Volga Maniac: Serial killer who posed as plumber jailed for murdering 31 elderly women
Radik Tagirov was arrested in 2020 on suspicion of the killings
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Russian serial killer known as the “Volga Maniac” was jailed for life on Thursday for murdering 31 elderly women, the TASS state news agency reported.
Radik Tagirov was arrested in 2020 on suspicion of the killings. They were committed across 15 cities in and around the Tatarstan region, about 730 km (450 miles) east of Moscow, between 2011 and 2012.
Law enforcement agencies said he had sometimes posed as a social worker, electrician or plumber to enter the women’s homes before strangling them and stealing their valuables.
Tagirov was a locksmith who had previously served prison time for petty theft. The court in the city of Kazan also found him guilty of several attempted murders as well as assaults on 34 more elderly women, TASS said.
Police have attempted to track down their killer for years and offered a 3-million-rouble (£30,000) reward for information leading to his arrest.
Tagirov would go down as one of Russia’s most prolific serial killers.
in 2007 Siberian policeman Mikhail Popkov was convicted of 78 murders carried out between 1992 and 2007. He raped and killed women with an axe after offering them rides.
‘Chessboard Killer’ Alexander Pichushkin was alos sentenced to life in prison in Moscow in 2007 for 48 murders. He said he wanted to kill one person for each of the 64 squares on a chessboard.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments