In case of danger, threat to life or other difficult life situations, a person calls the police. Everyone needs protection, and who, if not law enforcement, is able to provide it at a difficult moment? But what if a maniac is hiding behind the mask of an order guard? The Angara police officer Popkov proved by his own example that you can successfully live a double life for several years. At work, he is a decent worker of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in his free time he is a terrible hangar maniac.
Biography
Born on March 7, 1964 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Three years later, the family moved to Angarsk. The financial situation left much to be desired, and at 16 Popkov got a job in the cemetery to dig graves. After graduating from college he joined the army, where for two years he served as the senior operator of radio interception. He began working in the police in the mid 90s of the last century. Colleagues spoke of him on the positive side. The assistant duty officer made a favorable impression. A tall, athletic physician, the man received the nickname Misha Smile, for his goodwill and good mood. He was kept in good standing; no errors were found in his work. His former colleague described Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov as an executive and decisive person. For this he received the officer rank. However, in 1996 there was a case that no one then paid attention to, although it could be the first bell.
When arresting a gang of robbers, Popkov calmly shot one of them. At that time, this did not become a resonant matter, as the revelry of all kinds of criminals was rapidly gaining momentum. Resistance during the arrest was the reason for the murder. For Popkov himself, this episode did not matter at all - by that time he was already operating with might and main on the territory of Angarsk and kept his bloody account.
A family
The Angara maniac hid for a long time behind the guise of an exemplary family man. In 1986, he married Elena Mishurova, who a year later gave birth to his daughter. The wife held the position of passportist in the same duty unit as Popkov. Their daughter was growing up, and from the outside they seemed like an ideal family. But that was only an illusion. Once the Angara maniac returned home and found used condoms in a bucket. He did not kill his wife - he considered that his daughter should grow up in a complete family. But he could not forgive the betrayal of his wife and harbored a cruel resentment for the entire female gender. He suspected that the betrayal of his wife was far from an isolated case. They lived only 50 meters from the site, and no one ever heard screams and scandals in their house. As Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov later admitted during interrogations, he was afraid every morning that he had killed his wife at night.
Pies and the first victim
The history of the Angara maniac began in 1992. One of the first victims was a twenty-year-old girl who was in a hurry to meet her mother at the station. Popkov on the official "Niva" suggested throwing a lonely traveler to the place. At five in the morning, he asked the boss for a trip for pies, and met his first victim. He did not take the girl to the forest and dealt with her right there - in the station area. Two hours later, the body was discovered, and Popkov, as if nothing had happened, went to the scene of the murder as part of the operational investigation team.
Motivation
To justify his crimes, Popkov came up with a good motive - he killed only those women whose behavior seemed defiant to him. He stopped if he saw that a tipsy lady was voting, and offered to throw her up to the house. During the trip, he entered into a dialogue and invited the girl to continue the fun in his apartment. If the victim consented, he dealt with it without regrets. If she refused, then honestly drove home. During the investigation, he received the nickname "cleaner". He himself explained his crimes by the desire to cleanse the city from fallen and unfaithful women. When meeting another woman, he asked if she had a husband and children, and then he offered to spend time with him. The victim's response influenced his decision.
It is believed that this is how he took revenge on his wife in the person of all the "walking" women. But the investigation found that among his victims were non-drinkers and free girls. How could he justify such cruelty towards them? The Angara maniac could not find an answer to such questions or said that he did not remember such cases.
Got a taste
Work in the organs allowed Popkov to completely control the investigation. He was among the first to come to the crime scene and had access to all the collected materials. It cost him nothing to “clean up” the traces after himself during the investigation. The operatives did not rule out this possibility. Besides the fact that the maniac carefully cleaned after himself and did not leave any evidence, he could easily destroy even those grains that fell on the table to the investigator. No one could have imagined that the beast lurked among the law enforcement officers themselves. The years 1997-1998 became the bloodiest for him, because it was then that several of his victims were discovered at once.
At this time, he feels as safe as possible and does not seek to get rid of bodies. On the contrary - he throws them in accessible places, then to watch how his colleagues fight over the capture of the criminal. But even such a “professional” made serious mistakes a couple of times.
Survivors of the Hangar Maniac
Among the many women who were unlucky to get in the way of a serial killer, only two managed to survive. Svetlana Misiavicius and Evgenia Protasova were found in terrible condition. The first was considered dead and sent to the morgue. Where she suddenly came to. But after the injuries, she could not identify the maniac in the face. Both girls were on the verge of life and death. They had to go through many operations and lengthy rehabilitation. But nevertheless, they were able to give the investigation important data - thanks to them it was established. That the maniac’s name is Mikhail and he works in internal organs. This was confirmed by the button from the tunic, found near one of the victims.
