Russia’s “chessboard murderer” Alexander Pichushkin was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for killing 48 people. The sentence was read out by the judge as 33-year-old Pichushkin stood inside a glass cage in the courtroom with his head bowed. Asked if he understood, Pichushkin replied: “I’m not deaf. I understood.”Pichushkin was given his nickname by the Russian media because he told detectives in a confession that he had hoped to put a coin on every square of a 64-square chessboard for each of his victims.He is Russia’s deadliest serial killer since Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 and executed for killing more than 50 people. Russia is observing a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty.About 20 relatives of his victims were in court, most of them elderly women who ignored Pichushkin and listened to the judgement, fighting back tears.Pichushkin claimed to have killed 63 people, but prosecutors charged him with 48 murders and three attempted murders. They are investigating the other cases.Most of Pichushkin’s victims were homeless people, alcoholics and the elderly. He would invite his victims for a drink. In many cases, he smashed their skulls and threw their unconscious or lifeless bodies into a sewage canal.He killed his first victim in 1992, an experience he said was like first love: “You never forget it.” He killed an average of one victim a month from 2002 onwards, once taking three lives in 10 days.During his testimony, Pichushkin said he felt like a God. “I took the most valuable thing, human life,” he said. “I didn’t take anything else of value from them. Money, jewellery, I didn’t need it. I felt like God. I tried to collect their spirits, their souls,” he said. “I felt no emotion when I killed them,” he added.
