Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was born in the small town of Yabluchne on October 16, 1936. This settlement is located in the Sumy Oblast region of Ukraine's northeast, which was then known as Soviet Ukraine. The Ukrainian SSR was in the grip of starvation, and World War II erupted only a few years after he was born. Between 1941 and 1944, Ukraine was occupied by the Nazis, and he grew up witnessing severe bloodshed as a result. ¹⁾

His birth circumstances were really deplorable. Under the Stalin regime, his family was forced to farm collectively in a one-room hut. This means they could barely feed themselves while working all day. When the Soviet Union became involved in World War II, his father Roman was drafted into the Red Army. Things went poorly from there since his mother, Anna, was unable to care for her children. One of the most fascinating facts about Andrei Chikatilo is that he claimed to have eaten bread for the first time when he was 12 years old. This obviously shows that chronic hunger was a part of his existence as a child. ²⁾

Andrei Chikatilo was an exceedingly shy kid who was constantly bullied because he was physically weak. He was withdrawn and solely concerned with his schoolwork. He wasn't the brightest student, but through hard work and determination, he graduated with honors in 1954, the only student from a farming family to do so. His ultimate ambition was to enroll in Moscow State University, but his grades were too low to be approved. Instead, he enrolled at a trade college and earned a degree. ³⁾

He chose to study Russian literature and philology at the University of Rostov, where he graduated in 1970. Soon after, he landed a position as a teacher and began committing his first crimes. Between 1973 and 1981, he worked as a teacher for eight years before being forced to resign due to multiple reports of child molestation. Surprisingly, he was never jailed throughout this time and was able to simply find another job after being fired as a teacher.⁴⁾

He recalled directly seeing the war, which included gunfire, explosions, and burning. To make matters worse, it is extremely possible that his mother was raped repeatedly by Nazi forces. While her husband had been fighting in the war since 1941, she gave birth to a baby girl named Tatyana in 1943. This indicates he couldn't have been Andrei's sister's father. ⁵⁾

One of the most intriguing facts about Andrei Chikatilo is that he was married throughout this time period due to his sister Tatyana. In 1963, he met a woman named Feodosia Odnacheva and married her two weeks later. This suggests that the marriage was organized solely for economic purposes by Andrei's sister and her husband, mostly because they felt sorry for Andrei and his predicament after learning about it. The couple had two children, a daughter named Lyudmila born in 1965 and a boy named Yuri born in 1969. ⁶⁾

The fact that he had children himself makes the fact that his first murder victim was a 9-year-old girl named Yelena Zakotnova all the more horrible. He had enticed the girl into his old house and attempted to rape her. This occurrence occurred on December 22, 1978. When it didn't work because to his impotence, he strangled her and then stabbed her many times. One of the most astonishing facts about Andrei Chikatilo is that the knife stabbing action allowed him to ejaculate. This discovery would prove critical in the events that would unfold over the next 12 years. ⁷⁾

Despite the fact that there was a mound of evidence against Chikatilo, the police managed to arrest the wrong person. If the cops had followed all of the clues, he would never have been a serial killer in the first place! Aleksandr Kravchenko, a 25-year-old construction worker, had previously been convicted of a similar offense. He was convicted of murder and condemned to death at first, but the Supreme Court modified his sentence to 15 years in December 1980. Because the little girl's relatives objected to the ruling, he was retried, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad in July 1983. ⁸⁾

Andrei Chikatilo was arrested for the first time on September 13, 1984, which is one of the most astounding facts about him. Two police officers in Moscow had observed him when he was attempting to approach girls and young ladies. They then apprehended him in Rostov's city center. Despite the fact that they discovered a large knife, rope, and a bottle of vaseline on him, they let him go after a blood test proved that his blood type did not match the serial killer's. He was, however, convicted of small theft at work and spent three months in prison for this act between September and December 1984. ⁹⁾

They created a psychological profile of the murderer. They initially believed the killer(s) were members of a group that gathers organs to sell on the black market or a mentally sick individual. The murderer, according to the report, was:

• A reclusive man between the ages of 45 and 50.
• A person who had a difficult childhood.
• Shy in front of women.
• Average in intelligence.
• Married with kids.
• A sadistic hunter.
• A man who was afflicted with impotence.
• A man with a busy schedule who travels a lot for work (Chikatilo did).
• A man who gets sexually aroused by using his knife. ¹⁰⁾

The primary error he made was approaching his final victims from train stations along a specific path in the Rostov Oblast region. This enabled investigators to set up sting operations in various train stations in order to catch the killer red-handed. When an investigator discovered dirt on his clothes when he arrived at the train station, this is what happened. On November 14, 1990, his name was written down and he was placed under observation. When he began pursuing women and girls on November 20, 1990, he was apprehended, and the murder spree came to an end.¹¹⁾

The police found enough circumstantial evidence to believe he was the murderer. He had a fractured finger from a fight with one of his victims, as well as evidence linking him to the murder, such as a knife and a rope. He finally broke down on the last day of the 10-day period in which they could lawfully retain him. It didn't happen until the killer's psychological report, which precisely described his life and mental state, was read to him. He ultimately burst into tears and confessed to 56 killings, recounting each one in great detail. ¹²⁾

The specifics of his crimes were heinous. One of the most horrific aspects of Andrei Chilatilo is that he initially chopped out all of his victims' eyeballs before stabbing and slashing them without removing them. When the authorities inquired about his strange behavior, he merely stated that he had previously believed that the killer's image was imprinted on the victim's eyes. That's why he removed the eyes entirely. ¹³⁾

Another psychological evaluation was conducted in 1991 to establish whether or not he was fit to face trial. Despite the fact that it became evident that the guy had severe mental disorders caused by prenatal brain damage, he was ruled fit to face trial on October 18, 1991. He has a borderline personality disorder combined with a sadistic personality disorder as his primary illness. It is also reasonable to conclude that he had no remorse for his victims and committed his acts solely for personal enjoyment.¹⁴⁾

His trial began in Rostov on April 14, 1992. He was subsequently put to death for 52 murders in total. It's also worth noting that he was finally sentenced for the five charges of sexual assault he committed while working as a teacher. He made a series of pleas, including one to Russia's then-President Boris Yeltsin, but they were all refused. On February 14, 1994, Andrei Chikatilo, also known as “The Butcher of Rostov,” “The Red Ripper,” and “The Rostov Ripper,” was carried from his prison cell to a soundproof chamber at the Novocherkassk prison and shot behind the ear. ¹⁵⁾