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The execution of Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was carried out in "Pistol Target Room No 3", in the Rostov-on-Don Central Prison.
Contrary to the generally held belief, the condemned prisoner does not have to kneel, and then be shot, but is strapped into a heavy wooden chair, which is bolted to the concrete floor of the room. The chair rather resembles the U.S. electric chair in appearance.
The chair is situated in front of a three meter high sand bag wall, and surrounded by a zinc cachment area, which contains a drainage channel for blood. The executioner is a member of the prison staff, and will be one of many who volunteer to be state registered executioners.
He will not have been seen by the condemned, and will be waiting at the rear of the chamber behind a screen. After the warrant of death has been read by the Principal or Deputy Principal of the prison the executioner rapidly walks behind the seated prisoner. He wears felt slippers, and his approach is hardly audible.
The weapon of execution is usually a Makarov 9 mm service pistol, which is swiftly placed behind the right ear and fired. It is known in prison parlance as the "nine grams treatment", which is the bullets weight.One round is usually fatal, and cosiderable brain tissue is carried out of the head as the bullet exits on its way into the sand bag wall.
Andrei Romanov Chikatilo died mouthing curses and obscenities at his executioners. An unamed Japanese scientific group had offered to buy Chikatilos brain. It is doubtful that the Soviet authorities would have allowed this to happen, and in any event, the brain would have suffered massive tissue damage from the 9mm bullet.
There is a further gruesome procedure which is carried out in the prison mortuary, but I think that the execution details will suffice. Jim Prideaux
194.108.138.253 wrote:
Chikatolo defended himself by pointing to his childhood's experience of the notorious famine which took place in Ukraine in the 1930's. This was said to have disturbed his mind as there were widespread acts of cannibalism in the affected areas. — Chikatilo was born in 1936, whereas the great famine was in 1932-1933. Perhaps it was the wartime experiences in 1940s? — Monedula 12:58, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC)
In October, 2002, Moscow English-language newspaper Exile published a fake news article saying that Moscow Mayor proposed to build in Moscow a statue of Chikatilo (whom the article incorrectly calls Anatoly).
I heard that it was a joke on Mayor Luzhkov's proposal to re-estblish the monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky, which was removed in 1991. This proposal was never implemented.
http://www.exile.ru/2002-October-17/chikatilo_statue_causes_stir.html
Was Chikatilo a Chimera? The text about the semen sample and blood test not matching seems to indicate that.
Negative. He simply did not secrete blood into his semen, even in trace amounts, as most of us do.
For an article about a serial killer in the Soviet Union, one would have thought there would be many more photographs. As most would be public domain no? Heres a couple of links I've found:
One of the first ones would be good I think...
- FrancisTyers 14:23, 15 August 2005 (UTC)
Article needs link to "list of serial killers - Ukraine" Jbhood 11:36, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
This guy, Alexander Pichushkin, could possibly be the successor of Chikatilo. The press are calling him the "Crazy Chess Player" because he confessed planning 64 murders - one for each square of the board, and was 4 murders short of his goal when captured. Till now 14 bodies were found, all in the Bitsa Park in the suburbs of Moscow. Since I'm not too good at Russian and I am not familiar with Russian news agencies etc., I thought I would invite anyone here to have a go at an article since you should all be more well-versed about this than me! Here are the few links I have from MosNews (English): [1] [2]
└ VodkaJazz / talk ┐ 11:08, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
If you have an active link, I can take a go. I am rusty but should be able to handle most of it.~~johnway2001@aol.com 12:08PM pst, 27-jul-07
Try this one: [3] Palefire 15:03, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
When I read about this guy in a British newspaper years ago, it claimed his teeth all fell out due to him eating his victims (gnawing on bones you see) and his teeth were replaced with steel ones. There was a picture of him with the steel teeth. I think the information about his canabilism should be put into the article. Snowbound 06:02, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3254074.stm I assume the BBC would be a credible source? If not, I know a few Russians who were there at the time and counld recount the released information which did include acts of cannibalism. ~~Johnway@aol.com 12:00pm PST, 27 Jul 2007
The execution of Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was carried out in "Pistol Target Room No 3", in the Rostov-on-Don Central Prison.
Contrary to the generally held belief, the condemned prisoner does not have to kneel, and then be shot, but is strapped into a heavy wooden chair, which is bolted to the concrete floor of the room. The chair rather resembles the U.S. electric chair in appearance.
The chair is situated in front of a three meter high sand bag wall, and surrounded by a zinc cachment area, which contains a drainage channel for blood. The executioner is a member of the prison staff, and will be one of many who volunteer to be state registered executioners.
He will not have been seen by the condemned, and will be waiting at the rear of the chamber behind a screen. After the warrant of death has been read by the Principal or Deputy Principal of the prison the executioner rapidly walks behind the seated prisoner. He wears felt slippers, and his approach is hardly audible.
The weapon of execution is usually a Makarov 9 mm service pistol, which is swiftly placed behind the right ear and fired. It is known in prison parlance as the "nine grams treatment", which is the bullets weight.One round is usually fatal, and cosiderable brain tissue is carried out of the head as the bullet exits on its way into the sand bag wall.
Andrei Romanov Chikatilo died mouthing curses and obscenities at his executioners. An unamed Japanese scientific group had offered to buy Chikatilos brain. It is doubtful that the Soviet authorities would have allowed this to happen, and in any event, the brain would have suffered massive tissue damage from the 9mm bullet.
There is a further gruesome procedure which is carried out in the prison mortuary, but I think that the execution details will suffice. Jim Prideaux
194.108.138.253 wrote:
Chikatolo defended himself by pointing to his childhood's experience of the notorious famine which took place in Ukraine in the 1930's. This was said to have disturbed his mind as there were widespread acts of cannibalism in the affected areas. — Chikatilo was born in 1936, whereas the great famine was in 1932-1933. Perhaps it was the wartime experiences in 1940s? — Monedula 12:58, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC)
In October, 2002, Moscow English-language newspaper Exile published a fake news article saying that Moscow Mayor proposed to build in Moscow a statue of Chikatilo (whom the article incorrectly calls Anatoly).
I heard that it was a joke on Mayor Luzhkov's proposal to re-estblish the monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky, which was removed in 1991. This proposal was never implemented.
http://www.exile.ru/2002-October-17/chikatilo_statue_causes_stir.html
Was Chikatilo a Chimera? The text about the semen sample and blood test not matching seems to indicate that.
