Pharmacy Maniac

The **Pharmacy Maniac** is an unidentified Russian serial killer who murdered 2 men in pharmacies in 2011.

## Overview

### The first murder

On the afternoon of May 26, 2011, a man wearing sunglasses, a medical mask, and a hat entered a pharmacy in Chelyabinsk city center. He grabbed a sawn-off shotgun from a black cellophane bag he was carrying and demanded 60,000 rubles ($1107) from the eight people in the pharmacy. He threatened to shoot anyone who didn't give him their belongings.

Two more people entered the store and were ordered to line up against a wall. The robber then took the jewerly from all the women in the pharmacy: a ring, a church pendant, a bracelet, and a cross. At that time, some people were able to escape through a second door.

Then, Vladimir Shin, a 49-year-old man, entered the pharmacy. The robber yelled "Stop!" to him, but Shin started to run out the door he entered from. Before Shin could escape, he was shot in the chest and died. The murderer then fled the scene.

### A Sketch is made

The murderer was described by witnesses as being between the ages of 27 and 35, 5'9 and 6'0, and 180 to 185 pounds. Additionally, he had blonde hair, and his face was covered in acne. He wore a jacket with blue and green stripes, blue jeans, and a dark-colored baseball cap.

Although the murderer robbed some people at the pharmacy, investigators believed that the perpetrator used robbery to cover up his real motive. They thought that the perpetrator resented the pharmacy chain, "maybe, he cannot purchase some kind of drug." said an article.

### The second murder

On August 10, 2011, the murderer entered a pharmacy. Upon entering, he shot Igor Ustinov, 30, who was about to leave. A worker grabbed a phone to call for help, but the murderer ordered her to stop. After the man was shot, many visitors of the pharmacy ran into another room of the pharmacy and huddled in a corner.

The perpetrator then left the pharmacy without stealing anything. While on the street, he reloaded his gun, and re-entered the pharmacy. He checked if the wounded man was still alive. When he found out the man was still alive, the attacker shot the man in the head several times.

After he was sure his victim was dead, the assailant put his gun back into his bag and left the pharmacy again. He changed the direction he was walking in multiple times, and the police couldn't find him on cctv after he reached Truda Street, a kilometer away from the crime scene.

### A New description

The description of the killer's age, height, weight, and clothing by witnesses remained consistent throughout both of the attacks. However, after the second murder, witnesses reported that the murderer looked sickly. His skin had a yellow tone and he had large ulcers on his hands. His hair was also darker than it was in the first murder.

A psychological report of the pharmacy maniac was done by psychotherapist Andrey Babin. He stated that "*This person is an introvert, a schizoid. The attack on the pharmacy was organized completely ill-conceived, stupid, the movements are chaotic, meaningless, although in general he achieves his task. The cruelty and senselessness of finishing off this random passer-by is striking. Given the photographs of the killer, he dresses faded, standard. Clothes are purely utilitarian for him. Basically, he is unremarkable. It is absolutely impossible to predict the actions of such a person, because the pattern of his behavior resembles a schizophrenic. Maybe it was a really mentally ill person with an episode [of exacerbation] - it's hard to say. The yellow color of his face, ulcers, burry voice may indicate that he has a drug addiction past."*

However, specialists at Chelyabinsk Regional Psychoneurological Hospital thought the opposite. "The shooter is quite sane, and he is driven by a selfish motive. But he had no experience of such crimes before, and therefore, fearing detention, the 'pharmacist' was hiding until he received the money."

### Aftermath

Ballistic testing showed that the perpetrator used the same weapon in both murders, a 16-gauge shotgun with a a horizontal arrangement of trunks. The shell casings found at the scene were from hunting cartridges made in Russia.

A sketch of the killer was was plastered all over Chelyabinsk. A reward of 1,000,000 ($18,000) Rubles was offered for his capture as well.

The police also looked at everyone who fit the description of the murderer in the area. Police checked places the murderer was likely to be in, such as drug treatment clinics, mental hospitals, and morgues in Chelyabinsk and the surrounding regions.

The case has been suspended by law enforcement due to a lack of leads.

### In Media

The pharmacy maniac inspired the 29th episode of "Karpov," a Russian detective show.

## References

1. ↑ Why didn't they catch the "pharmacy maniac"? How 10 years are looking for a serial killer who shot people in Chelyabinsk
2. ↑ Witnesses of the shooting in the Chelyabinsk pharmacy: the killer has "terrible eyes"
3. ↑ Chelyabinsk "pharmacy" maniac "lit up" in the cinema