caption country death_date alias birth_place image_size cause penalty birth_date victims beginyear birthname image article_title endyear name apprehended
volodymyr kondratenko ukraine kondratenko : may 31 , 1997 the nighttime killers kiev , ukraine 200px suicide volkovich : life imprisonment ca. 1967 16 1991 vladislav volkovich volodymyr kondratenko vladimir kondratenko.jpg nighttime killers
 1996 nighttime killers 1996
nighttime killers

the nighttime killers -lrb- Нічний Серійник -rrb- is the media epithet for the killers responsible for a string of brutal murders in kiev , ukraine between 1991 and 1997 .
two men , vladyslav volkovich -lrb- Владислав Волкович -rrb- and volodymyr kondratenko -lrb- Володимир Кондратенко -rrb- were arrested and charged with 16 murders .
most victims were shot with a .22 sporting rifle and stabbed or bludgeoned with a wide variety of weapons ranging from stitching awls to bricks and iron bars .
the killers claimed that they began the murder spree in order to prepare themselves for an eventual career as contract killers , practicing on the homeless , and continued killing for profit and for fun .
kondratenko committed suicide in prison during the trial .
volkovich was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison .
