Anatoly Onoprienko is a serial Ukrainian maniac who is often compared to Chikatilo. On the bloody account of the killer more than 50 victims. Crimes were uncovered, and the maniac’s guilt was fully proved. But the investigation failed to answer the question of why the maniac Onoprienko committed all these crimes.
The childhood of the future maniac
Tolya Onoprienko was born on July 25, 1959 in the Zhytomyr region (Laski village). The Anatoly family was not much different from the neighbors. Father participated in the Great Patriotic War, after which he worked and received two convictions for minor crimes. Toli had an older brother Valentine, his mother worked on a collective farm. My father drank a lot and left the family when his youngest son was 1 year old. In 1962, her mother died of heart failure.
The first time after the death of his mother, Anatoly was brought up with his grandmother and grandfather, but was soon sent to an orphanage. Later, the maniac will tell you that he was aware of the situation and was offended by the living father and brother, who paid attention to their own families. In the orphanage, the boy’s life was terrible, he was teased and beaten by senior pupils. Already within the walls of the breech house, the future maniac Onoprienko showed excessive cruelty. Anatoly, who had grown up, began to beat his comrades in the orphanage, sometimes he used sharp objects, in addition, he was noticed in petty theft.
After leaving the institution, the future criminal lived for some time with his father, who managed to get married for the third time. Then he left, but a few years later he returned and tried to improve relations. However, his father did not want to communicate with him.
Anatoly Onoprienko (maniac): biography and personal life
Anatoly could not boast of a good education. In the orphanage, he graduated from only 8 classes, after which he entered the Malinsky Forestry College. In this educational institution, the future serial killer somehow managed to hold out for a couple of years. Onoprienko did not show interest in learning. As a college student, Anatoly managed to regularly drink, get into fights and steal. After completing two courses, the young man joined the army, where he could not gain respect among his colleagues. Later Onoprienko will recall that during the service he was regularly subjected to beatings and bullying.
Radically changed the life of Anatoly after the demobilization. Returning from the army, the future maniac was able to enter the naval school. He could have made a good career: during his service as a sailor he managed to see many countries, had a stable and good income, was not deprived of the attention of the girls. But in 1986, he had to leave this service forever, the reason for this was the problem with his superiors.
After this event, the future maniac Onoprienko once again tried to start a normal life. He got a job in the fire service, got married, a son was born in marriage. At that time, many acquaintances envied this family: Anatoly was an exemplary member of the CPSU, entered into a union of hunters and fishers, and was good with his wife and son. Everything changed in 1989: the head of the family just once disappeared in an unknown direction, taking all his savings from home.
The beginning of a bloody career maniac
In the winter of 1989, Anatoly Onoprienko met in the city of Dolgoprudny with a local resident Sergei Rogozin. Quickly enough, men became comrades. Sergey served in Afghanistan, at the time of this fateful meeting he worked on a collective farm, had a wife and a young daughter. Friends opened a common business in the field of trade, and every day their relationship became more and more close.
Suddenly, Anatoly began to offer his comrade to start earning more not quite legal way. Onoprienko’s idea was to rob the cars on the highway stopping for the night. Rogozin hesitated for some time, but he was already so attached to his friend that he could not refuse him.
The first crime was committed on June 14, 1989. Anatoly took the time to plan, he wanted to find a parked car and rob it. His accomplice at this time should slowly drive along the highway and, waiting for a signal, pick up an accomplice. Subject to some problems Onoprienko allowed his friend to escape from the scene of the crime. The criminals found a suitable car - a Zhiguli with a trailer - in the Sinelnikovsky district. Perhaps it was on that night for the first time in his life that maniac Onoprienko fully revealed his dark essence. Anatoly went "to business" with the hard drive, his wife slept in the car. Onoprienko did not try to commit the theft, but shot the man asleep. He forced his wife to get out of the car and also killed when she tried to call for help. The criminal hid the bodies of the dead in a forest belt, drove off the car, then carefully searched it with his accomplice and burned it.
