The Dnepropetrovsk maniacs (Ukrainian: Дніпропетровські маніяки, Russian: Днепропетровские маньяки) are the killers responsible for a string of murders in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine in June and July of 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-old locals, Viktor Sayenko (Ukrainian: Віктор Саєнко, Russian: Виктор Саенко) and Igor Suprunyuck (Ukrainian: Ігор Супрунюк, Russian: Игорь Супрунюк), were arrested and charged with 21 murders.
A third conspirator, Alexander Hanzha (Ukrainian: Олександр Ганжа, Russian: Александр Ганжа) was charged with two armed robberies that took place before the murder spree. On February 11, 2009, all three defendants were found guilty. Suprunyuck and Sayenko were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Hanzha received nine years in prison. The lawyers for Suprunyuck and Sayenko launched an appeal, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in November 2009.
The three suspects attended school together and by age fourteen found some common ground. "Me and Igor [Suprunyuck] were both afraid of heights, and we were afraid we'd be beaten up by bullies", Sayenko stated during questioning. Suprunyuck sought advice on getting rid of their fears, which led the boys to stand on a balcony of their 14th floor apartment for hours, hanging over the railing. This reportedly had a positive effect on their fear of heights. Hanzha was reportedly the most squeamish of the three. He had blood phobia, and even refused to bathe his kitten, afraid he might scald it. Suprunyuck suggested tackling the fears by torturing stray dogs. The boys captured dogs in a wooded area near their house, hanged them from trees, disemboweled them, and took pictures next to the corpses. Prosecution evidence included many of these photos taken by the suspects while underage. Some photos show the boys drawing swastikas and other symbols with animal blood, and giving the Nazi salute. In one photo, Suprunyuck poses sporting a "Hitler moustache". Suprunyuck was born on April 20, the same day as Adolf Hitler, and referred to this fact.
A long video showing the three torturing a white kitten was shown in court. It takes place in their garage. The suspects fashioned a cross from wooden boards and nailed the kitten to it, then shot at it with pistols, placing foam and glue in its mouth to muffle the kitten's noises.
When the boys were 17, Suprunyuck beat up a local boy and stole his bike, which he then sold to Sayenko. Both were arrested, but did not go to jail due to their age.
After high school, Hanzha drifted between odd jobs, which included a pastry chef and a construction worker. At his arrest he had been unemployed for some time. Sayenko went to a metallurgy institute part-time and worked as a security guard. Suprunyuck remained officially unemployed, but made a living driving his green Daewoo Lanos as an unlicensed taxi. The car was reportedly a birthday gift from his parents.
Some months before the murder spree, Suprunyuck — with the help of Sayenko and Hanzha — began picking up passengers and robbing them. A green Daewoo with a taxicab's checkerboard marking was often described as the vehicle used in the murders. According to the suspects' confessions, some murder victims were picked up as passengers in the cab. Hanzha reportedly participated in one where two men were robbed, and then declined to take part in any further attacks.
Local media reported the suspects had wealthy influential parents with ties to local law enforcement. Vladimir Suprunyuck, Igor Suprunyuck's father, in his interview to Segodnya stated that he had been employed atYuzhmash as a test pilot, often flying with Leonid Kuchma, the future president of Ukraine, and continuing to serve as his personal pilot on domestic flights after Kuchma's rise to power. Local authorities, including deputy interior minister Nikolay Kupyanskiy, initially referred to the supposed influence of the suspects' families, but later denied the assessment, claiming that all three suspects came from poor families. However, Viktor Sayenko was represented in court by his father Igor Sayenko, a lawyer.
A third conspirator, Alexander Hanzha (Ukrainian: Олександр Ганжа, Russian: Александр Ганжа) was charged with two armed robberies that took place before the murder spree. On February 11, 2009, all three defendants were found guilty. Suprunyuck and Sayenko were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Hanzha received nine years in prison. The lawyers for Suprunyuck and Sayenko launched an appeal, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in November 2009.
The three suspects attended school together and by age fourteen found some common ground. "Me and Igor [Suprunyuck] were both afraid of heights, and we were afraid we'd be beaten up by bullies", Sayenko stated during questioning. Suprunyuck sought advice on getting rid of their fears, which led the boys to stand on a balcony of their 14th floor apartment for hours, hanging over the railing. This reportedly had a positive effect on their fear of heights. Hanzha was reportedly the most squeamish of the three. He had blood phobia, and even refused to bathe his kitten, afraid he might scald it. Suprunyuck suggested tackling the fears by torturing stray dogs. The boys captured dogs in a wooded area near their house, hanged them from trees, disemboweled them, and took pictures next to the corpses. Prosecution evidence included many of these photos taken by the suspects while underage. Some photos show the boys drawing swastikas and other symbols with animal blood, and giving the Nazi salute. In one photo, Suprunyuck poses sporting a "Hitler moustache". Suprunyuck was born on April 20, the same day as Adolf Hitler, and referred to this fact.
A long video showing the three torturing a white kitten was shown in court. It takes place in their garage. The suspects fashioned a cross from wooden boards and nailed the kitten to it, then shot at it with pistols, placing foam and glue in its mouth to muffle the kitten's noises.
When the boys were 17, Suprunyuck beat up a local boy and stole his bike, which he then sold to Sayenko. Both were arrested, but did not go to jail due to their age.
After high school, Hanzha drifted between odd jobs, which included a pastry chef and a construction worker. At his arrest he had been unemployed for some time. Sayenko went to a metallurgy institute part-time and worked as a security guard. Suprunyuck remained officially unemployed, but made a living driving his green Daewoo Lanos as an unlicensed taxi. The car was reportedly a birthday gift from his parents.
Some months before the murder spree, Suprunyuck — with the help of Sayenko and Hanzha — began picking up passengers and robbing them. A green Daewoo with a taxicab's checkerboard marking was often described as the vehicle used in the murders. According to the suspects' confessions, some murder victims were picked up as passengers in the cab. Hanzha reportedly participated in one where two men were robbed, and then declined to take part in any further attacks.
Local media reported the suspects had wealthy influential parents with ties to local law enforcement. Vladimir Suprunyuck, Igor Suprunyuck's father, in his interview to Segodnya stated that he had been employed atYuzhmash as a test pilot, often flying with Leonid Kuchma, the future president of Ukraine, and continuing to serve as his personal pilot on domestic flights after Kuchma's rise to power. Local authorities, including deputy interior minister Nikolay Kupyanskiy, initially referred to the supposed influence of the suspects' families, but later denied the assessment, claiming that all three suspects came from poor families. However, Viktor Sayenko was represented in court by his father Igor Sayenko, a lawyer.