Negative. He simply did not secrete blood into his semen, even in trace amounts, as most of us do.
For an article about a serial killer in the Soviet Union, one would have thought there would be many more photographs. As most would be public domain no? Heres a couple of links I've found:
One of the first ones would be good I think...
- FrancisTyers 14:23, 15 August 2005 (UTC)
Article needs link to "list of serial killers - Ukraine" Jbhood 11:36, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Have you seen that Andrei Chikatilo was found guilty a day before his birthday ?(see October 15 1992)
"though an innocent person had been executed for his crimes, so his death toll would technically be 53)." Technically how? Would Russian law allow him to be held criminally responsible for that execution? If this just means morally responsible, I would like to delete this passage. 24.131.12.228 05:44, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
Maybe you could say he "indirectly caused" an additional death, or else delete it like you say. Jbhood 09:15, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
All right, I went ahead and took out that passage. 24.131.12.228 17:50, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
The main article states 53, this article states 56 and this one states 52. Which is correct? Lugnuts 16:47, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
Confessed to 56, tried for 53, convicted of 52. ~~johnway2001@aol.com 12:02pm PST, 27 Jul 2007
The movie Citizen X doesn't portray the Russian police as 'arrogant and incompetent'. More like fatalistic and demoralised. One of the central themes of the movie is how the Communist ideology inhibited the proper execution of the investigation because the local Party apparatchik insisted that they don't have serial killers in the USSR. Whether or not that actually happened, I don't know. There is one arrogant and incompetent policeman in the movie, but he's not a major character. The heroes (Stephen Rea and Donald Sutherland) are dedicated and highly competent. Lexo 23:01, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
In the pop culture section it states that he was an inspiration for Hannibal Lecter. This is highly unlikey for several reasons. The first being that it was stated in the documentary for "Hannibal Rising" that Thomas Harris got his inspiration from being a crime scene reporter in the 60's. Secondly Hannibal was introduced in 1981 in the book "Red Dragon" and Chikatilo was barely a blip on the Russian radar screen let alone a figure worldwide. His statements about being a cannibal would not likely have been in the mass media until at least his trial in early 1992. Also Harris has alluded on several occasions to several serial killers being inspiration and Chikatilo has not been one of them. For these reasons I believe that statement should be removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.50.55.16 ( talk) 03:03, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
His father, who was captured and imprisoned by the Nazis during the war, returned home a social pariah; in Stalinist Russia, surviving prisoners of war were viewed as cowards.
This statement does not seem to reflect Stalinist policies. Prisoners returning from foreign captivity were viewed with political suspicion, not as cowards. Deserters from the Red Army (who are more likely to have been regarded as cowards) were treated far more leniently than returning POWs, regarded as traitors.
Jonathan Headland 15:42, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
I once read a book written by the police officer who got Chikatilo apprehended and tried for the killings where C stated he had killed 53, possibly more. However, only 51 of those murders could be proven. Does this ring a bell to any of you? I'll see if I can find the book in the library. OktoberStorm 09:41, 27 October 2007 (UTC)
Ukraine as an independent state did not exist when Chikatilo was born, therefore I changed it to reflect that he was born in the Ukrainian SSR. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.15.6.114 ( talk) 22:55, 9 January 2008 (UTC)
There is a contradiction in the chapter 'Chikatilo did not murder again until 1982 [...] He didn't kill again until June 1983.' I suggest that whichever is incorrect to be removed, or slightly re-write it in order to avoid confusion.
Also, in 'Chikatilo in film and books', the characters Viktor Burakov and Mikhail Fetisov are mentioned ― however, they have not been mentioned earlier on in the article, and thus the reader cannot know who these persons are. 85.94.246.241 ( talk) 06:45, 11 January 2009 (UTC)
It seems some elements have been removed from previous versions of this article. I'm not all that familiar with the Wiki system, but I did notice these two things. 1st. This article is in the "Vampirism (Crime)" category, and 2nd. The archives have a section on Andrei Chikatilo's cannibalism (referencing http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3254074.stm). And yet no mention of Vampirism or cannibalism is mentioned on the part of Andrei Chikatilo in the current article. WulfgardMartel ( talk) 15:25, 22 April 2011 (UTC)
Under childhood, the link for number 7 doesn't work. Here's another link to fix it: http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring03/rawlins/chikatilo.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sgjo23 ( talk • contribs) 16:50, 9 February 2015 (UTC)
Thank you to whoever added the photos. It makes the article ALOT better :) Lenachka25 ( talk) 07:17, 7 September 2010 (UTC)
This article is obviously lacking a section about the subject's importance for modern russsian-speaking culture. The name Chikatilo has became an appellative for any kind of serial killer, like Casanova as a lover-boy. The number of victims and the nature of his crimes are only a fraction of the whole picture. His name, by a strange coincidence, is a pun. The word "чик" (chik) is an onomatopoeia for the sound, that scissors or any other double-blade tool produces, and "чикать" (chickat) means "to cut with scissors" [4]. In sub-criminal slang this even means "to cut someone with a knife". And the ending is similar to the ending "-ила" (-ilah), that is used to exaggerate or overtone the process, that someone makes. For example, "Громила" (gromilah) states for a bulky, aggressive, fight-loving person, a crusher - a derivative from the verb "громить" (to crush, to commit pogrom). So, combined chikatilah literally could mean a ruthless slasher, if it were a real word.
The other reason is that this was the time, USSR was near its end and lost almost all control over the media. Chikatilo's was the first well covered mass-homicide case, so the public shock was immense. He has became the soviet Jack-the-Reaper, a target for number of anecdotes. Unlike other killers, who often have unremarkable appearance, he revealed a demonic looks on the trail ( this and this pictures of his became semi-iconic).
I'm not a fan of Chikatilo neither I try to make an altar for him. Still, his "popularity" is undeniable. It's hard to provide relible sources for that kind of urban fame, but it's there. Everyone, who was born at least in eighties know his name. The new generation is loosing it, but it's still there.
The article is closed for editing, and even if it wasn't, I'm sure wikipedos would find some WP:RS or any other stupid WP:STFU>FO rule to justify the deletion. So, for anyone, who can edit this page and who knows, how to formalize such things so the bureaucratic dogs couldn't yelp: please do it.
Thx in advance -- 85.176.18.133 ( talk) —Preceding undated comment added 13:46, 19 July 2011 (UTC).
