First Series of Murders
Murder of Yelena Zakotnova:
In September 1978, Chikatilo moved to Shakhty, a town near Rostov-on-Don, where he committed his first murder. On the 22nd of December, He lured a 9 year old girl to an old broken down house which he had secretly purchased. His motive was to rape her, but that failed due to his erectile dysfunction, he had failed to achieve an erection. He choked her and stabbed in her abdomen three times, when she struggled, ejaculating in the process of stabbing her. He had strangled her into unconsciousness prior to stabbing her. He threw her body into a nearby river and her body was found two days later. After he had killed her, Chikatilo realized that he was able to achieve an orgasm through the means of stabbing and slashing of people to death. Spots of the 9 year olds blood was found in the snow right next to the house that Chikatilo had purchased. Neighbours said that Chikatilo was present in that house the day that the killing had occurred, and a witness also gave a report of a person that resembled Chikatilo, who she had seen talking the girl at the bus stop. Besides all of these pieces of evidence that point to Chikatilo, he was not found guilty. A man names Aleksander Kravchenko, who as a teenager served a prison sentence for a rape and a murder of a teenage girl. Police had found blood on his wife’s sweater that had matched the Zakotnova’s blood type. He had later on confessed to the police to the killing. Kravchenko when presented in court said that his confession was obtained through the means of extreme duress. In his second trial, Kravchenko was found guilty and was executed for the murder.
Murder of Larisa Tkachenko
Larisa
Tkachenko was Chikatilo’s second murder victim. This murder occurred in
September 1981. Like his first victim, Chikatilo tried to have sex with this 17
year old but he failed once again. He was unable to achieve an erection, and
got furious, and he beat her in the head with his bare fists. Tkachenko was
screaming for help, in order to stop her screaming, he filled her mouth with
mud and then started to strangle her. Since he had no weapon, he resorted to
using his teeth to disfigure Tkachenko’s body. He bit off her nipples and ate
them, showing the first signs of Cannibalism.
Subsequent killings
On the 12th of June 1982, Chikatilo travelled via bus to the District of Rostov to purchase vegetables. He decided to continue his journey on foot rather than changing buses. As he walked away from the bus stop, he encountered a 13 year old girl names Lyubov Biryuk who herself was walking her way home from a shopping trip. Both of them took the same path, Chikatilo had realized that there were no potential witnesses around, and that they were covered with bushes. He jumped on top of Biryuk, tackling her to the ground, dragged her into nearby undergrowth. He tore apart her dress and killed her by stabbing and slashing. When her body was found, medical examiner discovered 22 knife wounds to the head, neck, chest and pelvic area.
After Biryuk’s murder, Chikatilo was no longer the same, and he knew what he was doing was wrong but he no longer attempted to resist these urges to kill anymore. He had killed five people between July and September 1982. The five victims were anywhere from the ages of nine and nineteen. He had established a ritual, approach children, runaways, and young homeless children at bus stops or at railway stations. He would seduce these children to a nearby forest or other areas where there would be no witnesses and killing them. This ritual was completed by stabbing, slashing and removing the vital organs of the victim by a knife.
After Biryuk’s murder, Chikatilo was no longer the same, and he knew what he was doing was wrong but he no longer attempted to resist these urges to kill anymore. He had killed five people between July and September 1982. The five victims were anywhere from the ages of nine and nineteen. He had established a ritual, approach children, runaways, and young homeless children at bus stops or at railway stations. He would seduce these children to a nearby forest or other areas where there would be no witnesses and killing them. This ritual was completed by stabbing, slashing and removing the vital organs of the victim by a knife.