Bitsevsky forest (park) is a special protected natural area in Moscow, belonging to the areas of Yasenevo and Chertanovo. This is not the most comfortable place to stay in the capital, but residents of neighboring areas regularly come here just to take a walk or have a picnic. Many people like the clean air of the reserve and the atmosphere of calm and serenity prevailing here. In the mid-90s of the last century, the public was agitated and scared by reports of a series of murders committed in the forest. The mysterious criminal received the pseudonym “Bitsevsky maniac” and, despite all the efforts of law enforcement officials, he continued to kill for another 10 years.
Who is he, a maniac from the Bitsevsky forest?
During the investigation and operational activities in the territory of Bitsevsky Park, several people were detained on suspicion of murder, but they all had an alibi. On June 16, 2006, Alexander Pichushkin was arrested as part of the same criminal case. The evidence was indirect, and the suspect had all the chances to be free soon, but almost immediately after the arrest he began to give a confession. The fact that Alexander Pichushkin is a Bitsa maniac became clear after the first serious interrogations and operational measures. Too detailed and accurate was this person describing the crimes committed.
Childhood and youth of Pichushkin
Alexander was born a completely normal child without any pathological abnormalities. Almost immediately after the birth of the son, the father left the family; the mother and grandfather were engaged in raising the boy. In early childhood, Alexander fell from a swing and received a serious head injury. Long-term treatment helped to greatly alleviate its consequences, but some speech disorders remained. For this reason, the future Bitsevsky maniac is in a specialized boarding school and comes home only on weekends and holidays. After graduating from this educational institution, Alexander enters vocational school for a carpenter.
How do they become maniacs?
Everyone who knew Pichushkin personally gave him the same characteristic: calm, obedient, quiet and inconspicuous. However, according to some teachers and close relatives, back in school years, an exemplary boy had unjustified bouts of rage and aggression. Psychologists and psychiatrists note several features of the personality development of a given person. It has been proved that Alexander was not spoiled in childhood by the love of relatives and always tried to attract their attention, in addition, his father and grandfather suffered from alcoholism, and as a teenager Pichushkin himself often became a victim of hooligans. Bitsevsky maniac was not called up for military service due to psychopathy. It is impossible to establish for certain which of all this combination of reasons has become the main one, but the fact remains: Alexander began to kill.
The bloody path of the Bitsa maniac
It is widely believed that Alexander Pichushkin is a fan of Andrei Chikatilo. Thoughts on the commission of the first murder came to the head of the Bitsa maniac after the Rostov monster was caught. Alexander invited his classmate Mikhail Odiychuk to kill a man together, he took it as a joke. And for several days, young people discussed the alleged murder. When Pichushkin realized that his comrade did not take him seriously, he killed the alleged partner. “The first murder is like first love,” the Bitsa maniac will tell the operatives, years later. After waiting a while and making sure that he was not caught, Alexander went hunting again. At first he killed homeless people and alcoholics, but gradually became bolder, and his victims were quite decent neighbors and inhabitants of the surrounding areas.
Bitsevsky maniac: photo, philosophy, technology of murder
Even today, looking at Alexander’s photographs, it’s hard to believe that this “most ordinary person” is a real monster. He prepared for each murder for several days. What is noteworthy, during his bloody career, Pichushkin lived with his sister's mother and family, he managed not to cause unnecessary suspicion among his relatives. He killed a maniac with a hammer, a shooting pen, a noose, less commonly used other improvised items. It was not possible to reach him for a long time, as Alexander threw the corpses into sewer wells, and many of them were carried far enough by the current. Bitsevsky maniac of the victim for the murder spontaneously chose, most often he just met people on the street and offered to go to the park to drink vodka, after which he talked with a new acquaintance for some time, and then suddenly attacked.
Court and punishment
On June 14, 2006, Alexander Pichushkin invited his colleague Marina Moskaleva to take a walk in the Bitsevsky Forest. The woman before leaving home informed her son who she was planning to meet with, and left the boyfriend's phone number. Outdoor cameras recorded the meeting of Marina and Alexander in the subway, after which no one else saw the woman alive. During the trial, it was proved that Pichushkin (a Bitsa maniac) is guilty of killing 49 people. However, the murderer himself claims that there were more victims, according to various sources: from 60 to 63. Alexander underwent a forensic psychiatric examination and was recognized as a limited sanity. The court sentenced the killer to life imprisonment. Turning to the audience with the last word, Pichushkin said that he did not regret what he had done.
The sentence was carried out and since 2007, the Bitsa maniac is serving his sentence in the colony "Polar Owl".