The coincidences regarding his name, which I genuinely find interesting (and was unaware of) are, however, just that. These coincidences have been noted with regards to other murderers and serial killers. For example, the first syllable of John Wayne Gacy's surname is not without irony considering he the fact he raped, tortured and killed 33 teenage boys, but to the best of my knowledge these coincidences are not included in Wikipeda articles about serial killers.
I agree that he as left a lasting notoriety, and perhaps a chapter with this title could be included directly below the victim table? Hopefully this chapter could be without trivia (which is sometimes included in Wiki. articles on infamous persons) such as the fact some bands have happened to write songs about him?
As for the second paragraph you wrote, I and other users have made edits which, I feel, already include the significance that the timing of Chikatilo's murders coincided with the final stages of the breakdown of the Soviet Union, and how the initial red tape hindered the investigation yet, after Glasnost in was declared in 1986, greater coverage of the murders was given. The article already specifies that his arrest occured just before the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and that his trial was the first major media event in post-Soviet Russia.
Chikatilo had the demonic look in the earlier stages of his trial as a prison precaution against lice meant he had his hair shaved off - hence the demonic look. I actually wrote the words 'which had the effect of making him look demonic' when I wrote about the this being the standard prison precaution against lice, but it was later removed by another user. If consensus is agreed to this being included once again, then perhaps an inclusion to the fact his that his head was shaven had the effect of making him look demonic and that the media picked up on this, giving him such titles as the 'Red Ripper' could be included once again? Incidentially, his inconspicuous appearance before his head was shaved and prior to his arrest helped him to blend into crowds during the years of the manhunt and, as he himself readily admitted, enabled him to convince many of his victims that he was a respectable, middle-aged man.
I own three books on this case and have used them in the edits/inclusions which I myself have made. If you feel a greater emphasis should be made in any particular aspect of the coverage (or lack of) in the manhunt for Chikatilo, then I can look through them again to find a rererence or two to accompany a further inclusion/greater emphasisyou feel should be made?
Kindest regards,-- Kieronoldham ( talk) 22:34, 20 July 2011 (UTC)
Quote: " Despite evidence linking Chikatilo to the girl's death (spots of the girl's blood were found in the snow near Chikatilo's house and a witness had given police a detailed description of a man closely resembling Chikatilo whom she had seen talking with Zakotnova at the bus stop where the girl had last been seen alive),[23] a 25-year-old named Alexsandr Kravchenko who, as a teenager, had served a jail sentence for the rape and murder of a teenage girl, was arrested for the crime[24] and subsequently confessed to the killing." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Srelu ( talk • contribs) 19:10, 29 October 2011 (UTC)
There is a book by Anatoly Pristavkin who headed the Pardon Commission of the Russian Federation and read all original documents of the case of Chikatilo, Kravchenko and a lot more. It describes a couple of details of the case that I now included. The book is "Valley of Deadly Shadow" (Russian, Dolina smertel'noi teni). In particular, there was incorrect information about Kravchenko. Any objections? My very best wishes ( talk) 21:21, 16 March 2013 (UTC)
The fact that the article mentions the posthumous pardon at the end vindicates Kravchenko's innocence regardless of which account is actually true. Regards-- Kieronoldham ( talk) 23:01, 16 March 2013 (UTC)
Unless I'm completely missing something, there's a gap in the information on this page. We're told that he was tried and convicted for a 15 year sentence in 1979, yet he was free and killing again in 1981. How? Was he released early? Was he never actually jailed? Cardinal Wurzel ( talk) 06:49, 26 June 2013 (UTC)
It was Kravchenko who was tried for Zakotnova's murder and sentenced to the maximum term, then retried and sentenced to death. The killing of Zakotnova was never linked to Chikatilo until his confession to her murder in 1990 and from 1981 he resumed killing.-- Kieronoldham ( talk) 21:57, 26 June 2013 (UTC)
Here is the full text of Chikatilo's sentence ( wikisource:ru:Приговор по делу Андрея Чикатило). I'm not sure if it's available in English but it Russian it reads:
"Therefore the court classifies Chikatilo's actions as:
- according to art. 120 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - as committing sexual abuse against minors;
- according to art. 15 and 121 part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - as an attempt to commit sodomy with the use of physical violence and threats against minors;
- according to art. 15 and 117 Part 3 of the Criminal Code - as an attempt to rape minors;
- according to art. 15 and 117 part 3 (in the Edition of the RSFSR Law of 25.07.1962) - as an attempt to rape a minor;
- according to art. 15 and 117 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - as an attempt to rape minors;
- according to art. 102 pp. "g, e, z, i" of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - as a premeditated murder of victims committed with special cruelty, linked to rape, of two or more persons committed by a person who previously committed a premeditated murder;
- according to art. 17 and 122 part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - as an attempt to commit sodomy committed with the use of violence against minors;
- according to art. 93 pp. "E, Z" of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - as a premeditated murder committed with special cruelty, by a person who previously committed a premeditated murder;
- according to art. 15 and 94 part 2 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan - as an attempt on rape committed by a person who had previously committed the same crime;
- according to art. 15 and 94 part 4 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan - as an attempt to rape a minor;
- according to art. 80 pp. 6, 8, 9 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan - as a premeditated murder with special cruelty, linked to rape by a person who had previously committed a premeditated murder."
According to the Russian law, rape ("изнасилование") can only be committed against a female victim, the similar crime against a male at that time was called "sodomy committed with the use of violence" ("мужеложство, совершённое с применением насилия"); now it is called sexual assault ("насильственные действия сексуального характера"; literally, "coercive sexual actions"). So as these crimes are different according to the law, I decided to write them separately.-- IgorMagic ( talk) 04:51, 1 December 2017 (UTC)
There are quite a few websites reporting Chikatilo's last words allegedly to have been him pleading his executors not to damage his brain, referencing the rumored, but nonexistent, Japanese psychiatrists wanting to purchase it intact after his death. Examples: [5] [6] [7]; Ctrl-F for "Japanese" to find the relevant part. However, searching for the precise wording used for the quote in all three of these reveals that it was not used anywhere, online at least, until this Wordpress post in January 2010; set the search to only look for results before, nothing. Tried some other broader Google searches for pre-2010 results, but still could not find anything about such a quote. I would be interested in finding out whether or not any reputable source has ever even mentioned this, or if this is a misunderstanding of some kind, or even a hoax, possibly even started by the aforementioned post. It is possible that the quote was originally reported in a Russian-language source, but as I do not speak Russian I wouldn't know. If there is a reputable source or several that mention this quote (preferably preceding the 2010 Wordpress post?), it could probably be added to the "Execution" section. -- 85.76.84.151 ( talk) 01:50, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
Perhaps it would be better to say he "Suffered from nocturnal enuresis" than to say he was a "Chronic bed wetter" Charrop09 ( talk) 16:56, 18 April 2023 (UTC)
As stated currently in the article Chikatilo was apparently a medical phenomenon, a singular case of "paradoxical secretion" newly discovered by Dr. Svedana Gurtovaya.