Sweeping tracks
Popkov understands that such information can sooner or later bring to him. Recently, he did not try to cover his tracks and often left behind biological material on the bodies of the victims. It's time to fix the bugs. He leaves the police in 1998. This did not surprise either his friends or colleagues. Times were difficult and few remained in service after retirement. Having settled in a private security company, he could not establish himself as a good employee. Soon he leaves this work. He doesn’t get a job anymore and earns extra money by private cab.
Killing methods
The victims of the Angara maniac were women and girls 15-40 years old. The murderer did not have any particular preferences. His lethal set included: Phillips screwdrivers, sapper shovel, knife, ax. He always carried all these devices in his car. As the maniac later admitted - sometimes he let go of the victim in the forest and then played catch-up with her. All the girls were raped before dying. It has been proven that sometimes victims died from one strong blow with a screwdriver in the head. As the maniac later admitted, he did not feel any regret or remorse. However, he did not know this feeling even in prison.
Consequence
It was possible to detain the hangar maniac Mikhail Popkov only on June 23, 2012. by that time, according to investigators, the murderer had already 22 murders. It was possible to shed light on the identity of the maniac with the help of molecular genetic expertise. In 2003, biological materials were collected from the body of his next victim and this paid off in almost ten years. Popkov himself at this point was engaged in driving cars from Vladivostok. He was detained right on the train. During interrogation, he admitted that he had a venereal disease and therefore stopped a series of murders. If it were not for premature impotence, then there would have been much more victims.
Court
The court was attended by parents, children and close relatives of the victims. None of them saw remorse on the maniac's face. He himself did not admit his guilt and refused to apologize to those present in the hall. Many noted that, looking at this man, it was impossible to assume that he was a maniac. There was not a single gram of madness or wild gleam in his eyes, like that of Chikatilo. He looked absolutely calm and listened to the indictment indifferently. Life sentence did not upset the bloodthirsty maniac. Still smiling, he was giving out interviews to reporters. He seriously thought about how he would live if he was released after 25 years. And he still believed that he was doing a good deed, cleansing the city of fallen women.
The worst is to come
After the trial, Popkov suddenly began to confess to his crimes. He not only acknowledged the 22 murders brought against him, but also told about the remaining cases. He was in no hurry to reveal all the cards and tried to stretch the investigation. The Angarsk maniac did not just take on another 62 murders - he remembered all the details and indicated the places of the crimes. Among his victims was his colleague strangled in 1999, police captain Yevgeny Shurikhin. The investigation immediately hooked on this information and there were suspicions that this particular person was the partner of Popkov. It was impossible to imagine that 84 murders could have been committed by one person, without anyone's help. The maniac himself did not confirm, but did not refute this information. Soon, this version was declared insolvent.
He was regularly taken to crime scenes for investigative experiments. It turned out that Popkov has a phenomenal memory and he remembers every crime in personnel. How the sun was shining, with what instrument he killed the victim, and how much time was there at that moment. The monster with a smile told and showed places and details of crimes. The last doubts disappeared from the investigation - this person really killed so many people.
Five years later
In 2017, several programs about the Angara maniac Mikhail Popkov appeared on television at once. Mother and sister came to the programs and declared their relative's innocence. They were convinced that he was an exemplary family man and in his letters denied any involvement in all the episodes in which he was accused. Even after watching the shooting of the investigative department and its recognition on camera, they did not hesitate in their confidence. However, the mother said that even if he is guilty, then love him as a son will not cease. But he must be punished.
Decades later, relatives found out who was responsible for the deaths of their mothers, daughters and sisters. They had to listen to the terrible confessions of a maniac and find out all the details of the killings of people close to them. To the question of where the Angara maniac sits. Confessions of sixty murders Popkov gave, while still in the hangar pre-trial detention center. In January 2017, he was transferred to SIZO No. 1 in the Irkutsk Region. No one can rule out the fact that after some time he will continue to confess to the killings. After all, while he talks about his crimes, he has the opportunity to travel to the murder sites and enjoy hours of illusory freedom.
The Irony of Fate
Most recently, reporters again attended a meeting with a maniac and this time brought him unpleasant news. He did not know that his wife filed for divorce immediately after his arrest. But the biggest blow for the maniac was the news that she married the investigator who was conducting his case.
The woman, because of the betrayal of which he began to kill innocent victims, again struck him. This news markedly affected his emotional state.