Serial Killers and Mass Murderers, Part 3

     Fear not, (or perhaps fear more) serial killers and mass murderers are not restricted to the United States alone.  As we continue the series, today we are going abroad to Asia and Europe. 

     When one thinks of serial killers in Great Britain, typically, Jack the Ripper comes to mind.  Perhaps it was the gruesomeness of the crimes or because he was never caught but the slayer of prostitutes is not making an appearance today.  Dennis “Des” Nilsen’s, also dubbed the “British Jeffrey Dahmer” had tripled the body count of The Ripper by the time he was captured.  Nilsen preyed solely on men, typically drifters or the homeless, who were lured by the promise of shelter and a meal.  After strangling and drowning the victims, he ritualistically bathed then dressed them.  The bodies were kept for a while before dismembering and eventually disposal of the bodies.  Since he favored flushing the pieces down the toilet, it was a clogged sewer eventually led to his arrest.  He remains incarcerated with no chance of parole. 

     Andrei Chikatilo, better known as the “Butcher of Rostov” or the “Rostov Ripper”, rocked the Soviet Union with over fifty cases of murder, cannibalism, and sexual assault.  Because it was common policy, of their state-controlled media, to conceal crimes that would negatively reflect on their country, the propaganda essentially aided Chikatilo’s obsession.  Though his judge was notoriously blatant, in his assertion of Chikatilo’s guilt, during the trial, he did agree with just one of the defendant’s many objections.  Chikatilo insisted that it was the Soviet Union’s refusal to acknowledge that crimes, such as his, existed that contributed to his years of immunity.  His murder spree spanned more than a decade as he managed to evade charges.  He was known, particularly in his early murders, for slashing and even removing his victim’s eyes because he believed that his image was still imprinted on their eyes, even after death.  Too bad, that isn’t true.  It would make an investigator’s job so much easier!

     Tune in tomorrow for the next installment of “Serial Killers and Mass Murderers”.