Apparently, as stated currently in the article, "investigators obtained a sample of Chikatilo's semen to test his blood type, the results of which confirmed that Chikatilo's semen was type AB, whereas his blood and saliva were type A."
This is backed up by references to a book by Robert Cullen "The Killer Department Detective Viktor Burakov’s Eight-Year Hunt for the Most Savage Serial Killer in Russian History" with a note explaining that "Investigators had received a circular in 1988 indicating that in extremely rare cases, a man's blood type may differ from his semen and saliva type".
Citations and notes fail to mention that the "discovery" of phenomenon, 1988 circular alerting investigators of said discovery AND the final determination that "Chikatilo's semen was type AB, whereas his blood and saliva were type A" - all came from the same source.
Namely, Dr. Svetiana Gurtovaya, chief of the biology lab in the bureau of forensic medicine of the Ministry of Health in Moscow.
Article and cited notes further fail to mention that Gurtovaya's "paradoxical secretion" theory was rejected by every expert outside Soviet Union, instead questioning Soviet methods - which was even done contemporaneously within Soviet Union.
I.e. Everyone, ever, concluded that Soviet forensic methods sucked. Except the boss lady.
Citations below are from the same book by Robert Cullen, some even from same pages as notes in the article.
Pages 149-150:
"Gurtovaya's assertion that blood and semen types could differ had no support in the world community of forensic scientists and physicians who specialize in the matter. Their opinion was that, given proper testing, only two results are possible.
Either a person will have the same antigens in his or her blood and secretions— that is, a person with type A blood will have type A secretions. Or he or she will be a "non-secreter," with no antigens at all in the semen, saliva, and other bodily secretions.
In addition, studies were calling into question the competence of Soviet laboratories, suggesting a different explanation for the discrepancies Gurtovaya had found. Successful testing required not only skill and care on the part of the laboratory worker, who had to mix the semen sample with reagents and peer into the microscope to determine whether the cells were clustering or not.
It also required proper procedures and a supply of accurately manufactured, consistent, and uncontaminated laboratory reagents.
In the decaying Soviet Union of the late 1980s, none of that could be assumed.
A study published in 1989 by a scientist named T. V. Stegnova, in a Soviet journal called Forensic Medicine Expertise, reviewed nineteen Soviet sex crime cases and found that in eight of them, the laboratories had incorrectly analyzed semen types. In some cases, they had failed to use proper controls or to follow other vital test procedures. In some cases, Stegnova wrote, it appeared that the reagents used on semen falsely showed the presence of the B antigen. Criminals with type A blood and secretions had left semen that Soviet laboratories had typed AB."
Pages 236-237:
"The trial also failed to explain satisfactorily the discrepancy between Chikatilo's type A blood and the semen samples found on fourteen victims and analyzed as type AB.
Judge Akubzhanov accepted a document from Dr. Gurtovaya's laboratory in Moscow attesting to the fact that Chikatilo's semen was type AB and stating that he was an example of an extremely rare, newly discovered phenomenon called "paradoxical secretion,” in which an individual has blood of one type and secretions of another.
Dr. Gurtovaya's explanation would have been difficult or impossible to defend in a courtroom where the defense had the right to call its own expert witnesses.
Special agent David Bigbee, chief of the FBI's DNA analysis laboratory in Washington, stated flatly in an interview for this book that "paradoxical secretion” does not exist. So did one of the world's leading experts on blood and secretion analysis. Dr. Rafael Oriol of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Paris. Dr. Oriol, after learning of Dr. Gurtovaya's theory, was convinced that the Soviet laboratory work on the killer's semen had been systematically flawed.
He had, he said, helped organize an international conference on problems in blood typing in Lund, Sweden, in 1990. The Soviet delegation to the conference presented a newly developed laboratory reagent known as a monoclonal anti-B antibody. The Soviet antibody was found to work perfectly well in tests of blood. If it was applied to type B blood, it caused the cells to cluster under the microscope. But when it was used to type semen, the reagent caused a false B reading in some, but not all, type A semen. In other words, certain kinds of type A semen would be read, falsely, as AB.
Until the international conference, the Soviet scientists had not been aware of the flaw in their reagent. Dr. Oriol said. This monoclonal anti-B antibody was too new to have been in use in Rostov and Moscow in 1983 and 1984, when most of the semen analyses were done.
Dr. Oriol speculated that some similar problem had caused a systematic error in typing Chikatilo's semen.
That speculation was consistent with the article published by T. A. Stegnova in 1989 in the Russian journal Forensic Medicine Expertise, which found about a forty-percent error rate in semen samples initially judged to be type AB by Soviet forensic laboratories.
But, due to Judge Akubzhanov's willingness to accept Dr. Gurtovaya's "paradoxical secretion" theory, there may never be a complete explanation of this critical aspect of the lesopolosa case."--
109.175.104.62 (
talk)
02:25, 14 June 2023 (UTC)
@ Kieronoldham: I see that you reverted my removal of content in this edit. In the edit diff you mention that you know this information is in an interview. Can you cite this information so that it isn't removed again? Thanks. Z1720 ( talk) 02:19, 18 November 2023 (UTC)
It was not proven that he killed a girl in 1978. His conviction was dropped (by Russian Supreme court). Please correct the article. Feww2 ( talk) 15:34, 30 November 2023 (UTC)
138610 Feww2 ( talk) 04:09, 18 December 2023 (UTC)
Doubt that is a reliable source. All the books and most reliable online sources add these cases. Regardless, the cases "not sufficiently proven" were solely those ("and the girl Tsana from Riga. I don't know whether you should count her or not. I doubt that I killed her") he chose to deny at trial.-- Kieronoldham ( talk) 04:28, 18 December 2023 (UTC)
@ Kieronoldham: I think that the romanization of the name added after the Russian native name Андрей could have some spaces for discussion. I was thinking should we put an efn template that states the name is also transliterated in a another way? (e.g. Ilya Ponomarev) СлаваУкраїні 05:59, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
![]() | This page is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
The execution of Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was carried out in "Pistol Target Room No 3", in the Rostov-on-Don Central Prison.
