told reporters that there had been a mistake in arresting
00:46:38
her son ironically she said quote he's a kind boy he couldn't hurt a cat let alone a person Victor's father told
00:46:50
the press I don't know why my son is admitting to these charges he's an ordinary boy I think that he must have
00:46:58
been intimidated by someone these charges have been fabricated Igor in particular was confident that his
00:47:08
parents would fix the situation just as they had bowed him out of every bit of trouble he had never been in throughout
00:47:14
his lifetime when his lawyer asked if he had any messages for his parents he responded that he missed his mother and
00:47:21
that he would be back home soon journalists worried that he was right knowing that his father had been the
00:47:29
personal pilot to the country's former president they wondered if he would call upon the politician to help his son it
00:47:39
is feasible that under normal circumstances in 2007 Ukraine Eagles confidence of his father getting him out
00:47:46
would not be misplaced however there was something different in this case making
00:47:51
releasing Igor and Viktor politically impossible among the items recovered by police in their raids on the boys homes
00:47:59
were hundreds of photographs and videos of the two young killers carrying out their crimes and posing with their
00:48:06
victims there was everything from an extended video of the torture of a kitten to selfies taken at their victims
00:48:13
funerals from photographs of them with tortured dogs and cuts and more posing with the bloodied bodies of their human
00:48:20
victims across one photograph someone had scrawled the weak must thought the strongest will win
00:48:30
there were also at least five videos documenting some of the murders a 30 minute film showed the young Psychopaths
00:48:38
preparing waiting for and then murdering Sergey yatsenko the footage is dated July 12 2007 Igor and Viktor stand on
00:48:49
the side of the road Victor's mobile phone is balanced on the roof of their car recording video the
00:48:57
woodland road was quiet as the pair discussed their plan to wave down a passing car and killed the occupant
00:49:03
provided it wasn't a big car Igor said to Viktor we can stop a car just like that and if it is a big guy we tell him
00:49:13
there's no problem and to let him go and if a little one comes out we say welcome with this he then pulled a
00:49:23
yellow handled hammer out of a yellow plastic bag and dabrander stood at the camera as both he and Viktor laughed in
00:49:30
excitement igor hid the hammer behind his back then joked i will pull it out like this whilst demonstrating a
00:49:38
swinging motion they had binoculars so they could see well into the distance and figure out
00:49:45
whether the person coming was a suitable victim they hoped that whoever it was had a cell phone
00:49:51
nice but not too nice as they wanted to be able to sell it quickly if it were a man and a woman they would go ahead and
00:49:59
kill them both provided the man was not too big as they waited they checked the Daewoo over noting that there were
00:50:08
bloodstains in various spots they debated about which stains came from which of their previous victims
00:50:16
finally Viktor raised the binoculars and saw someone coming down the quiet stretch of road he called the Igor that
00:50:24
it was torn he cried out in excitement what video will capture not just pictures igor asked what does he look
00:50:36
like viktor replied he looks normal once Victor had identified the approaching target a man
00:50:47
on a bike Igor stood in the middle of the road Victor grabbed hold of the camera and
00:50:53
held it up at Igor when Sergey yatsenko reached the boys Igor swung around with a hammer Sergey was hit and fell off his
00:51:04
bike still laughing the boys dragged Sergey from the road and into the framing woodland for eight long minutes
00:51:14
Sergei yatsenko endured unimaginable suffering the two killers caught everything on camera giggling the entire
00:51:22
time when Sergei died Igor gave him one last torn what a [ __ ] day for you huh Igor took his time wiping the hammer
00:51:37
clean and putting it in the trunk of the car then carefully washed his face and hair asking his friend to check the
00:51:43
spots where he had missed the blood running his fingers through his wet hair Igor said this time was the awesome
00:51:54
Victor was keen to flee the scene of the crime but Igor insisted the pair should
00:51:58
go back and get a selfie once he finished washing they returned to the bloodied remains of Sergei in a final
00:52:07
act of indignity to the proud family man Igor and Victor stood over him and photographed themselves performing the