Rogozin was in real shock from what had happened. He was ready to become an accomplice to the theft, but not double murder. Noticing the comrade’s mood, Onoprienko hinted to him that if he did not remain silent, his wife and daughter would become the next corpses.
Murders in Ukraine continue
A month after the first murder, the Zhytomyr maniac Onoprienko makes his accomplice Rogozhin again go to the highway. The crime was committed on July 16, 1989. The criminals acted in the same way as for the first time. Another couple became their victims. Onoprienko was pleasantly surprised by the booty - the husband and wife carried with them a lot of valuable things and a large amount of money. Sergei Rogozhin was very worried about their criminal activities with a friend, while Anatoly himself showed no signs of anxiety and, on the contrary, seemed very pleased.
The month of August came, and Onoprienko invited his friend to go to Odessa in order to sell the loot. By agreeing to this trip, Rogozhin again became a member of yet another robbery with mass murder. This time, Anatoly chose a car in which there was a family of five. He killed all of them, and then intended to burn the corpses. Noticing that one of the victims was still stirring, the maniac calmly finished off her with a hunting knife.
After committing this crime, Onoprienko almost got caught. The criminal was driving in a stolen car, which in its appearance aroused suspicion of the traffic police. However, after a short chase, Anatoly managed to escape.
Heartache and Immigration
The Ukrainian maniac Onoprienko very poorly endured the killing of five people. Later he will tell that he sympathized with his own victims, but was afraid to leave witnesses. The criminal claimed that sometimes he thought about suicide. At the same time, he was very afraid of becoming a victim of robbers or killers himself.
After some time, Anatoly got fake documents and went on a trip to Europe. Having visited several countries, Onoprienko stopped in Germany. Several times he was deported to Ukraine, but according to new fake documents he immediately returned. Anatoly worked in Germany as a kitchen worker, dishwasher, gardener and tried to seek political asylum, but was refused. Then Onoprienko came up with a "brilliant" idea: he decided that if he goes to a local prison, he will certainly get citizenship.
The criminal began to engage in petty theft, twice he managed to visit European prisons (in Germany and Austria). However, he failed to change his citizenship. Four years later, Anatoly Onoprienko was once again deported to Ukraine.
The killer returns home
In 1994, after another deportation, the serial killer decided to stay in Ukraine. The situation in the country at that time was very difficult. Inflation is rampant around, getting a job is very difficult, the crime rate is high. Onoprienko had no savings, was afraid of arrest and felt very stressed.
May 31, 1994 Anatoly was detained at the station. Already in the department, he was surprised to realize that no one suspects him of the crimes he committed. The reason for the arrest was the inappropriate behavior of the detainee. Police officers did not even realize that Anatoly Onoprienko was a maniac.
The suspicious man was sent to a psychiatric clinic, where he spent three months. During the inpatient treatment, Anatoly escaped several times, but each time he was returned back. After completing the course of therapy, the patient was discharged with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Onoprienko once again traveled to Germany, and then came to his brother Valentin, who lived in the Zhytomyr region. A relative greeted Anatoly cordially and allowed him to stay with him for a while.
The second series of Ukrainian killings
Onoprienko could not get a job. At the same time, envy of the wealth of those around him literally stifled him. He knew only one proven way to get rich quick. And more and more he was thinking about returning to the criminal craft.
In 1995, Anatoly decided - he stole from his friend a hunting rifle, knife, ammunition and some related equipment. The criminal himself remade TOZ-34R to the edge. Very soon, in the fall of 1995, the killer went on a bloody hunt again. In a couple of months, he killed 7 people. The arrogance and cynicism of the criminal were astonished. Anatoly could spend several hours at the scene of the crime. He was not afraid of anyone at all. Murders have become a full-fledged alternative to normal work for a criminal. Usually he committed the murder of an entire family, after which he “rested” for a week or two, and then went in search of new victims.
