Dnepropetrovsk maniacs
The Dnepropetrovsk maniacs (Ukrainian: Дніпропетровські маніяки; Russian: Днепропетровские маньяки) are Ukrainian serial killers responsible for a string of murders in Dnepropetrovsk (Dnipropetrovsk) in June and July 2007. The case gained additional notoriety because the killers made video recordings of some of the murders, with one of the videos leaking to the Internet. Two 19‑year-olds, Viktor Sayenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Саєнко; Russian: Виктор Саенко), born 1 March 1988, and Igor Suprunyuk (Ukrainian: Ігор Супрунюк; Russian: Игорь Супрунюк), born 20 April 1988, were arrested and charged with 21 murders.
Dnepropetrovsk maniacs | |
|---|---|
Sayenko (left) and Suprunyuk | |
| Born |
|
| Conviction(s) | Premeditated murder and animal cruelty (Sayenko and Suprunyuk) and robbery (Hanzha, Sayenko and Suprunyuk) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment for Sayenko and Suprunyuk; nine years' imprisonment for Hanzha |
| Details | |
| Victims | 21 |
Span of crimes | 25 June – 16 July 2007 |
| Country | Ukraine |
| State(s) | Dnepropetrovsk Oblast |
Date apprehended | 23 July 2007 |
A third conspirator, Alexander Hanzha (Ukrainian: Олександр Ганжа; Russian: Александр Ганжа), born February 1988, was charged with two armed robberies that took place before the murder spree. On 11 February 2009, all three defendants were found guilty. Sayenko and Suprunyuk were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Hanzha received nine years in prison. The lawyers for Sayenko and Suprunyuk launched an appeal, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in November 2009.