A Russian serial killer has been sentenced after being found to have murdered 31 elderly women.
Police in Russia started searching for the killer as he carried out his crimes across 15 cities in and around the Tatarstan region, about 730 km (450 miles) east of Moscow, including Kazan, Samara, Tolyatti, Izhevsk, Ufa and others.
Between the years of 2011 and 2012, Radik Tagirov was found to have killed 31 women, the majority of who were older than 70 - but police were unable to catch him for years.
Officers offered a three million rouble ($37,990) reward for information which could lead to the arrest of the killer, and finally in 2020, Tagirov was arrested on suspicion of the murders.
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Tagirov, a locksmith, had previously served prison time for petty theft, but investigators found that his bigger crimes largely followed a particular pattern.
According to the investigators, Tagirov would identify a potential victim, a single elderly woman, and then gain access to her home by posing as a maintenance worker, such as a social worker, electrician or plumber.
Once he had gained entry to the homes, Tagirov beat and strangled the women using either his hands or items he found in the home, and stole their valuables. His brutal crimes earned him the nickname of 'Volga Maniac'.
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Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Colonel Irina Volk said of the crimes: "Introducing himself as a utility worker or a social worker, he freely entered their apartments.
"Having killed his victim, he stole the retired women's savings and got away."
In order to track down the killer, authorities investigated more than 10,000 potential suspects and conducted over 5,000 expert studies, The Moscow Times reports.
At the time of his arrest, investigators said Tagirov had been identified using DNA evidence, shoe prints, and other evidence from crime scenes.
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"Analysis of biological objects found at crime scenes… determined that all the wrongful acts were committed by one individual," Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.
A law enforcement source told the MailOnline at the time: "He admitted his guilt, he was crying."
While Tagirov is said to have admitted guilt during the investigation, he denied all charges against him in court.
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However, a court found Tagirov guilty of the killings, as well as several attempted murders, and assaults on 34 more elderly women.
Today (March 21), the Supreme Court of Russia’s republic of Tatarstan sentenced Tagirov to life in prison for his crimes.
According to the state-run news agency TASS, Tagirov's lawyer, Marat Ashirov vowed to appeal the court’s ruling.
Topics: Russia, Crime, World News