Investigation progress
In mid-January 1996, investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine finally became convinced that one person committed mass killings with subsequent robberies. All similar cases were combined in a series. But Anatoly Onoprienko is a maniac who completely lost his head from his impunity. The crimes he commits are becoming more terrible. He raped several of his victims, during one of the attacks he killed a three-month-old child. The killer continued to commit crimes and at the same time practically did not leave evidence.
A series of killings caused unrest and a real panic among the civilian population of Ukraine. Several times innocent people were arrested as suspects. Remarkably, Onoprienko himself was detained three times, and each time he was released very quickly.
The arrest of the Zhytomyr maniac
On April 14, 1996, due to indirect evidence, law enforcement officers received an arrest warrant for Anatoly Onoprienko. The offender at that time lived in the city of Yavorov with his next common-law wife, Anna. During a search of the apartment, women found a huge amount of stolen items. There was no doubt about the fault of the suspect. None of the people who knew him personally could believe that Onoprienko was a maniac. Photos of victims and crime scenes terrify any sane person, while Anatoly looked completely normal and good-natured, knew how to make a good impression.
Onoprienko was initially charged with 40 murders. When the offender began to testify, he confessed to committing 52 crimes. Anatoly struck the investigators with an ideal memory, telling about his deeds, he often mentioned small and insignificant details.
Court and sentence
The Onoprienko serial killer case took 99 volumes. The trial of the killer was launched on November 23, 1998. This case caused a wide public outcry. The person under investigation had to be carefully protected from the angry crowd, demanding to arrange for lynching. Together with Onoprienko, Sergey Rogozin was in the dock. Anatoly himself betrayed his accomplice during the investigation. The court found Onoprienko guilty of 52 murders and sentenced him to capital punishment - the death penalty. Sergei Rogozin was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Anatoly fully admitted his guilt, but refused the last word.
When the verdict was announced, there were many journalists in the courtroom who were interested in Onoprienko (maniac). A documentary, shot later about this criminal, tells how Anatoly met the announcement of the punishment chosen for him. Onoprienko showed the judge an indecent gesture, and then drew a cross with his finger on his own forehead.
Change of punishment
At the time of the trial, Anatoly managed to celebrate his 39th birthday. The killer himself was not afraid of death and even to some extent desired. But his lawyer tried to appeal and commute the sentence. An absurd coincidence allowed the situation. In 2000, the President of Ukraine signed a moratorium on the prohibition of the death penalty. Later, Leonid Kuchma personally tried to obtain permission as an exception to enforce Onoprienko’s sentence, but was refused. Due to this change in legislation, the death penalty for the killer of 52 people has been replaced by life imprisonment.
Life and death in prison
In the solitary confinement cell, the serial maniac Onoprienko, whose photo did not leave the front pages of Ukrainian newspapers for a long time, sat for about 17 years. Rumor has it that several assassination attempts were made on the killer. Anatoly himself was quiet, read a lot, refused to work. I categorically refused to communicate with reporters. Only occasionally did the killer begin to philosophize and tell strange stories. During interrogations, he tried to convince investigators that he hears voices in his head that order him to kill.
Anatoly Onoprienko died on August 27, 2013 from heart failure. Relatives of the maniac never visited him in prison, they did not want to organize a funeral.
Mentions in popular culture
Horrible serial crimes are forever in the history of world forensics. It is in this category that the murders committed by the maniac Onoprienko belong. The victims of this criminal are entire families, including very young children. A lot of documentaries were shot about this maniac. The most famous of them is “Onoprienko Cross” (from the series “Sincere Confession,” NTV). The history of the offender has been repeatedly covered in print media.
During the imprisonment, many journalists continued to be interested in Anatoly Onoprienko (maniac). The film about the life of a bloody monster behind bars could not be shot, but the criminal nevertheless gave several interviews.