Contrary to the generally held belief, the condemned prisoner does not have to kneel, and then be shot, but is strapped into a heavy wooden chair, which is bolted to the concrete floor of the room. The chair rather resembles the U.S. electric chair in appearance.
The chair is situated in front of a three meter high sand bag wall, and surrounded by a zinc cachment area, which contains a drainage channel for blood. The executioner is a member of the prison staff, and will be one of many who volunteer to be state registered executioners.
He will not have been seen by the condemned, and will be waiting at the rear of the chamber behind a screen. After the warrant of death has been read by the Principal or Deputy Principal of the prison the executioner rapidly walks behind the seated prisoner. He wears felt slippers, and his approach is hardly audible.
The weapon of execution is usually a Makarov 9 mm service pistol, which is swiftly placed behind the right ear and fired. It is known in prison parlance as the "nine grams treatment", which is the bullets weight.One round is usually fatal, and cosiderable brain tissue is carried out of the head as the bullet exits on its way into the sand bag wall.
Andrei Romanov Chikatilo died mouthing curses and obscenities at his executioners. An unamed Japanese scientific group had offered to buy Chikatilos brain. It is doubtful that the Soviet authorities would have allowed this to happen, and in any event, the brain would have suffered massive tissue damage from the 9mm bullet.
There is a further gruesome procedure which is carried out in the prison mortuary, but I think that the execution details will suffice. Jim Prideaux
194.108.138.253 wrote:
Chikatolo defended himself by pointing to his childhood's experience of the notorious famine which took place in Ukraine in the 1930's. This was said to have disturbed his mind as there were widespread acts of cannibalism in the affected areas. — Chikatilo was born in 1936, whereas the great famine was in 1932-1933. Perhaps it was the wartime experiences in 1940s? — Monedula 12:58, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC)
In October, 2002, Moscow English-language newspaper Exile published a fake news article saying that Moscow Mayor proposed to build in Moscow a statue of Chikatilo (whom the article incorrectly calls Anatoly).
I heard that it was a joke on Mayor Luzhkov's proposal to re-estblish the monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky, which was removed in 1991. This proposal was never implemented.
http://www.exile.ru/2002-October-17/chikatilo_statue_causes_stir.html
Was Chikatilo a Chimera? The text about the semen sample and blood test not matching seems to indicate that.
Negative. He simply did not secrete blood into his semen, even in trace amounts, as most of us do.
For an article about a serial killer in the Soviet Union, one would have thought there would be many more photographs. As most would be public domain no? Heres a couple of links I've found:
One of the first ones would be good I think...
- FrancisTyers 14:23, 15 August 2005 (UTC)
Article needs link to "list of serial killers - Ukraine" Jbhood 11:36, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
This guy, Alexander Pichushkin, could possibly be the successor of Chikatilo. The press are calling him the "Crazy Chess Player" because he confessed planning 64 murders - one for each square of the board, and was 4 murders short of his goal when captured. Till now 14 bodies were found, all in the Bitsa Park in the suburbs of Moscow. Since I'm not too good at Russian and I am not familiar with Russian news agencies etc., I thought I would invite anyone here to have a go at an article since you should all be more well-versed about this than me! Here are the few links I have from MosNews (English): [1] [2]
└ VodkaJazz / talk ┐ 11:08, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
If you have an active link, I can take a go. I am rusty but should be able to handle most of it.~~johnway2001@aol.com 12:08PM pst, 27-jul-07
Try this one: [3] Palefire 15:03, 2 August 2007 (UTC)
When I read about this guy in a British newspaper years ago, it claimed his teeth all fell out due to him eating his victims (gnawing on bones you see) and his teeth were replaced with steel ones. There was a picture of him with the steel teeth. I think the information about his canabilism should be put into the article. Snowbound 06:02, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3254074.stm I assume the BBC would be a credible source? If not, I know a few Russians who were there at the time and counld recount the released information which did include acts of cannibalism. ~~Johnway@aol.com 12:00pm PST, 27 Jul 2007
The execution of Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was carried out in "Pistol Target Room No 3", in the Rostov-on-Don Central Prison.
Contrary to the generally held belief, the condemned prisoner does not have to kneel, and then be shot, but is strapped into a heavy wooden chair, which is bolted to the concrete floor of the room. The chair rather resembles the U.S. electric chair in appearance.
The chair is situated in front of a three meter high sand bag wall, and surrounded by a zinc cachment area, which contains a drainage channel for blood. The executioner is a member of the prison staff, and will be one of many who volunteer to be state registered executioners.
He will not have been seen by the condemned, and will be waiting at the rear of the chamber behind a screen. After the warrant of death has been read by the Principal or Deputy Principal of the prison the executioner rapidly walks behind the seated prisoner. He wears felt slippers, and his approach is hardly audible.
The weapon of execution is usually a Makarov 9 mm service pistol, which is swiftly placed behind the right ear and fired. It is known in prison parlance as the "nine grams treatment", which is the bullets weight.One round is usually fatal, and cosiderable brain tissue is carried out of the head as the bullet exits on its way into the sand bag wall.
Andrei Romanov Chikatilo died mouthing curses and obscenities at his executioners. An unamed Japanese scientific group had offered to buy Chikatilos brain. It is doubtful that the Soviet authorities would have allowed this to happen, and in any event, the brain would have suffered massive tissue damage from the 9mm bullet.
There is a further gruesome procedure which is carried out in the prison mortuary, but I think that the execution details will suffice. Jim Prideaux
194.108.138.253 wrote:
Chikatolo defended himself by pointing to his childhood's experience of the notorious famine which took place in Ukraine in the 1930's. This was said to have disturbed his mind as there were widespread acts of cannibalism in the affected areas. — Chikatilo was born in 1936, whereas the great famine was in 1932-1933. Perhaps it was the wartime experiences in 1940s? — Monedula 12:58, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC)
In October, 2002, Moscow English-language newspaper Exile published a fake news article saying that Moscow Mayor proposed to build in Moscow a statue of Chikatilo (whom the article incorrectly calls Anatoly).
I heard that it was a joke on Mayor Luzhkov's proposal to re-estblish the monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky, which was removed in 1991. This proposal was never implemented.
http://www.exile.ru/2002-October-17/chikatilo_statue_causes_stir.html
Was Chikatilo a Chimera? The text about the semen sample and blood test not matching seems to indicate that.
Negative. He simply did not secrete blood into his semen, even in trace amounts, as most of us do.
