Alexander Pichushkin - Russian Serial Killer

(Moscow, Russia) Making news on the other side of the world is Alexander Pichushkin, an admitted serial killer. Pichushkin's trial on 49 counts of murder, versus more than 60 that he claims to have committed, starts today.

"Having caught me, they saved many lives. If they hadn't caught me, I would never have stopped, never," he said.

And, apparently Pichushkin is quite proud of the murders, targeting mostly men with many being homeless.

During a preliminary hearing at Moscow City Court a judge accepted Puchushkin's request that the jury trial should be open to the public - apparently appealing to his desire for notoriety.

The media have speculated that Pichushkin may have been motivated by a macabre competition with Russia's most notorious serial killer, Andrey Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of killing 52 children and young women over the course of 12 years.

Reportedly, he kept track of each murder on a chessboard, aiming to fill all 64 squares with a victim. He confessed at length and his conviction is certain.

The Russian media has dubbed him the "Bitsevsky Maniac" after the park in southern Moscow where most of the murders were carried out.

The killings were committed over a 14-year period. Pichushkin would get his victims drunk and take them to Bitsevsky Park where he would bludgeon their skulls with a hammer.