SerialSaga: Russia's Most Prolific Serial Killer

In 2010, Russian police were frantically searching for a brutal predator as mutilated bodies of women began to surface. The severity of the violence inflicted upon these victims was unimaginable,their horrific wounds revealing a predator who had lurked in the shadows for two decades, and the pressure on the police to apprehend the perpetrator was immense.

For two decades, this elusive killer outwitted law enforcement, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake. It wasn't until a critical breakthrough that investigators identified a pattern: tracks from a Lada 4×4, a vehicle commonly used by law enforcement, found at multiple crime scenes.

This discovery led to a massive DNA testing operation in 2012, involving nearly 3,500 current and former policemen in the town of Irkutsk. The investigation finally uncovered the monster behind the mask: Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov, dubbed "The Werewolf" due to the horrific nature of his crimes.

Popkov, who was also referred to as the "Wednesday Murderer" because his victims’ bodies were often found on Wednesdays, confessed to the assault and murder of over 83 women and girls, making him the most prolific serial killer in Russian history.

Despite having a wife and daughter, Popkov preyed on defenseless women with chilling ease. He targeted those he deemed immoral, such as women attending parties without male chaperones. Cloaked in the authority of his police uniform, he would patrol the night, offering rides to unsuspecting victims in his police car. Instead of ensuring their safety, he drove them to remote locations where he forced them to disrobe, killed them with knives, axes, baseball bats, and screwdrivers, and then violated their bodies post-mortem.

The revelation that a trusted policeman and security guard could commit such heinous acts sent shockwaves through the community. Popkov’s double life as a family man and a sadistic killer added a deeply disturbing layer to his crimes.

Popkov received two life sentences plus an additional 10 years for his reign of terror. While there were fervent calls for his execution, Russia's formal moratorium on capital punishment prevented this outcome.

The Werewolf’s story is a haunting reminder of the darkness that can hide behind a facade of authority and trust, and the unimaginable horrors inflicted by someone who should have been a protector, not a predator.