The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs

Viktor Sayenko, Igor Suprunyuck, and Alexander Hanzha, collectively known as "The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs", were a pack of Ukrainian thrill killers who brutally killed dozens of people during a near-four week-long murder spree. While Hanzha never directly participated in the murders, he is considered a part of the group as he was aware of the criminal activities.

Sayenko, Suprunyuck, and Hanzha were all born in 1988 to wealthy, influential parents and attended school together. The three individuals had several phobias, which they dealt with by doing strange activities, such as standing on a balcony of their apartment, hanging over the railing to combat their fear of heights. Hanzha had blood phobia, which Suprunyuck suggested tackling by actually torturing and killing stray dogs. The three then proceeded to do so and taking pictures of them standing beside the corpses. The boys were also apparently enthusiasts over the Nazi cause. After graduating high school, Sayenko and Hanzha went to their respective jobs, while Suprunyuck, officially being unemployed, became an unlicensed taxi driver. The three took up robbing Suprunyuck's passengers, some of whom were reported to later wind up as their victims. On March 1, 2007, Hanzha committed two armed robberies that he would end charged for. Eventually, Sayenko and Suprunyuck apparently lost interest in robbing and decided to take it to the next step, murdering random people for the sheer thrill of it. On July 25, 2007, with Ekaterina Ilchenko and Roman Tatarevich, Sayenko and Suprunyuck initiated their killing spree, randomly picking pedestrians and then bludgeoning them with blunt objects, such as hammers and steel construction bars, and recording some of the murders. Several victims were also robbed of their possessions.


Multiple bodies would be found in one day, usually two. Additionally, some victims weren't killed in Dnepropetrovsk, but towns located in the surrounding areas. Their spree came to public attention after a survivor, fourteen-year-old Vadim Lyakhov, immediately ran to the police after his friend was murdered by them, and also when a victim, Natalia Mamarchuk, was beaten to death in front of many witnesses. The investigation was kept secret at first, but eventually, sketches were distributed and the victims' stolen possessions were listed to local pawn shops. The three were arrested a week after the spree ended, when Suprunyuck tried selling a mobile phone belonging to one of his victims. The phone had to be turned on to ensure it worked, allowing law enforcement agents to find it and trace its location, leading to the arrests of Sayenko and Suprunyuck. Meanwhile, authorities invaded Hanzha's home and arrested him, but not before he managed to erase the information on numerous stolen mobile phones he attempted to flush down the toilet. Sayenko, Suprunyuck, and Hanzha were all charged for numerous instances of premeditated murder (excluding Hanzha), animal cruelty, robbery, and armed robbery. All three immediately made confessions, though Suprunyuck would go on to withdraw his. Eventually, all three men were found guilty to all of their respective charges. Sayenko and Suprunyuck were both sentenced to life imprisonment, while Hanzha was sentenced to nine years in prison, the brief sentence being because Hanzha never participated in the murders. Sayenko and Suprunyuck's ghastly videos of their murders received a large amount of attention. One of the videos managed to find its way into the Internet on December 4, 2008; it is a recording of the brutal murder of Sergei Yatzenko, who was killed on July 27, 2007. The leaking of the video received criticism, but it was later admitted that control over videos posted on the Internet was "virtually impossible".