00:52:13
Nazi salute Victor seongho's father insisted that the photographs and footage of his son and friend killing
00:52:25
Sergei and others were faked he told reporters that when police raided his house they found a perfectly innocent
00:52:33
pictures and videos of Victor with his friend Igor in the woods and that someone who wanted to frame them made up
00:52:39
photos and videos using special effects experts agreed that faking all footage found would require a Hollywood level
00:52:47
special effects team and a year of editing somehow eight minutes of footage showing
00:52:53
the final brutal moments of Sergey yet cinco's life made its way from the evidence room to the Internet for those
00:53:01
who could stomach watching it there was no doubt that the giggling psychopath featured in the video was Igor Supra
00:53:07
nuke and his friend Victor sayenko was behind the camera with the release of the video online
00:53:15
another Theory began to circulate local media reported the killers had a plan to
00:53:21
get rich by selling their murder videos to an underground snuff ring snuff is a genre film depicting the very real
00:53:28
killing of a human being the girlfriend of one of the boys reported that they planned to make 40 separate videos of
00:53:36
murders this was corroborated by a former classmate who claimed he heard Eagle was in contact with a rich foreign
00:53:43
website operator who ordered 40 snuff videos and would pay lots of money once they were made journalists tried to
00:53:52
verify the existence of this snuff network one news crew claimed to find a site with the help of a Russian hacker
00:53:58
that contained hundreds of murder videos many of them made in Ukraine but their efforts led nowhere
00:54:06
the story was likely a fairness T woven around to the video of Sergey x' murder which had reached a viral proportions on
00:54:13
shock and gore websites it should be noted that someone with access to court records leaked the footage not the
00:54:22
killers themselves surely after their arrest the three suspects received psychiatric
00:54:29
evaluations all were deemed sane and fit to stand trial nevertheless Igor's lawyer tried to
00:54:37
mount an insanity defense and insisted that his client should be treated not punished
00:54:43
Igor's paternal grandmother had schizophrenia and his lawyer argued that igor inherited the condition igor
00:54:51
pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity his lawyer disputed the psychiatric evaluation that declared Igor was sane
00:54:59
saying that the notoriety of the crimes meant the defendants could get fair treatment and the results were
00:55:05
rushed and biased the trial of Igor soprano pictus anko and alexander honza began in June 2008 it was delayed after
00:55:16
the first day when Eagles lawyer quit citing his own health problems then in another twist
00:55:23
Victor's parents fired his lawyer and his own father took on the defense Victor's lawyer was happy to be
00:55:30
dismissed saying that his clients story had changed and he felt he could no longer provide him an adequate defense
00:55:38
Victor under the guidance of his father recanted the confession he had made in the police station saying it had been
00:55:44
forced out of him through the use of violence and coercion the case was adjourned until the new defence teams
00:55:50
could get acquainted with the case file there were whispers the Victor's father explored other methods of freeing his
00:55:57
son including pressuring at least one of the surviving victims not to testify the
00:56:04
trial recommenced in early july the three accused had to be transported to and from the courtroom wearing body
00:56:10
armor as there was a very real fear that would be attacked by victims families or
00:56:15
the general public inside a court they were put into a cage from where they observed the proceedings behind bars
00:56:23
Igor and Victor were allowed access to their parents who formed part of their defense teams but Alexander's mother was
00:56:30
denied any contact with her son ten lawyers represented 29 family members of victims eligible for compensation from
00:56:39
the crimes the prosecution's evidence included eyewitness testimony the many items belonging to the victims recovered
00:56:47
from the homes of the defendants and DNA evidence that confirmed with over 99% accuracy the involvement of the accused
00:56:54
in the murders but the most compelling evidence was the photographs and videos produced by the suspects themselves the
00:57:03
court had a psychologist on standby when these exhibits were presented and the counselor was put to good use
00:57:10
several people ran from the court distraught after observing the disturbing con and the killers gazed calmly from behind
