Russian "Jack the Ripper" accused of killing and mutilating 19 women in Siberia
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An alleged Russian 'Jack the Ripper' has been accused of killing and mutilating 19 women in Siberia.
Former policeman Evgeny Chuplinsky, 52, reportedly happily married to a glamorous and acclaimed dentist, targeted sex workers in the city of Novosibirsk, masking his butchery by making the murders appear to have a satanic motive, say prosecutors.
He allegedly used a knife to cut off the breasts of his victims, and severed their heads.
He is believed to have told detectives that prostitutes were "bad for society" before retracting a confession to the killings.
Chuplinsky is married to a prominent dentist and the couple have two teenage daughters.
(Photo: The Siberian Times)
Described as a 'good family man', he claimed: "I am not Winnie the Pooh - but also very far from being a monster."
A taxi driver who later worked in construction, he was known to neighbours as "caring and kind", and there was "disbelief" when he was charged.
He is accused of 19 murders between 1998 to 2000, when he married his wife, according to details of the case which have been released ahead of his trial.
The mutilated bodies of some victims - many left unrecognisable - had 'satanic signs' carved on them with a knife, and symbols were also found on wooden boards at one crime scene," reported The Siberian Times.
Some remains were not found until 2006.
He later told investigators that he deliberately sought to mislead police by using the devilish depictions.
(Photo: The Siberian Times)
The women disappeared from an area known as 'drunken road', a red light district, and his crimes started before he left the police.
He is accused of driving his victims to deserted locations, then killing and dismembering them.
His wife was quoted on her husband's arrest, saying only: "You must understand that a maniac cannot change his nature.
"It is completely normal, that a person like this cannot suddenly become normal."
Police checked more than 5,000, and held 8,000 "interrogations" before detaining Chuplinsky, a suspect who had been previously arrested on suspicion of the killings.
Investigators said that sophisticated DNA matching - not available at the time the bodies were found - linked him to the crimes.
(Photo: The Siberian Times)
After retracting his earlier confessions, Chuplinsky said that his genetic trace was on the dead women because he had regularly associated with prostitutes.
"Of course, there is nothing to be proud of, but before I retired in 2003 I had been actively communicating with prostitutes on the 'drunken road' with whom I'd built good relationships," he said.
"This happened quite often."
He claimed: "I was in close touch with prostitutes who were working on my patrol route.
"It was about getting information about different crimes and offences.
"I used their knowledge.
"With their assistance I solved crimes and detained drunk drivers.
"Sometimes I let drivers go for a bribe, it's a sin of course. I was protecting them from physical harassment."
If convicted, he will be the second ex-policeman serial killer in Siberia in recent years who claimed to be targeting prostitutes or young women whose morals he judged to be 'loose'.
(Photo: The Siberian Times)
Mikhail Popkov, from Angarsk in Irkutsk region, known as The Werewolf, was in 2015 convicted of killing 22 women, but has since confessed to murdering another 60, for which he is expected to stand trial this year.
He routinely raped his victims before murdering them with axes, knives and screwdrivers.
He wanted to 'cleanse the streets of prostitutes'. His total of 82 makes him one of the world's worst known serial killers.
Another Novosibirsk killer, Andrey Ivanov, 40, also a taxi driver, was convicted last year of killing four women. He also claimed to target prostitutes.
Neighbours told how Chuplinsky one calmly talked to a woman "with a broken heart", saving her from suicide.
The couple were 'happily married' and lived in an elite block.
Local community leader Yekaterina Belonog said: "He was one of the most active members of our community.
"He was kind, attentive, and never caused any negative feelings."