Sergei Kashfulgayanovich Martynov (russian: Сергей Кашфулгаянович Мартынов; born 2 June 1962) is a Russian

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

, convicted for the killing of 8 people across western and central Russia between 2005 and 2010, and was earlier convicted of killing another woman in 1992.

Background

Sergei Martynov was born on 2 June 1962, in

Nyazepetrovsk Nyazepetrovsk (russian: Нязепетро́вск) is a town and the administrative center of Nyazepetrovsky District in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Nyazya River (a tributary of the Ufa), northwest of Chelyabinsk, the administr ...

Chelyabinsk Oblast Chelyabinsk Oblast (russian: Челя́бинская о́бласть, ''Chelyabinskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia in the Ural Mountains region, on the border of Europe and Asia. Its administrative center is the city ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Murders

First murder and imprisonment (1992)

In 1992, Martynov was arrested on suspicion of

raping Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...

and murdering an unidentified woman, which according to some sources was a teenage girl, for which he was convicted.

Crime spree (2005-2010)

In 2005, Martynov was released from prison after serving nearly 14 years for the 1992 murder. Shortly after his release he attempted to rape a young girl at

knifepoint Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...

Kemerovo Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka and Tom Rivers, in the major coal mining region of the Kuznetsk Ba ...

, but the victim survived and Martynov was placed on a

wanted list A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...

by police. In June 2007, Martynov murdered a woman and dismembered her body in Glazov, Udmurtia, and the following month he raped an 8-year-old girl in Vyazovka, a village in

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localiti ...

. In May 2008, Martynov killed a man during a

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

, and the following month killed an elderly woman in a forest, dismembering her body. In November he murdered a woman in

Oryol Oblast Oryol Oblast (russian: Орло́вская о́бласть, ''Orlovskaya oblast''), also known as Orlovshchina (russian: Орловщина) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is th ...

. In August 2010, Martynov raped and killed a 70-year-old woman in

Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик� ...

, where he left a note stating that he is not afraid of the police and would be in

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...

at 12:00. In late 2010, Martynov killed his final victim, a woman in

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast (russian: Воронежская область, Voronezhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the 2021 Census. Geography V ...

Arrest and conviction

Martynov was arrested on 18 November 2010, after the police tracked down his location when he activated a

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

that he had stolen from one of his victims. During the arrest Martynov did not try to resist, stating that he had wanted to be caught. According to prosecutors, Martynov is believed to have committed violent crimes across at least 10 oblasts in western and central

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

since his release from prison until his arrest, killing seven women and one man, and

assaulting An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

numerous others. Among the other victims were two

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

girls, one of which was the victim of violent sexual abuse, and the other sustained serious injuries. Martynov often mutilated his female victims by removing their

breasts The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secret ...

and genitalia. On 23 May 2012, prosecutors for the first time publicly disclosed details about the case. He has been charged with intentional infliction of a grave injury,

hooliganism Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

, murder of two or more persons, and violent sexual actions. Prosecutors said Martynov acted "daringly and cynically", leaving letters at crime scenes and making no effort to conceal evidence. He later claimed his killing were motivated by his wish for a "cleaning of the society". During his time in jail, when he was waiting for trial, Martynov asked to have another inmate in his cell so he could kill him "because he was bored". Martynov was convicted for eight murders and sentenced 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 ...

References