Unknown Gender History: Natalia Baksheeva, Russian Confessed Serial Killer

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.

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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.

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Proper spelling in Russian: Наталья Бакшеева

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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]

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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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