00:57:18
the bars to the TV screen occasionally they exchanged glances and smirks when it came time for them to be questioned
00:57:27
about the videos they denied they were involved in an outrageous claim they said they didn't recognize anyone in the
00:57:35
footage despite the many shots in which they appeared close up to the camera the
00:57:41
judge didn't appreciate the court being played for a fool and responded you are not blind the defense team for Egor and
00:57:51
Viktor tried every tactic from having the photos and videos thrown out of evidence due to them being obtained by
00:57:57
an improper search - presenting a conspiracy cover-up that protected the real culprits who they said were rich
00:58:04
and famous they also argued that the confessions had been obtained through torture although only Alexander had
00:58:12
shown any signs of being beaten when it came their turn to testify the killers turned on each other
00:58:23
according to Victor's father Viktor was himself a victim terrified of the psychotic igor who had forced him into
00:58:30
participating in the slaughter he claimed a sort of Stockholm Syndrome and an ever-growing psychological
00:58:38
dependence on Igor arising from the fear the enigmatic younger boy had instilled
00:58:42
in him Victor claimed Igor had made both direct and implied threats of violence and that
00:58:49
he had convinced him that he could ensure all of the blame fell upon Victor should they ever be caught Alexander's
00:58:56
defense was that he was only involved in a single robbery prior to the murderous
00:59:00
spree he pled guilty to the robbery and claimed he had no idea what Igor and Victor were capable of and if he had
00:59:08
known he would not have gone near them even at gunpoint as for the property belonging to the victims that was found
00:59:17
at Alexander's house it was accepted that Igor and Victor gifted him these items and that he wasn't actually
00:59:23
present at the murders egle meanwhile was generally solid throughout the trial although he seemed
00:59:31
to enjoy the replaying of his exploits on video his mother formed part of the defense
00:59:37
team and families of the victims would later say they felt intimidated by her cold unwavering stare and complete lack
00:59:44
of sympathy the one thing the prosecution still could not answer was the question of
00:59:51
motive the lack of motive coupled with the extreme cruelty made this case unique they accepted the
00:59:59
profit from robbery was not the main purpose since most of their victims had little to steal the rumors of creation
01:00:07
of videos for sale to the snuff market were not address that the trial at all eventually the prosecution settled on
01:00:15
the unthinkable Igor and Viktor tortured and killed people simply for the thrill
01:00:21
and filmed their exploits to have momento is to look back on and enjoy in their old age on February 11 2009 the
01:00:33
court found Igor Soprano can Victor sayenko guilty of all charges Igor was found guilty of 21 murders and
01:00:41
victor was found guilty of 18 they both received two life sentences which they immediately appealed though which were
01:00:50
upheld later that year by the Supreme Court Alexander honza was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to nine years in
01:00:58
prison he did not appeal nobody could believe that the parents of the convicted had truly been blissfully
01:01:06
unaware of what Igor and Viktor were getting up to they were accused of turning a blind eye to their misdeeds
01:01:12
and blood-stained clothes and to they're suspicious collection of electronics and
01:01:17
jewelry when Yelena Schramm's mother accosted igor's mother she reportedly looked her right in the eye and said
01:01:25
coldly maybe your daughter was just destined to die the mother of returned servicemen Igor Nashville odd said quote
01:01:37
no job can be an excuse for mental deafness to your child how could you not feel the changes in the moods of their
01:01:45
children not say the deformation of their interests not pay attention to the completely blood-stained clothes how did
01:01:53
you not look under the bed where the motor tools were stored and ignore other people's things suddenly appearing in
01:01:59
your house or the appearance of guns and bullets natalya l chenko lived so close
01:02:07
to the side of her daughter's murder that she had to pass by at almost every day each time she would say a prayer for
01:02:14
her daughter hey Katerina she later told reporters quote you can't even call them
01:02:22
animals because animals kill in self-defense by instinct or when they sense danger
01:02:28
they did it just for pleasure they killed people for fun [Music] you