For a terrifying eight years, a string of savage murders took place across Russia’s Sverdlovsk region. Older women were being viciously attacked and killed in their homes, with their attackers using weapons like hammers, axes, and even busts of Lenin. The police were utterly confused, as all signs pointed to a male culprit.
Then, in 2010, the case took a jaw-dropping twist. It turned out that the killer was Irina Gaidamachuk, a petite mother of two from Krasnoufimsk. This revelation shook the nation, earning her the title of Russia’s most notorious female serial killer.
Nicknamed “Satan in a Skirt” and “Raskolnikov in a Skirt,” Irina Gaidamachuk’s crimes were scary in their consistency: she targeted elderly women, posed as a social worker or housing official to enter their homes, then struck them down and stole whatever little money they had. Often, just a few thousand rubles were used mainly to feed her vodka addiction.
According to authorities, she once stayed overnight in a dead victim’s home when she couldn’t find anything to steal.
The Woman Who Fooled Russia’s Cops and Then Flirted with Them
When police finally arrested Gaidamachuk in 2010, it was because one of her intended victims managed to escape, prompting neighbors to intervene. Authorities were floored when they realized the killer wasn’t a man but a woman. One who knew exactly how to charm her victims and, later, the interrogators.
“She said she’d lost count of how many people she’d killed after the 10th murder,” one detective recalled. “She’s very cold-blooded but also charming and even attractive. She even tried flirting during our questioning.”
Investigators at first couldn’t believe a woman could commit such violent crimes; some even theorized they were chasing a man dressed as a woman in this case that shook Russia.
#Copa2018 Japão x Senegal 🇯🇵❌🇸🇳
⭕️ Irina Gaidamachuk, “A Satanás de Saia”
Viciada em vodca, esta mulher matou 17 idosas a golpes de machado e martelo. Alguns dos assassinatos foram cometidos na cidade onde Japão e Senegal jogam.
Veja também: https://t.co/ltzU1rYHxQ pic.twitter.com/x1wXtJYykj
— OAV Crime (@OAVCrime) June 24, 2018
They say Gaidamachuk went after her victims with a frightening amount of power. One poor lady got hit a full 24 times. And Irina Gaidamachuk was so cool and collected in court. She corrected the judge and even helped the court secretary find the right papers in this massive stack of 443 case files from the investigation.
But she didn’t seem all that sorry for what she did. When the judge asked if she admitted to her crimes, she said, “I will speak out on each episode separately.” Her lawyer then said she wasn’t on board with all the charges against her.
Irina Gaidamachuk Was a Killer, Mother, and PTA Member
Gaidamachuk’s tale is incredibly eerie due to the stark contrast between her two lives. On the one hand, she was cold-bloodedly killing older women to get her hands on their pension funds, and on the other, she was a seemingly normal mom raising a child, actively involved in school functions, and even had a role in the parental council.
Those around her described her as “quiet” and “invisible.” Her partner supposedly didn’t give her much cash, which pushed her into a desperate situation where she had to resort to theft and taking lives to fuel her drinking problem.
Looking into it, KP discovered that she barely made 40,000 rubles, roughly $450, from all those horrific acts.
Favourite serial killer?
Mine is Irina Gaidamachuk. pic.twitter.com/7eWYkGoEgt
— Alice Cadence Larissa Beth Beresford (@AliceLBronte) March 21, 2022
The ways she tried to cover up her crimes were as disturbing as they were clumsy: she would light a candle and let it burn, or turn on the gas, or leave a hot iron on some newspaper to start a fire. But she never managed to pull off the perfect cover-up; all her attempts to burn down the scenes of her crimes flopped.
Though convicted of 17 murders and one attempted murder, some believe there may be more victims. The court sentenced her to 20 years in prison in 2012. It is a sentence many in Russia still think was too lenient.
“It’s scandalous that it took eight years to catch [her],” said Elena Golovenkina, whose mother was one of the victims.
