Russian police were involved in the search for one perpetrator as slain women were discovered in the mid-1990s, killed by similar methods. Despite extensive inquiries and testimonies from surviving victims, Popkov eluded police for two decades.[1] However, investigators discovered a pattern: tracks from a Lada 4×4, an off-road vehicle used by law enforcement, were found at numerous crime scenes.[9] DNA testings of 3,500 current and former policemen in Irkutsk in 2012 facilitated Popkov's capture that same year. In January 2015, he was sentenced to life in prison for 22 murders and two attempted murders.[10]