Dmitry Petrovich Voronenko (russian: Дми́трий Петро́вич Вороне́нко, uk, Дмитро Петрович Вороненко; born July 29, 1971), known as The Petersburg Maniac (russian: Петербургский маньяк), is a Kyrgyzstani-

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

serial killer, who killed four girls and young women in St. Petersburg between 2006 and 2007.

Early life

Voronenko was born in the Osh Region into the family of an electrician and a kindergarten teacher. In his childhood, he liked to choke cats and dogs.На счету маньяка четыре убитые девочки
/ref>
/ref> After graduating the 10th grade, he did not have a permanent job. In 1987, Voronenko moved to the Ukrainian city of

Krivyi Rih Kryvyi Rih ( uk, Криви́й Ріг , lit. "Curved Bend" or "Crooked Horn"), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог) is the largest city in central Ukraine, the 7th most populous city in Ukraine and the 2nd largest by area. Kr ...

, where he graduated from the vocational school for the welder specialty. In 1989 Voronenko was sentenced to three years of correctional labor at construction sites in the Crimea for theft. Shortly before his release, he stole a bottle of brandy and a phone from his shift manager, for which he was added another two years of correctional labor. In 1997–1999, he received a

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

on three occasions for "causing serious harm to health in excess of the limits of self-defense" and theft. In 2004, he was sentenced to five years in prison, serving his term in the Kresty Prison for two confirmed rapes in 2000 and 2001, most of the punishment being absorbed by the term of stay under investigation. In March 2005, just over three years and three months from the date of arrest, Voronenko was released on parole for good behaviour. The rapist was to be deported to the place of citizenship - Ukraine, but the supervising authorities did not pay proper attention to Voronenko, so after his last arrest, numerous accusations were made against certain officials, but none were held viable as direct accomplices to the serial killer.

Murders

Voronenko attacked girls and young women, preferring blondes, about 150 centimetres in height. On August 25, 2006, he raped a 17-year-old girl on Loni Golikova Street. The victim managed to survive the ordeal. On December 8, 2006, in the basement of a house on Stachek Avenue, he committed his first murder. The victim was 11-year-old Lida Pogodina, whom he raped, killed and then hid the body in a garbage heap. On January 28, 2007, on Polyukstrovsky Avenue, he killed 19-year-old Katya Fedotova. As it later turned out, Voronenko had suggested that he take the woman to the bus. The girl's body was found only after a month. On March 4, 2007, he raped and killed 20-year-old Alena Gnatyuk, a student of the Institute of Water Transport. The killer kidnapped her from the " Chyornaya Rechka" metro station, dragged her into the basement of a house on Kolomyazhsky Avenue, raped and strangled her. On May 21, 2007, in the basement of a house on Bolshaya Raznochinnaya Street, he committed the last murder. The victim was 12-year-old Lena Boyko, with the

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...

being the same - she was raped, followed by strangulation.

Arrest, investigation and trial

According to the testimony of witnesses, a

facial composite A facial composite is a graphical representation of one or more eyewitnesses' memories of a face, as recorded by a composite artist. Facial composites are used mainly by police in their investigation of (usually serious) crimes. These images a ...

of the killer was drawn up. At the disposal of the authorities were recordings from external surveillance cameras at one of the murder sites. As a result, 863 people previously convicted for sexual crimes were tested. During the search, information was received about Voronenko. His address was traced, and on May 24, 2007, he was ambushed and arrested. At first he was suspected only in the last murder, but he subsequently confessed to the previous three. Forensic psychiatric examination recognized Voronenko as insane. The killer did not regret his deeds. These were Voronenko's last words at his trial: At the trial, the parents of the murdered girls and the prosecutor demanded the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for Voronenko, but the court did not consider it possible to make such a verdict due to the moratorium on the death penalty, and on March 20, 2008, the St. Petersburg City Court sentenced him to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Relatives of the victims appealed to the Russian Supreme Court demanding the death penalty, but the verdict was left unchanged.В Петербурге вынесен пожизненный приговор маньяку Вороненко, убивавшему только блондинок
/ref> Voronenko is currently serving his sentence in the "

Polar Owl Federal Governmental Institution — penal colony No. 18 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, commonly known as the Polar Owl (russian: Полярная сова, ''Polyarnaya sova'') is a Russian priso ...

" penitentiary.

In the media

* Documentary film ''Blood on the Neva'', from the series ''Out of law''. * Documentary film ''To sentence to the highest measure'' from the series ' directed by Vakhtang Mikeladze. * Documentary ''Early release...for a maniac'' from the series ', directed by Vakhtang Mikeladze.

References

External links