For an article about a serial killer in the Soviet Union, one would have thought there would be many more photographs. As most would be public domain no? Heres a couple of links I've found:
One of the first ones would be good I think...
- FrancisTyers 14:23, 15 August 2005 (UTC)
Article needs link to "list of serial killers - Ukraine" Jbhood 11:36, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Have you seen that Andrei Chikatilo was found guilty a day before his birthday ?(see October 15 1992)
"though an innocent person had been executed for his crimes, so his death toll would technically be 53)." Technically how? Would Russian law allow him to be held criminally responsible for that execution? If this just means morally responsible, I would like to delete this passage. 24.131.12.228 05:44, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
Maybe you could say he "indirectly caused" an additional death, or else delete it like you say. Jbhood 09:15, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
All right, I went ahead and took out that passage. 24.131.12.228 17:50, 19 November 2006 (UTC)
The main article states 53, this article states 56 and this one states 52. Which is correct? Lugnuts 16:47, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
Confessed to 56, tried for 53, convicted of 52. ~~johnway2001@aol.com 12:02pm PST, 27 Jul 2007
The movie Citizen X doesn't portray the Russian police as 'arrogant and incompetent'. More like fatalistic and demoralised. One of the central themes of the movie is how the Communist ideology inhibited the proper execution of the investigation because the local Party apparatchik insisted that they don't have serial killers in the USSR. Whether or not that actually happened, I don't know. There is one arrogant and incompetent policeman in the movie, but he's not a major character. The heroes (Stephen Rea and Donald Sutherland) are dedicated and highly competent. Lexo 23:01, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
In the pop culture section it states that he was an inspiration for Hannibal Lecter. This is highly unlikey for several reasons. The first being that it was stated in the documentary for "Hannibal Rising" that Thomas Harris got his inspiration from being a crime scene reporter in the 60's. Secondly Hannibal was introduced in 1981 in the book "Red Dragon" and Chikatilo was barely a blip on the Russian radar screen let alone a figure worldwide. His statements about being a cannibal would not likely have been in the mass media until at least his trial in early 1992. Also Harris has alluded on several occasions to several serial killers being inspiration and Chikatilo has not been one of them. For these reasons I believe that statement should be removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.50.55.16 ( talk) 03:03, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
His father, who was captured and imprisoned by the Nazis during the war, returned home a social pariah; in Stalinist Russia, surviving prisoners of war were viewed as cowards.
This statement does not seem to reflect Stalinist policies. Prisoners returning from foreign captivity were viewed with political suspicion, not as cowards. Deserters from the Red Army (who are more likely to have been regarded as cowards) were treated far more leniently than returning POWs, regarded as traitors.
Jonathan Headland 15:42, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
I once read a book written by the police officer who got Chikatilo apprehended and tried for the killings where C stated he had killed 53, possibly more. However, only 51 of those murders could be proven. Does this ring a bell to any of you? I'll see if I can find the book in the library. OktoberStorm 09:41, 27 October 2007 (UTC)
Ukraine as an independent state did not exist when Chikatilo was born, therefore I changed it to reflect that he was born in the Ukrainian SSR. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.15.6.114 ( talk) 22:55, 9 January 2008 (UTC)
There is a contradiction in the chapter 'Chikatilo did not murder again until 1982 [...] He didn't kill again until June 1983.' I suggest that whichever is incorrect to be removed, or slightly re-write it in order to avoid confusion.
Also, in 'Chikatilo in film and books', the characters Viktor Burakov and Mikhail Fetisov are mentioned ― however, they have not been mentioned earlier on in the article, and thus the reader cannot know who these persons are. 85.94.246.241 ( talk) 06:45, 11 January 2009 (UTC)
It seems some elements have been removed from previous versions of this article. I'm not all that familiar with the Wiki system, but I did notice these two things. 1st. This article is in the "Vampirism (Crime)" category, and 2nd. The archives have a section on Andrei Chikatilo's cannibalism (referencing http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3254074.stm). And yet no mention of Vampirism or cannibalism is mentioned on the part of Andrei Chikatilo in the current article. WulfgardMartel ( talk) 15:25, 22 April 2011 (UTC)
Under childhood, the link for number 7 doesn't work. Here's another link to fix it: http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring03/rawlins/chikatilo.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sgjo23 ( talk • contribs) 16:50, 9 February 2015 (UTC)
Thank you to whoever added the photos. It makes the article ALOT better :) Lenachka25 ( talk) 07:17, 7 September 2010 (UTC)
This article is obviously lacking a section about the subject's importance for modern russsian-speaking culture. The name Chikatilo has became an appellative for any kind of serial killer, like Casanova as a lover-boy. The number of victims and the nature of his crimes are only a fraction of the whole picture. His name, by a strange coincidence, is a pun. The word "чик" (chik) is an onomatopoeia for the sound, that scissors or any other double-blade tool produces, and "чикать" (chickat) means "to cut with scissors" [4]. In sub-criminal slang this even means "to cut someone with a knife". And the ending is similar to the ending "-ила" (-ilah), that is used to exaggerate or overtone the process, that someone makes. For example, "Громила" (gromilah) states for a bulky, aggressive, fight-loving person, a crusher - a derivative from the verb "громить" (to crush, to commit pogrom). So, combined chikatilah literally could mean a ruthless slasher, if it were a real word.
The other reason is that this was the time, USSR was near its end and lost almost all control over the media. Chikatilo's was the first well covered mass-homicide case, so the public shock was immense. He has became the soviet Jack-the-Reaper, a target for number of anecdotes. Unlike other killers, who often have unremarkable appearance, he revealed a demonic looks on the trail ( this and this pictures of his became semi-iconic).
I'm not a fan of Chikatilo neither I try to make an altar for him. Still, his "popularity" is undeniable. It's hard to provide relible sources for that kind of urban fame, but it's there. Everyone, who was born at least in eighties know his name. The new generation is loosing it, but it's still there.
The article is closed for editing, and even if it wasn't, I'm sure wikipedos would find some WP:RS or any other stupid WP:STFU>FO rule to justify the deletion. So, for anyone, who can edit this page and who knows, how to formalize such things so the bureaucratic dogs couldn't yelp: please do it.
Thx in advance -- 85.176.18.133 ( talk) —Preceding undated comment added 13:46, 19 July 2011 (UTC).
