Maniac in Voronezh. Cruel crimes

The whole horror of this story is that it is true from beginning to end. These events occurred in September this year in Voronezh and shocked the residents of this millionaire city. In a short time, an unknown criminal committed two murders and two attempts, as a result of which the victims, although they were still alive, were in a serious condition in the hospital. All four crimes were committed against women. This provoked a rumor that a maniac appeared in Voronezh.

The tragedy of the first autumn days

The drama that took place at the beginning of this autumn was widely reported in the press, but, as often happens, the information was sometimes contradictory. Question: "Did a maniac get caught in Voronezh?" Was worried by millions of people. We will try to restore the course of events, using only the most reliable sources and comparing the facts stated in them. We will try to understand whether the criminal was a person suffering from this or that mental pathology, or before us is an example of extreme moral degradation that pushed him to shed blood.

So, a maniac in Voronezh (we will call him that) made his first appearance on September 1. Early in the morning, he entered the house of the head of the settlement administration of Natalia Kolodyazhnaya and brutally slaughtered her elderly mother, Anna Kholopova, and her five-year-old daughter Masha. The official herself at this time was at the events devoted to the beginning of the academic year. Further from the materials of the investigation it is known that, using the associated transport, he left for the left-bank part of the city, where again through his fault blood was spilled. This time his victim was a woman - a seller of one of the shops.

Identification of the perpetrator

Without any apparent reason, the unknown struck her with a knife in the head. Fortunately, the wound was not lethal, but the victim was on a hospital bed as a result of a large loss of blood and shock caused by the actions of the perpetrator. However, from that moment the assassin was identified. Bursting into the store, he got into the lens of the surveillance cameras, and very soon the operatives installed the name and surname worn by the maniac.

More than a million people currently reside in Voronezh, but it took only a few minutes to say with complete certainty that the murderer was 64-year-old Vladimir Merkulov who had been repeatedly tried for hooliganism and possession of weapons. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he only recently freed himself from prison and returned to the city.

First operational actions

At the disposal of the operatives was an address, according to which, after returning from the colony, the murderer was registered. It turned out that he lived in the left-bank part of the city, in the area where he committed an attack in the store. In case of his appearance at the specified address, an ambush was immediately established.

From the very early morning, when blood was spilled in the house of the head of the district administration, the entire operational staff of the local department of the Ministry of Interior was alarmed. By the middle of the day, terrible news hit the social networks and flew all over Voronezh. Maniac September 1 became the main topic of most Internet sites and media. It was spoken on the streets and on local television.

The threat to the security of citizens

The tension was fueled by the fact that in 2010 a maniac was caught in Voronezh who raped schoolgirls. It was still fresh in the memory of the townspeople. Five years ago, a maniac in the park Tanais (Voronezh) watched his victims and made attacks. Then it was stopped as a result of concerted actions of law enforcement officers and residents of the city.

So, the identity of the criminal was established , but that's not all. The main thing is to detain him, not to let him continue the chain of bloody crimes. And at that time, Vladimir Merkulov was still at large and thus threatened the life and security of the Voronezh residents. In order to speed up the process of detention as quickly as possible, he was shown on television his photograph and gave signs of the murderer.

It was strongly recommended to pay attention to a 64-year-old man of medium height, lean, with bald patches on his graying head. Special signs are the mustache and the absence of anterior teeth. It was reported that he was dressed, most likely in a plaid shirt, black trousers and brown shoes. Particularly stressed that it has great physical strength. Of course, in a million city people with such signs can be very much, but even this data will be able to alert his potential victim and, possibly, save her life.

Attempt on an employee of the prosecutor's office

Meanwhile, a maniac in Voronezh was preparing a new murder. After the attack on the seller of the store, Merkulov boarded the Ilyicha Street in a fixed-route taxi and drove to the Chizhov Gallery. There he went out and headed for the building of the regional prosecutor's office. When he came to the door, she suddenly opened, and the deputy district prosecutor Olga Zemlyanukhina came out into the street.

All the following was so incredible that the surrounding people could seem to be shots from the television "chernukha". The man suddenly snatched the knife and in front of everyone, struck a defenseless woman several strokes. His victim fell, and the asphalt around her darkened with blood. Taking advantage of the general confusion, Merkulov managed to escape. This was the fourth attack, which that day was committed by a maniac. In Voronezh, all the forces available to the local Interior Ministry were mobilized for his capture.

Motives for Crime

The head of the investigation committee in an interview with journalists said that the choice of victims of the killer is not accidental. According to available information, Merkulov had previously repeatedly entered into conflicts with the head of the administration of his district - Natalia Kolodyazhnaya. It is hard to imagine, but as revenge, he chose the murder of two innocent people - her elderly mother and her young daughter. In addition, it was not accidental that the blood and employees of the prosecutor's office were spilled. As Levit said, it was she who was engaged in the affairs of Merkulov, and the offender had reasons for hatred.

New circumstances of the case

Investigative authorities had information that he, hiding from the pursuit, got on a passing car to the village of Nechaevka in the Rostov region, but the check did not work. Thousands of people worried about the question whether a maniac was caught in Voronezh, or not? The case was taken over by the highest federal authorities. Police officers were on duty on the road around the clock, checking all vehicles. A city-wide interception plan was announced.

In the house of Vladimir Merkulov, a search was carried out, as a result of which letters were found addressed to a number of state institutions and contained complaints about thirteen people - residents of the city and the region, something that irritated him. It turns out that this monster, cold-bloodedly killed a child and an elderly woman, demanded a legitimate and correct attitude from others. A list of the persons mentioned in the letters was immediately compiled and they were all guarded, as they could have become potential victims.

The search lasted for three days. During this period, the most controversial information appeared in social networks and in the media. Some sources claimed that a maniac was already caught in Voronezh, while others denied this report. An unexpected impetus in the capture of the criminal was the September 3 message to the desk of the duty officer on the city that truck drivers identified in the man walking along the highway, the wanted man.

The final stage of the operation

An operative group arrived urgently in the area and persecution began. Soon managed to surround Merkulov (in the cemetery). Fortunately, he had not yet left Voronezh. The maniac, who committed a double murder on September 1, offered armed resistance to operatives and opened fire on them from the edge of the rifle. In the ensuing skirmish, he was killed.

According to the information available to the prosecutor's office, Vladimir Merkulov was absolutely sane, as evidenced by the results of previous examinations. Consequently, in this case, we can not talk about any form of mental disorder, but about the extreme degree of moral degradation that caused the tragedy.