Forgotten Ukrainian Ripper(?)

[mucher1]

My first post here, so be gentle. I recently found the following news item on the cover of an old Danish newspaper and became a little intrigued. The perpetrator sure sounds like he might have been inspired by certain 1888 events. Unfortunately, the rest of the article is missing, so I was wondering if any of the experts here might have more information to share(?) Would be appreciated. I suspect that the guy must have been a bit of a hot potato, publicity wise, at a time when the Soviets were busy telling US how decadent WE were ;-)

HEADLINE: He killed a woman a week. More than 50 victims before the police found the murderer, a high ranking city official.

For many months, the people of large Ukrainian city Kharkiv has lived in true horror. Practically every week, in hidden courtyards around the city, the police would find the body of a murdered woman, and each time the murder had been committed in exactly the same way. The killer had used a dagger and always left behind a typewritten note saying: "The Soviet criminal police is good, but I'm even cleverer, and no one will apprehend me."
The number of victims rose at an alarming rate. Thus, when 25 women had been found murdered in the course of the last three months, it was apparent that the city was dealing with a lust killer. (Continued on page 12)

SOURCE: Politiken Vol. 51 No. 254, Copenhagen, Saturday 15 June 1935.
CREDIT: POLITIKEN PRIVATE, Warszaw, Thursday.

[sdreid]

Welcome mucher

Any name or nickname for this guy?

[mucher1]

Thanks, Stan. Sorry, but the above is all the info I have. I've done a bit of googling, of course, but this guy seems to have been overlooked by modern serial killer buffs. I guess it can't be completely ruled out that the story is a hoax, having come from an unnamed "private source" in another country.

[sdreid]

I don't remember for sure if I've heard of this individual or not. The Soviets suppressed this sort of thing almost to the end so it could be true.

[mucher1]

Here's a scan:

[Fleetwood Mac]

I read about this fella a while back.

Think he had a shaved head.

And I think he killed people of all ages.

What I remember for certain is as follows:

a) The Soviets did supress the existence of a serial killer in their midst. It was, however, propaganda for their own people rather than anyone else.

b) One committed policeman refused to bow to the authorities and it was he who caught him.

A quick google and I think this is your fella.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/chikatilo/animal_13.html

[mucher1]

Thanks, Mac, but you seem to have missed an important detail. Chikatilo was born the year after my fella got caught!

[The Grave Maurice]

My first post here, so be gentle.

You call that a first post? You think you can come around here and impart interesting information without invoking our wrath? Well just listen to me.....

Nah, I'm just kidding. A very warm welcome, mucher1, and it's a pleasure to have you with us. I've never heard of this case. Nice find.

[mucher1]

Update on Kharkov Killer!

My beautiful sister went to the Royal Library and found the rest of the article. She wasn't able to obtain a hard copy, but here's the summary she sent me:

The murders prompt the Kiev police to deploy female officers dressed as civilians. Yesterday one of the officers caught luck. The elusive killer approached her, and she followed him into a yard where he pulled his knife. A scuffle ensues. The man escapes but drops knife and cap.

The cap turns out to belong to a high ranking official who had previous been under suspicion - a chief engineer at Kiev's electrical power plant named Naskilef(*). The man is sentenced the next day and executed in the afternoon. It's decided that his brain shall be examined.

(*) or Maskilef, Mashilef, Masjkilef (or similar). The old newsprint was hard to decipher.

Odd: Front refers to Kharkif; inside to Kiev(?!)

[mucher1]

PS: Thanks for the welcome, Grave Maurice :-)

[mucher1]

Here's the complete article (translated by me). I contacted a Ukrainian newspaper and was told that they didn't know about the case but didn't find it particularly newsworthy. They also said that "Mashilev" didn't strike them as a typical Ukrainian or Russian name. Google has not been friendly.

===

HEADLINE: He killed a woman a week. Over 50 victims before the police found the murderer, a high ranking city official.

For many months, the people of large Ukrainian city Kharkiv have lived in true horror. Nearly every week, in courtyards around the city, police would find the body of a murdered woman, and each time the murder had been committed in exactly the same fashion. The killer had used a dagger and left behind a typewritten note with the words: "Soviet criminal police is good, but I'm even smarter and no one will catch me."

The number of murders rose at an alarming rate. Thus, when 25 bodies had been found in the course of the last three months, it was apparent that a lust killer was at large.

The police reacted by deploying female officers in civilian clothing on the street. They were instructed to go along with anyone who might approach them.

Yesterday, one of the officers got lucky. The mysterious killer approached her, and she followed him into a courtyard, but before the murderer could pull his knife, she aimed her revolver at him. In the ensuing scuffle, the unknown assailant managed to escape, but left behind his knife and cap. The cap belonged to a senior official, and since they had previously suspected a chief engineer at the power station in Kiev, the Police decided to tail him. The engineer, Mashilev, repeated last night's attempted murder a few hours later when he approached a young girl, but before he could stab her, he was arrested by the officers who had followed him.

The chief engineer confessed.

The sentence was handed down this morning and the terrible mass murderer was shot in the afternoon. Orders were given that his brain should be saved for later examination.

The number of murders on his conscience is estimated at about 50. There was a series of similar murders in Kiev last year, and before his execution, Mashilev plead guilty to these crimes as well.

===

SOURCE: Politiken Vol. 51 No. 254, Copenhagen, Saturday 15 June 1935.
CREDIT: POLITIKEN PRIVATE, Warszaw, Thursday.

[Phil Carter]

Hello mucher,

A late welcome. .but hello and welcome none the less.

As it's a Danish article, I will travel through some Norwegian newspapers etc and see if I can drag up some more info. Doubt it though. .For in those days the Scandinavian Press used to feed off one another for world wide news. Still you never know?


Phil

[mucher1]

Thanks for the kind welcome, Phil! I'd really like to see some corroboration, but (as you point out) the probabilities are probably slim. It all seems a bit random when a newspaper has to rely on a "private source" in a neighbouring country.

[mucher1]

UPDATE: I found my guy in some other papers:

SOURCE: Associated Press
[Daily News 8 Jun 1935] Ivan Stepanovich Maleshoff
[The Baltimore Sun 8 Jun 1935] Ivan Stepanovich Maleshoff
[The Courier Journal 8 Jun 1935] Ivan Stepanovich Maleshoff
[The Ithaca Journal 8 Jun 1935] Ivan S. Maleshoff

SOURCE: "The Moscow correspondent of the Daily Telegraph (London)"
[The Age 10 Jun 1935] Ivan Milisheff
[The Sydney Morning Herald 10 Jun 1935] Ivan Milisheff

SOURCE: "Private (Warsaw)"
[Politiken 15 Jun 1935] Mashilef, Masjilef

[mucher1]

Here are the articles that I have: