Serhiy Fedorovich Tkach ( uk, Сергій Федорович Ткач, russian: Серге́й Фёдорович Ткач; September 15, 1952 – November 4, 2018), also known as Sergey Tkach, was a Ukrainian police officer and

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 ...

who was convicted for the killings of thirty-seven women and girls in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and Ukraine between 1980 to 2005.

Background

Serhiy Tkach was born on September 15, 1952 in

Kiselyovsk Kiselyovsk (russian: Киселёвск) is a town in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located in the foothill belt of the Salair Ridge, at the source of the Aba River, south of Kemerovo. Population: The Kuzbass region, where Kiselyovsk is located, s ...

Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo Oblast — Kuzbass (russian: Ке́меровская о́бласть — Кузба́сс, translit=Kemerovskaya oblast — Kuzbass, ), also known simply as Kemerovo Oblast (russian: Ке́меровская о́бласть, label=non ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

. He served in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

, and according to neighbours claimed to have been a

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

of the Soviet-Afghan War. Tkach worked as a police investigator in Kemerovo Oblast, where he was recommended for admission to a

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

school until he was caught falsifying evidence and forced to resign. Afterwards Tkach worked numerous different jobs before moving to the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

in 1982, where he began working again as a police investigator in

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ( uk, Дніпропетро́вська о́бласть, translit=Dnipropetrovska oblast), also referred to as Dnipropetrovshchyna ( uk, Дніпропетро́вщина), is an oblast (province) of central-eastern Ukra ...

Murders

In 1984, young women and girls began to noticeably disappear across Dnipropetrovsk Oblast,

Kharkiv Oblast Kharkiv Oblast ( uk, Харківська́ о́бласть, translit=Kharkivska oblast), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna ( uk, Ха́рківщина), is an oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhan ...

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( uk, Запорі́зька о́бласть, translit=Zaporizka oblast), also referred to as Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запорі́жжя, links=no), is an oblast (province) of southeast Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhzhia. The ...

and

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

in eastern Ukraine, near where Tkach lived and worked. He targeted female victims, aged between 8 and 18, who were

rape 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 ...

d, suffocated, and after death were sexually defiled. Tkach used his knowledge of criminal investigation procedure to mislead other policemen investigating his killings, such as choosing victims near

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

lines recently treated with tar to throw police dogs off his scent.

Arrest, conviction, and imprisonment

In August 2005, Tkach attended the funeral of one of his victims. Children also in attendance claimed to have seen him with the victim shortly before her death. He was arrested at his home in

Polohy Polohy (, ; russian: Пологи, translit=Pologi) is a city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine, currently under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. It serves as the administrative center of Polohy Raion. Population: . From 1928 to 1937, it ...

and admitted to his crimes, claiming to have killed over 100 people until his arrest, and demanded the death penalty. In 2008, after a yearlong trial, Tkach was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of thirty-seven women and girls over more than two decades. Over the years, fifteen men had been wrongly jailed for some of the murders of which Tkach was found guilty, one of whom committed suicide, and another was not released until March 2012. A 2018

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

documentary titled '' Inside the World's Toughest Prisons'' revealed that Tkach fathered a child while in prison with a woman in her twenties who became infatuated with him after reading an interview in the media. She went on to marry Tkach in 2015, who was allowed

conjugal visit A conjugal visit is a scheduled period in which an inmate of a prison or jail is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visitor. The visitor is usually their legal spouse, and the visit's purpose is usually sexual activity. Th ...

s according to human rights provisions.

Death

Tkach died in Prison No. 8 of

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast ( uk, Жито́мирська о́бласть, translit=Zhytomyrska oblast), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna ( uk, Жито́мирщина}) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the obla ...

, where he served his sentence, on November 4, 2018. The cause of death was heart failure. Tkach was buried on November 7 by the prison staff as none of his relatives had claimed the body.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tkach, Serhiy 1952 births 2018 deaths Ukrainian people convicted of murder Ukrainian police officers convicted of murder Ukrainian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Ukrainian serial killers Male serial killers Necrophiles People convicted of murder by Ukraine Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Ukraine Prisoners who died in Ukrainian detention Serial killers who died in prison custody Serial killers who worked in law enforcement Soviet rapists Soviet serial killers Ukrainian rapists Violence against women in Ukraine

Background

Murders

Arrest, conviction, and imprisonment

Death

See also

References