Sergey Aleksandrovich Golovkin (; 26 November 1959 – 2 August 1996) was a Soviet-Russian

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

, rapist and necrophile, convicted for the killing of 11 boys between the ages of 10 and 16 in the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

area between 1986 and 1992. Golovkin, also known as Fisher and The Boa,

tortured Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions restrict torture to ac ...

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

and killed young boys in his garage basement and the forests outside Moscow. Golovkin was the last person to be

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

in Russia before the moratorium on capital punishment.

Background

Sergey Aleksandrovich Golovkin was born on 26 November 1959, in

, Soviet Union. His father was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

, and his parents divorced in 1988. Golovkin was born with a

birth defect A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can range from mild to severe. Birth de ...

in his

sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...

. He often had

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

and

indigestion Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier ...

. In school, Golovkin was considered a loner, and his male classmates noted how he had no interest in girls. He was known to have

enuresis Enuresis is a repeated inability to control urination. Use of the term is usually limited to describing people age-appropriateness, old enough to be expected to exercise such control. Involuntary urination is also known as urinary incontinence. Th ...

, and was afraid that his classmates would smell his

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

. Golovkin was a classmate of

Armen Grigoryan Armen Grigoryan (, ) is a singer/songwriter, artist, and the front man (and main songwriter) of " Krematorij" (''Crematorium'') Russian rock-band. Biography Armen Grigoryan was born on November 24, 1960, in Moscow to Armenian parents. During sc ...

, the future front-man of Krematorij. When Golovkin was 13 years old, he began to exhibit sadistic tendencies, including catching a cat in the street and bringing it home, where he

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

it and then decapitated it. In 1982, Golovkin graduated from the Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. He began working at a

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

, then as a

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

expert at a

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

farm in Moscow. For his achievements in horse breeding development, Golovkin was awarded a silver medal at a VDNKh

trade show A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

in 1989. In 1984, Golovkin committed his first known crime, when he attempted to

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

and murder a young boy.

Murders

Moscow Oblast killings

In April 1986, Golovkin committed his first murder, near the Katuar

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in Nekrasov,

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

, just outside of Moscow. He met 15-year-old Andrey Pavlov, whom Golovkin then threatened with a

knife A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least Stone Age, 2.5 million years ago, as e ...

and dragged into the forest. Pavlov was raped and

strangled Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occurs ...

to death and Golovkin performed

necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...

on the body. The following July, Golovkin committed his second murder, abducting 12-year-old Andrey Gulyaev from a

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

near

Odintsovo Odintsovo ( rus, Одинцово, , ɐdʲɪnˈtsovə) is a city and the administrative center of Odintsovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Western suburb of Moscow. Population: History The village of Odintsovo was established in the la ...

, Moscow Oblast. Gulyaev was also threatened with a knife, taken to the forest, then raped and strangled before Golovkin

dismembered Dismemberment is the act of completely disconnecting and/or removing the limbs, skin, and/or organs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with regicid ...

the body. Four days later, after Gulyaev's murder, the

dead body A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a li ...

of a 16-year-old was found in Odintsovsky District. A total of 35 stab wounds were found on the body. The corpse was dismembered. Later, Golovkin denied any guilt in this murder.

Garage murders

In 1988, Golovkin purchased a

beige Beige ( ) is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow. It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither ble ...

-coloured VAZ-2103 car, which he stored in his garage where he began constructing a

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

, originally to be used as a

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

; however, he realized it could be used as a dungeon to commit his sexual crimes. From August 1990 on, Golovkin killed eight boys aged 10 to 16 years old, on two occasions torturing two at the same time. In September 1992, Golovkin raped and killed three boys he had lured into his garage, offering to commit

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

from a warehouse. The last of them Golovkin tortured and raped for 12 hours and then hung up before he went to work.

Arrest and conviction

On 5 October 1992, three weeks after the last murders, the bodies of the final three victims were found by mushroom pickers. On 19 October 1992, Golovkin was detained under suspicion by the police. During the interrogation, he behaved calmly and denied guilt. Investigators Kostaryov and Bakin decided to release Golovkin, instead setting up secret

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

on him; however, a policeman violated the order and put Golovkin in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

for the night. In the morning, Golovkin was questioned, and he confessed to the last three murders to Kostaryov. The next day, police searched Golovkin's garage, discovering a baby bath with a burnt layer of skin and blood, clothes, and body parts. Golovkin then confessed to a total of 11 murders, revealing where he had disposed of the bodies of his victims. Golovkin was found to be sane, but with schizoid disorder and

psychopathy Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity ...

, and on 19 October 1994, Golovkin was sentenced to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. On 2 August 1996, Golovkin was executed by a single shot to the back of the head. He was the last person to be executed by Russia before the abolition of capital punishment. Lawyer Yuri Antonyan mentioned Golovkin in his notes regarding Nikolai Dzhumagaliev:

Victims

List of Golovkin's victims: * 19 April 1986: Andrey Pavlov (16) * 10 July 1986: Andrey Gulyaev (14) * 23 September 1989: Sergey Strochkin (10) * 11 August 1990: Sergey Zakharenkov (15) * 6 November 1990: Alexey Buryakov (11) * 6 November 1990: Roman Dergachyov (14) * 22 August 1991: Nikita Bogdanov (13) * 21-22 April 1992: Sergey Plyukhin (14) * 15 September 1992: Yuri Sidyakin (12) * 15 September 1992: Vladislav Sharikov (13) * 15 September 1992: Denis Efremov (12)

References

External links

Фишер — подробное исследование жизни Головкина
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golovkin, Sergey 1959 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Russian LGBTQ people 20th-century executions by Russia Executed Russian serial killers Executed Soviet serial killers Executed people from Moscow Incidents of violence against boys Necrophiles People convicted of murder by Russia People executed by Russia by firearm People with antisocial personality disorder People with schizoid personality disorder Russian murderers of children Russian people convicted of child sexual abuse Russian people convicted of murder Russian people executed by Russia Russian rapists Soviet rapists Torture in Russia Violence against men in Europe Inmates of Butyrka prison