A court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg has sent serial killer Irina Gaidamachuk to prison for twenty years. Gaidamachuk, 40, killed seventeen elderly women so she could rob them.
Gaidamachuk attacked her victims in the Urals region pretending she was a social worker so they let her into their flats. Once inside, she attacked the women with an axe or hammer. The first murder was in 2003 and Gaidamachuk was not detained until June 2010. She confessed.
The investigation was troubled by the gender of the perpetrator; the possibility of a female killer was not considered until a woman survived. After the lone survivor's account, police still considered it possible the killer was a man dressed as a woman. Innocent woman Irina Valeyeva was arrested and confessed. 
More than 3,000 people were questioned before Gaidamachuk was caught. She changed tactic for her final victim, Alexandra Povaritsyna, 81, opting to pose as a decorator. Police followed up descriptions from neighbours of the bogus tradeswoman. The youngest victim was 61 and the oldest 89.
Gaidamachuk was deemed sane. She said her motive was obtaining money for vodka. She must pay expenses for her prosecution.
"I lived with her for 14 years but never suspected anything" said Gaidamachuk's husband, Yury. Yury has since begun a new relationship. Irina has two children. 

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Russian serial killer Irina Gaidamachuk jailed