In Kazan, as a result of joint actions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and the Investigative Committee of Russia, on December 1, a suspect was arrested in a series of murders of elderly women that took place in 2011-2012 in several regions of Russia.
It turned out to be a 38-year-old previously convicted resident of Tatarstan, Radik Tagirov.
On account of the "Volga maniac", as journalists dubbed the killer, at least 26 victims.
However, some media outlets report that this number may be higher.
For a long time, the crimes remained unsolved, and Tagirov was considered one of the most wanted criminals in Russia.
10 thousand examinations
There are still few details of Tagirov's detention.
According to media reports, he was taken at about midnight at the apartment of his common-law wife.
Painstaking genetic research helped the investigators to find the trail of the alleged maniac: “Based on the results of forensic research and analysis of biological objects and other traces of crimes found at the scene, it was established that all the acts were committed by one person.
This was indicated by the coincidence of the genotype and footprints of the attacker, as well as the stereotypical nature of his actions. "
“As a result of the painstaking and systematic work of the investigative-operational group, consisting of investigators of the Main Investigative Directorate and criminalists of the Investigative Committee of Russia, employees of the FSB of Russia and the Main Directorate of Criminal Investigation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, and by conducting more than 10 thousand comparative genetic examinations and obtaining genotype matches in the forensic databases, a 38-year-old was established a resident of Kazan Radik Tagirov.
A man who works as a locksmith, previously convicted in 2009 for theft.
Samples of biological material were obtained from him, for which a genetic examination was assigned, "- said in the message of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
In turn, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs added that the attacker took advantage of the credulity of his elderly victims.
“Posing as an employee of housing and communal services or social services, he freely entered their apartments.
Having committed the murder, he stole the savings of pensioners and went into hiding, ”said the official representative of the department, Irina Volk.
She also confirmed that it was possible to figure out the suspect thanks to the genetic material seized from the crime scenes and a complex of examinations that allowed him to be identified.
The department noted that earlier Tagirov was serving a sentence in places of imprisonment for theft and illegal arms trafficking (Articles 158 and 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), he was released in June 2010.
Irina Volk, a spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs
"I wanted to eat"
During the first interrogation, the footage of which was published by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Tagirov said that he started killing around 2010-2011, almost immediately after leaving the colony.
“It's all spontaneously.
I wanted to eat.
It so happened, I used the opportunity to get easy money, ”the detainee admitted.
According to him, he tracked down his victims - elderly women with bags - in markets and near shops, and accompanied them home.
Posing as an employee of the management company, Tagirov went to the victim's apartment, after which he strangled her in various ways, and took everything of value with him.
When he was asked whether it was possible to do without murder, the man just shrugged his shoulders: “It was possible not to kill.
But somehow I didn't do that.
I can not explain".
During the interrogation, the detainee had difficulty remembering not only the number of his victims, but also the details of his biography.
But he described the method of murder in detail.
According to Tagirov, he strangled his victims with his hands, from behind, until they fell.
To the investigator's clarifying question about why he chose this method of reprisal, Tagirov replied: “Quiet, quick, painless for them, as it seemed to me, method,” the detainee explained.
© Investigative Directorate for the Sverdlovsk Region
Long search and record reward
Tagirov committed the first murders of women in March 2011.
However, even when the detectives realized that a series of bloody crimes were committed by the same person, they could not get on the trail of the criminal.
In 2012, according to media reports, an attacker hit the lens of a video surveillance camera installed in the entrance of one of the victims.
But the resulting profile picture of the man was of poor quality.
In 2013, the Ministry of Internal Affairs promised 1 million rubles for help in the search for the maniac.
In 2017, the award for assistance in the search and capture of the maniac increased to 3 million rubles.
In focusing on the criminal, a number of his psychological and forensic qualities were indicated, in particular, age from 20 to 35 years, height of about 175 cm, the presence of criminal experience and others, and also described exactly how he committed the murders.
In 2017, according to media reports, Pavel Shayakhmetov, a native of Kazakhstan, who was detained in Samara for the murder of two elderly women, was checked for involvement in the killings.
In the message of the Investigative Committee of Russia on December 1, it is noted that 26 murders committed in 12 constituent entities of the Russian Federation are being investigated.
At the same time, it is possible that the final list of victims of the "Volga maniac" will be even longer.
In the near future, investigators will petition for the arrest of Radik Tagirov.
If guilty is proved, he faces life imprisonment.