Update: Reports that the couple were serial killers are apparently false. Remains found in their home were determined to be those of a single victim.
***
News reports appeared September 25, 2017 about the arrest of
a cannibalistic serial killer couple in Krasnodar, Russia, Natalia Baksheeva, 42, a
nurse at a military academy, and Dmitry Baksheev, 35. Neighbors
reported that both were frequently seen in public in an intoxicated state.
Investigation of the pair began on September 11 when a discarded phone
was discovered by road construction worker Roman Khomyakov containing gruesome photos
of severed human body parts, including “photos of a man with
different parts of a dismembered human body in his mouth,” according to the
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Police were able to identify the phone’s owner.A day
after the phone’s discovery a bag containing dismembered, female believed to be
Elena Vashrusheva, was discovered a military aviation
school dormitory near the couple’s home located within a military base.
A Police raid on the couple's apartment building turned up
over half-a-dozen body parts, canned flesh, body parts in saline
solution, frozen meat (possibly human, and 'recipes' for cooking a human.
In the courtyard and basement were additional body fragments.
“Dmitry Baksheev has reportedly confessed to two murders –
that of the woman photographed on the phone and an additional 2012 killing.”
Yet Natalia “has
reportedly confessed to being involved in preying on, kidnapping,
killing and eating at least 30 victims since 1999.”
Natalia had apparently cooked remains of victims into meat pies which she
sold around the military academy.
***
Proper spelling in Russian: Наталья Бакшеева
***
Sources:
[“Kuban Cannibals:
Russian Couple Accused of Killing, Eating 30 People Detained,” Sputnik, Sep. 25, 2017]
[“Selfies with human remains: Russian ‘cannibal couple’
detained after gruesome find,” RT, Sep. 25, 2017]
[Will Stewart,
“’Cannibal couple made human meat PIES and supplied them to local restaurants
after luring female victims on Russian dating sites',” Daily Mail, Sep. 27, 2017]
[Cleve R. Wootson Jr.,
“Russian ‘cannibal couple’ may have drugged, killed and eaten as many as 30
people, police say,” Washington Post, Sep. 26, 2017]
***
Wikipedia:
Dmitry Baksheev (born January 28, 1982) and Natalia Baksheeva (born January 25,
1975), are a family from Krasnodar who were accused of killing a local woman.
According to rumors, the Baksheevs are also responsible for a series of murders
and cannibalistic acts. At the moment, the Investigative Committee of Russia is
verifying the couple's involvement in other crimes that have occurred in the
region.
Dmitry
was born in 1982, and Natalia in 1975. Natalia worked for some time as a senior
nurse in the sanitation department of the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation
School of AK Serov pilots, but was dismissed due to chronic alcoholism. Dmitry
had been tried for robbery and car theft, but by the time of the murder, all of
his convictions had been extinguished. He worked as an apartment repairman and
a general worker. The Baksheevs had lived together since 2012 in a school
dormitory, the room being inherited by Natalia from her previous husband. The
couple led an antisocial lifestyle.
The
Baksheevs' crimes were discovered by accident: Dmitry lost his mobile phone, on
which there pictures of him with human remains, even holding a severed human
hand in one of them. The phone was later found by road workers and immediately
reported to the police. At the interrogation he claimed that he had found the
remains in the bushes, but later confessed to killing a woman.
As
the investigation later found out, the victim of the Baksheevs was a resident
of Krasnodar, Elena Vakhrusheva (born March 5, 1982 in Omutninsk). The murder
occurred on September 8 during a joint alcohol drinking session, when a sudden
quarrel began between Natalia and Elena. Natalia then told her husband to kill
her rival, also actively participating in the murder herself. Elena died as a
result of multiple stab wounds.[3]
Then the Baksheevs dismembered the corpse, keeping some of the remains in their
home, and throwing away others in the surrounding area.
During
the investigation into the activities in the Baksheev household, fragments of a
human body in saline solution, food and frozen meat parts of unknown origin
were found. In the basement of the house and the adjoining territory, the
remains of the deceased's body were found and seized, while the food and frozen
meat fragments were sent for examination.
Initially,
the criminal case was initiated with a murder charge, but the Baksheevs were
later charged with group murder. The case was referred to the first department
for investigation of special importance.
On
September 28, Vadim Bugaenko, the head of the Investigative Department of the Russian
Democratic Republic for the Krasnodar Krai, told reporters that the remains
found in the Baksheevs' apartment belonged to one person.
Also,
a procedural check was initiated on the fact of leaked photos from Dmitry's
phone, which led to speculations about the family of serial killer-cannibals
that operated in the city.
~ Rumors
and speculation ~
The
story quickly overgrew with rumors, according to which the couple had started
hunting people since 1999. The cannibals tortured their victims before killing
them, and made various dishes from the corpses, keeping the remains canned. According
to initial reports, Natalia allegedly supplied the canned food with human meat
to the school where she worked at. Later it was suggested that the Baksheevs
distributed such canned food to the Krasnodar catering establishments, but
these rumors were quickly refuted.[7] Also,
the media published a rumor that Dmitry Baksheev allegedly confessed to a
murder committed in 2012, and Natalia - to 30 murders. However, the
Investigative Committee stated several times that they had no such data on a
series of murders for cannibalism by a married couple, and that in the Baksheev
case there was only one murder. Finally, it was also rumored that during the
search of the Baksheevs' apartment, 19 pieces of human skin, 7 body parts,
photos of eerie dishes, canned food with human meat, including mammary glands,
and even cooking recipes for humans were seized.
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For more cases see:
Cannibal Murderesses
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