Murder Most Foul – Issue 111 – January 2019

2 Murder Most Foul Russia’s Chessboard Killer

Case report by

John Sanders

S

UPERMARKET shelf filler

Alexander Pichushkin had one

ambition in life – he wanted to be

the world’s most successful serial killer.

He was determined to pass the total

number of murders committed by his

Russian compatriot Andrei Chikatilo –

known as the Rostov Ripper.

Chikatilo’s “score” was 53. Pichushkin

claimed he killed 63 before being

caught.

“For me, a life without murder is like

a life without food,” he told a court in

Moscow. “I felt like a father to all these

people, since it was I who opened the

door for them to the afterlife.”

He claimed that he placed a coin on

a chessboard to represent each of his

victims. He told police that he intended

to fill in all 64 squares, but had fallen

short by one when he was eventually

caught.

Searching through all the missing-

person files, the police could find only

enough evidence to charge him with

49 murders, four short of the number

achieved by Chikatilo, who was executed

for his crimes in 1994.

Pichushkin stormed with rage. He

felt like a long-distance runner who had

been pipped at the post.

When his modus operandi for killing

was revealed it sent a collective shudder

through Muscovites. To the south-east of

the city there is a 3,500-acre sprawling

stretch of open space called Bitsevsky

Park, criss-crossed by paths, dotted with

cafes and covered with large areas of

woodland. Here the city folk come to

stroll, cycle, picnic and unwind from the

stresses and strains of work.

Here too came Alexander Pichushkin,

a chess fanatic, to play chess in the

open air with anyone who had the time

to spare. Often his opponents were the

down-and-outs or elderly alcoholics who

have littered Bitsevsky Park since the fall

of communism. He would offer them

a game, plus a couple of large vodkas

while they contemplated their next

move.

When the game was finished he would

say, “Come over to the other side of

the park and see the grave of my dog. I

buried him there last month. He meant

so much to me, I was so sad when he

died. Let’s go and drink to his memory.”

There was no dog and no grave,

but there was a secluded spot where

Pichushkin could “open the door to the

afterlife” for his companion. He never

used a firearm or a knife, but relied

either on frenzied blows to the head with

a hammer or manual strangulation.

He was aware that both these killing

RUSSIA’S CHESSBO

Case report by

John Sanders

.

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for the full story.

Anthony Garcia (below, left) blamed

two fellow-doctors for ruining his career

and embarked on a deadly revenge. Four

people died as a result of his murderous

campaign, but when the US justice

system delivered its verdict on him,

Garcia couldn’t keep his eyes open. Turn

to page 6 and Doctor Sleeps Through His

Own Death Sentence.

Many people idolise movie stars or

the characters they portray on ilm. Brit

Daniel Gonzalez (below, right) wanted to

emulate a character

from the Nightmare

On Elm Street horror

ilm series. See page

10 and Maniac Wanted

To Be Freddy Krueger

For A Day for the

shocking outcome.

Don’t forget to enter our book competition on page 52

WORLD’S NO. 1 TRUE

CRIME QUARTERLY

T

he murder of 35-year-old Londoner

Daisy Wallis remains an intriguing

mystery to this day – nearly 70 years

later. She was horriically stabbed to

death in the August of 1949 in the

High Holborn ofice where she ran her

business. Sex and robbery were quickly

eliminated as motives. So why was she

killed? Was it the random work of a

violent, unhinged attacker? For the next

decade, the inquiry into Daisy’s murder

continued. At one stage Frank Mitchell

(right, centre), a notorious associate of

the Kray twins,

made a curious

confession. Could

he really have

been involved?

Turn to page 40

and Did The Mad

Axe-Man Kill Daisy?

No. 111

2

He Set out To Slay

64 – But “Only”

Made It To 48...

6

Doctor Sleeps Through

His Own Death Sentence

9

Opinion

More of your views

10

Maniac

Wanted

To Be Freddy

Krueger For A

Day

14

From Lottery

Win To Kidnap

And Murder

22

Couples Who Kill:

“Don’t Hang Me, I

Have A Little Child”

MOST

FOUL

http://www.truecrimelibrary.com

27

Long Island’s Red Circle Slayings

34

Death Sentence For

Scissor-Killer Marlene

40

Unsolved: Did The Mad

Axe-Man Kill Daisy?

46

Lyda Trueblood’s

Unique Method

Of Murder

53

“There’s A Voice

In My Head Called

Hell – And it Tells Me

To Kill”

56

How Passion

Inspired Pauline

To Murder

62

“I have To Kill

Cathy Tonight”