The coincidences regarding his name, which I genuinely find interesting (and was unaware of) are, however, just that. These coincidences have been noted with regards to other murderers and serial killers. For example, the first syllable of John Wayne Gacy's surname is not without irony considering he the fact he raped, tortured and killed 33 teenage boys, but to the best of my knowledge these coincidences are not included in Wikipeda articles about serial killers.
I agree that he as left a lasting notoriety, and perhaps a chapter with this title could be included directly below the victim table? Hopefully this chapter could be without trivia (which is sometimes included in Wiki. articles on infamous persons) such as the fact some bands have happened to write songs about him?
As for the second paragraph you wrote, I and other users have made edits which, I feel, already include the significance that the timing of Chikatilo's murders coincided with the final stages of the breakdown of the Soviet Union, and how the initial red tape hindered the investigation yet, after Glasnost in was declared in 1986, greater coverage of the murders was given. The article already specifies that his arrest occured just before the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and that his trial was the first major media event in post-Soviet Russia.
Chikatilo had the demonic look in the earlier stages of his trial as a prison precaution against lice meant he had his hair shaved off - hence the demonic look. I actually wrote the words 'which had the effect of making him look demonic' when I wrote about the this being the standard prison precaution against lice, but it was later removed by another user. If consensus is agreed to this being included once again, then perhaps an inclusion to the fact his that his head was shaven had the effect of making him look demonic and that the media picked up on this, giving him such titles as the 'Red Ripper' could be included once again? Incidentially, his inconspicuous appearance before his head was shaved and prior to his arrest helped him to blend into crowds during the years of the manhunt and, as he himself readily admitted, enabled him to convince many of his victims that he was a respectable, middle-aged man.
I own three books on this case and have used them in the edits/inclusions which I myself have made. If you feel a greater emphasis should be made in any particular aspect of the coverage (or lack of) in the manhunt for Chikatilo, then I can look through them again to find a rererence or two to accompany a further inclusion/greater emphasisyou feel should be made?
Kindest regards,-- Kieronoldham ( talk) 22:34, 20 July 2011 (UTC)
Quote: " Despite evidence linking Chikatilo to the girl's death (spots of the girl's blood were found in the snow near Chikatilo's house and a witness had given police a detailed description of a man closely resembling Chikatilo whom she had seen talking with Zakotnova at the bus stop where the girl had last been seen alive),[23] a 25-year-old named Alexsandr Kravchenko who, as a teenager, had served a jail sentence for the rape and murder of a teenage girl, was arrested for the crime[24] and subsequently confessed to the killing." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Srelu ( talk • contribs) 19:10, 29 October 2011 (UTC)
There is a book by Anatoly Pristavkin who headed the Pardon Commission of the Russian Federation and read all original documents of the case of Chikatilo, Kravchenko and a lot more. It describes a couple of details of the case that I now included. The book is "Valley of Deadly Shadow" (Russian, Dolina smertel'noi teni). In particular, there was incorrect information about Kravchenko. Any objections? My very best wishes ( talk) 21:21, 16 March 2013 (UTC)
The fact that the article mentions the posthumous pardon at the end vindicates Kravchenko's innocence regardless of which account is actually true. Regards-- Kieronoldham ( talk) 23:01, 16 March 2013 (UTC)
Unless I'm completely missing something, there's a gap in the information on this page. We're told that he was tried and convicted for a 15 year sentence in 1979, yet he was free and killing again in 1981. How? Was he released early? Was he never actually jailed? Cardinal Wurzel ( talk) 06:49, 26 June 2013 (UTC)
It was Kravchenko who was tried for Zakotnova's murder and sentenced to the maximum term, then retried and sentenced to death. The killing of Zakotnova was never linked to Chikatilo until his confession to her murder in 1990 and from 1981 he resumed killing.-- Kieronoldham ( talk) 21:57, 26 June 2013 (UTC)
Here is the full text of Chikatilo's sentence ( wikisource:ru:Приговор по делу Андрея Чикатило). I'm not sure if it's available in English but it Russian it reads:
"Therefore the court classifies Chikatilo's actions as:
- according to art. 120 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - as committing sexual abuse against minors;
- according to art. 15 and 121 part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - as an attempt to commit sodomy with the use of physical violence and threats against minors;
- according to art. 15 and 117 Part 3 of the Criminal Code - as an attempt to rape minors;
- according to art. 15 and 117 part 3 (in the Edition of the RSFSR Law of 25.07.1962) - as an attempt to rape a minor;
- according to art. 15 and 117 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - as an attempt to rape minors;
- according to art. 102 pp. "g, e, z, i" of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - as a premeditated murder of victims committed with special cruelty, linked to rape, of two or more persons committed by a person who previously committed a premeditated murder;
- according to art. 17 and 122 part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - as an attempt to commit sodomy committed with the use of violence against minors;
- according to art. 93 pp. "E, Z" of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - as a premeditated murder committed with special cruelty, by a person who previously committed a premeditated murder;
- according to art. 15 and 94 part 2 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan - as an attempt on rape committed by a person who had previously committed the same crime;
- according to art. 15 and 94 part 4 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan - as an attempt to rape a minor;
- according to art. 80 pp. 6, 8, 9 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan - as a premeditated murder with special cruelty, linked to rape by a person who had previously committed a premeditated murder."
According to the Russian law, rape ("изнасилование") can only be committed against a female victim, the similar crime against a male at that time was called "sodomy committed with the use of violence" ("мужеложство, совершённое с применением насилия"); now it is called sexual assault ("насильственные действия сексуального характера"; literally, "coercive sexual actions"). So as these crimes are different according to the law, I decided to write them separately.-- IgorMagic ( talk) 04:51, 1 December 2017 (UTC)
There are quite a few websites reporting Chikatilo's last words allegedly to have been him pleading his executors not to damage his brain, referencing the rumored, but nonexistent, Japanese psychiatrists wanting to purchase it intact after his death. Examples: [5] [6] [7]; Ctrl-F for "Japanese" to find the relevant part. However, searching for the precise wording used for the quote in all three of these reveals that it was not used anywhere, online at least, until this Wordpress post in January 2010; set the search to only look for results before, nothing. Tried some other broader Google searches for pre-2010 results, but still could not find anything about such a quote. I would be interested in finding out whether or not any reputable source has ever even mentioned this, or if this is a misunderstanding of some kind, or even a hoax, possibly even started by the aforementioned post. It is possible that the quote was originally reported in a Russian-language source, but as I do not speak Russian I wouldn't know. If there is a reputable source or several that mention this quote (preferably preceding the 2010 Wordpress post?), it could probably be added to the "Execution" section. -- 85.76.84.151 ( talk) 01:50, 9 June 2022 (UTC)
Perhaps it would be better to say he "Suffered from nocturnal enuresis" than to say he was a "Chronic bed wetter" Charrop09 ( talk) 16:56, 18 April 2023 (UTC)
As stated currently in the article Chikatilo was apparently a medical phenomenon, a singular case of "paradoxical secretion" newly discovered by Dr. Svedana Gurtovaya.
