Vanished Cases

The Chessboard Killer: 61 Squares, One Note.


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The Chessboard Killer: 61 Squares, One Note.

A woman left a note with her son's name and a phone number before a walk in Moscow's Bitsa Park, never to return. This small detail, however, became the key to unlocking a fourteen-year reign of terror by a man who had killed in plain sight. How did a simple note expose a killer who marked his victims on a chessboard?

In this episode, we delve into the chilling case of Alexander Pichushkin, a seemingly ordinary neighbor and coworker whose apartment held a chessboard with 61 marked squares, each representing a life he claimed. We explore how Marina Moskalyova's disappearance finally connected the dots of a systematic and sustained series of murders that had gone unsolved for years in Moscow.

Case: The Chessboard Killer
Victim: Marina Moskalyova
Location: Bitsa Park, Moscow
Date of Discovery: June 14, 2006
Killer: Alexander Pichushkin

- Alexander Pichushkin was born on April 9, 1974, in Moscow.
- He suffered documented neurological damage from a childhood fall, affecting his speech.
- Police found a chessboard with 61 marked squares in Pichushkin's apartment on June 16, 2006.
- Pichushkin confessed to killing 60 people by the time Marina Moskalyova disappeared.
- His first victim, Mijail Odiychuk, was killed on July 27, 1992, in Bitsa Park.

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