Apparently, as stated currently in the article, "investigators obtained a sample of Chikatilo's semen to test his blood type, the results of which confirmed that Chikatilo's semen was type AB, whereas his blood and saliva were type A."
This is backed up by references to a book by Robert Cullen "The Killer Department Detective Viktor Burakov’s Eight-Year Hunt for the Most Savage Serial Killer in Russian History" with a note explaining that "Investigators had received a circular in 1988 indicating that in extremely rare cases, a man's blood type may differ from his semen and saliva type".
Citations and notes fail to mention that the "discovery" of phenomenon, 1988 circular alerting investigators of said discovery AND the final determination that "Chikatilo's semen was type AB, whereas his blood and saliva were type A" - all came from the same source.
Namely, Dr. Svetiana Gurtovaya, chief of the biology lab in the bureau of forensic medicine of the Ministry of Health in Moscow.
Article and cited notes further fail to mention that Gurtovaya's "paradoxical secretion" theory was rejected by every expert outside Soviet Union, instead questioning Soviet methods - which was even done contemporaneously within Soviet Union.
I.e. Everyone, ever, concluded that Soviet forensic methods sucked. Except the boss lady.
Citations below are from the same book by Robert Cullen, some even from same pages as notes in the article.
Pages 149-150:
"Gurtovaya's assertion that blood and semen types could differ had no support in the world community of forensic scientists and physicians who specialize in the matter. Their opinion was that, given proper testing, only two results are possible.
Either a person will have the same antigens in his or her blood and secretions— that is, a person with type A blood will have type A secretions. Or he or she will be a "non-secreter," with no antigens at all in the semen, saliva, and other bodily secretions.
In addition, studies were calling into question the competence of Soviet laboratories, suggesting a different explanation for the discrepancies Gurtovaya had found. Successful testing required not only skill and care on the part of the laboratory worker, who had to mix the semen sample with reagents and peer into the microscope to determine whether the cells were clustering or not.
It also required proper procedures and a supply of accurately manufactured, consistent, and uncontaminated laboratory reagents.
In the decaying Soviet Union of the late 1980s, none of that could be assumed.
A study published in 1989 by a scientist named T. V. Stegnova, in a Soviet journal called Forensic Medicine Expertise, reviewed nineteen Soviet sex crime cases and found that in eight of them, the laboratories had incorrectly analyzed semen types. In some cases, they had failed to use proper controls or to follow other vital test procedures. In some cases, Stegnova wrote, it appeared that the reagents used on semen falsely showed the presence of the B antigen. Criminals with type A blood and secretions had left semen that Soviet laboratories had typed AB."
Pages 236-237:
"The trial also failed to explain satisfactorily the discrepancy between Chikatilo's type A blood and the semen samples found on fourteen victims and analyzed as type AB.
Judge Akubzhanov accepted a document from Dr. Gurtovaya's laboratory in Moscow attesting to the fact that Chikatilo's semen was type AB and stating that he was an example of an extremely rare, newly discovered phenomenon called "paradoxical secretion,” in which an individual has blood of one type and secretions of another.
Dr. Gurtovaya's explanation would have been difficult or impossible to defend in a courtroom where the defense had the right to call its own expert witnesses.
Special agent David Bigbee, chief of the FBI's DNA analysis laboratory in Washington, stated flatly in an interview for this book that "paradoxical secretion” does not exist. So did one of the world's leading experts on blood and secretion analysis. Dr. Rafael Oriol of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Paris. Dr. Oriol, after learning of Dr. Gurtovaya's theory, was convinced that the Soviet laboratory work on the killer's semen had been systematically flawed.
He had, he said, helped organize an international conference on problems in blood typing in Lund, Sweden, in 1990. The Soviet delegation to the conference presented a newly developed laboratory reagent known as a monoclonal anti-B antibody. The Soviet antibody was found to work perfectly well in tests of blood. If it was applied to type B blood, it caused the cells to cluster under the microscope. But when it was used to type semen, the reagent caused a false B reading in some, but not all, type A semen. In other words, certain kinds of type A semen would be read, falsely, as AB.
Until the international conference, the Soviet scientists had not been aware of the flaw in their reagent. Dr. Oriol said. This monoclonal anti-B antibody was too new to have been in use in Rostov and Moscow in 1983 and 1984, when most of the semen analyses were done.
Dr. Oriol speculated that some similar problem had caused a systematic error in typing Chikatilo's semen.
That speculation was consistent with the article published by T. A. Stegnova in 1989 in the Russian journal Forensic Medicine Expertise, which found about a forty-percent error rate in semen samples initially judged to be type AB by Soviet forensic laboratories.
But, due to Judge Akubzhanov's willingness to accept Dr. Gurtovaya's "paradoxical secretion" theory, there may never be a complete explanation of this critical aspect of the lesopolosa case."--
109.175.104.62 (
talk)
02:25, 14 June 2023 (UTC)
@ Kieronoldham: I see that you reverted my removal of content in this edit. In the edit diff you mention that you know this information is in an interview. Can you cite this information so that it isn't removed again? Thanks. Z1720 ( talk) 02:19, 18 November 2023 (UTC)
It was not proven that he killed a girl in 1978. His conviction was dropped (by Russian Supreme court). Please correct the article. Feww2 ( talk) 15:34, 30 November 2023 (UTC)
138610 Feww2 ( talk) 04:09, 18 December 2023 (UTC)
Doubt that is a reliable source. All the books and most reliable online sources add these cases. Regardless, the cases "not sufficiently proven" were solely those ("and the girl Tsana from Riga. I don't know whether you should count her or not. I doubt that I killed her") he chose to deny at trial.-- Kieronoldham ( talk) 04:28, 18 December 2023 (UTC)
@ Kieronoldham: I think that the romanization of the name added after the Russian native name Андрей could have some spaces for discussion. I was thinking should we put an efn template that states the name is also transliterated in a another way? (e.g. Ilya Ponomarev) СлаваУкраїні 05:59, 14 January 2024 (UTC)