Casefile True Crime - Case 247: Nina Puganova, Irina Trasyn & Anastasia Mikhailova

Episode Date: May 20, 2023

In the summer of 1980, Theodosius Glukharev received a series of harrowing deliveries to his home in Kishinev, Soviet Moldova. The contents ultimately unravelled the murders of three women – Nina Puganova, Irina Trasyn & Anastasia Mikhailova... --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Holly Boyd Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon This episode's sponsors: In the Shadows – Listen to a podcast from Casefile Presents (available everywhere) For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-247-nina-puganova-irina-trasyn-anastasia-mikhailova

In Bakersfield, California, in 1991, two boys stumbled upon a grisly discovery — the murdered body of a young woman. In the Shadows is the new podcast from Case File Presents, which follows the ensuing 32-year ordeal to uncover those responsible for the crime and to bring them to justice. The mystery riveted the desert town for years. This immediately zeroed in on the victim's longtime boyfriend, a beloved star athlete. But popular opinion was divided. Despite national attention and several trials, a conviction remained elusive, and many thought

the case would never be solved. That is, until this podcast turned over a new leaf. During the investigation of In the Shadows, several individuals revealed shocking information previously unknown to authorities. Ultimately, this new insight turned everything on its head and will bring you one step closer to deciding who's responsible for the murder. Previously only available with the Wondery Plus subscription, all seven episodes of In the Shadows are now available for free wherever you get your podcasts.

Or you can listen ad-free on Wondery Plus. Stay tuned to hear the trailer at the end of today's episode. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. This episode was originally released on Casefile's Patreon, Apple Premium and Spotify Premium Feeds as an early bonus for our paid subscribers.

These episodes are designed to be slightly shorter, allowing us to cover a broader range of cases. To receive these episodes early and ad-free, you can support Casefile on your preferred platform. As at near 6 o'clock on an autumn morning in 1980, the odosius Glukarev was jolted awake by the sound of his apartment's doorbell. He rose from bed and headed to the door. No one was there.

He poked his head into the hallway, only to find the area empty and quiet. The odosius looked down and noticed a dark leather briefcase on the ground in front of him. Curious, the odosius laid it on its side, unclasped its latches and opened it up. Wedged inside and wrapped in cloth was the head of a woman. The odosius staggered back inside his apartment and immediately phoned the police. Officers arrived at the large nine-story building where the odosius lived with his wife and young daughter.

Their apartment was just south of Kishinev, the Russian-named capital of Moldova, which at the time was part of the Soviet Union. The officers inspected the briefcase that had been left at the odosius's door. The decapitated head belonged to a brown-haired woman whose eyes had been gouged out. The odosius was adamant that he didn't recognize the woman, and there was nothing else inside the briefcase that hinted at her identity. However, there was a handwritten note addressed to Theodosius and scrolled in block capital letters, the note read,

Have you seen the gift? This is an example for you. The 10,000 rubles or your daughter will also be headless. In the evening you will come to the train station and bring money. Extortion was rare in Soviet Moldova, let alone in such a brutal form. At the time, 10,000 rubles was a large amount of money, the equivalent of around 50,000 US dollars in today's currency. Theodosius, who worked as a truck driver for a local brewery, was adamant that he didn't

have access to that kind of money. Unable to produce the large ransom in such a short amount of time, it was impossible for him to meet the killer's demands. Given that the killer knew where Theodosius lived, and that he had a daughter, it was clear that they knew Theodosius in some capacity. Yet, Theodosius couldn't think of anyone who would carry out such a gruesome act. Suspicious that he was hiding something, police covertly surveilled Theodosius the following day.

They discreetly tailed his truck as he drove from the brewery and onto the streets of Kishinev, where he eventually parked and entered a restaurant. It was an expensive establishment, the kind of place the affluent might dine at only once or twice a year for special occasions. Theodosius didn't stay long, certainly not enough time for him to eat. He soon returned to his truck and drove off. As the surveillance continued, Theodosius started behaving erratically. It seemed he realised that he was being followed.

He took several abrupt turns and doubled back on his route before speeding through a red light. Police managed to catch up with him a little while later, by which point Theodosius had resumed going about his business. He entered a bakery and emerged with a cake in hand. He then walked to a nearby apartment building which was considered one of Kishinev's most prestigious addresses. Theodosius disappeared inside for some time before reappearing without the cake.

Later that day, he purchased a bouquet of flowers and visited another high-end apartment building on an adjacent street. Once again, he stayed inside briefly before exiting empty-handed. He then made his way home. He admitted to driving erratically after realising he was being pursued, but explained this was because he thought he was being trailed by the killer. Police put it to Theodosius that his job as a truck driver was really just a front for some kind of black market trading.

He denied being involved in anything illegal, but eventually confessed that his visits to the two apartments were for clandestine meetings. Theodosius had been calling in on his girlfriends. Neither of his girlfriends knew about the other, nor were they aware that Theodosius was married with a child. Although he wasn't a particularly remarkable or wealthy man, Theodosius was a serial womaniser who often bragged to his friends about his extramarital affairs. Others were satisfied that Theodosius wasn't part of any underworld scheming, but had been

targeted for some other specific reason. They considered the possibility that the severed head might have belonged to one of his girlfriends. Perhaps the woman's husband had found out about the affair and taken revenge. Theodosius claimed that his girlfriends were both alive and well, and it was quickly confirmed that he was telling the truth. Both of his girlfriends attended the police station for questioning, but neither recognized the face of the woman from the briefcase. This sent investigators back to square one.

Unable to figure out why Theodosius was being extorted, they worked to identify the victim. Perhaps if they knew who she was, her connection to Theodosius would become clear. After exhausting all other avenues, investigators sought permission from their country's leadership to employ a tactic that had never been used in the Soviet Union before. They asked to show a photograph of the woman's head on national television in the hope that someone would recognize her face. Their request was granted. With as much care as possible, the woman's face was cleaned to be presentable to the public.

Her hair was neatly combed down and pinned behind her head. Glass spheres were inserted into her empty eye sockets and her eyelids were closed over them. A photograph was taken and broadcast on national television across Soviet Moldova. Although a white scarf tied beneath her chin concealed her severed neck, it was obvious to most that she was deceased. That night, seven-year-old Viktor Trasen sat in front of his family's television set, eyes glued to a rerun of a popular Soviet musical miniseries, Dartenyan and the Three

Musketeers. Viktor lived with his mother and Aileen's grandmother in an apartment in Kishinev. His grandmother was content to let Viktor enjoy the swashbuckling action on screen as the young boy had recently been overcome with anxiety and the program provided a much needed distraction. A few nights earlier, Viktor's mother, Irina, had left home to catch up with a friend. She said that she would only be gone for 30 minutes, but by the time Viktor awoke the next morning, she still hadn't returned.

Viktor took himself to school and later made dinner for himself and his grandmother. He kept this up all the while bombarding his grandmother with questions about his mother's whereabouts. But she couldn't give him any answers. Viktor's concerns for Irina grew until he parked himself in front of the television one night for a mental reprieve. All of a sudden, Dartenyan and the Three Musketeers was interrupted by a special news bulletin. A photograph of a woman appeared on screen.

Viktor immediately recognized the woman as his mother, Irina. He was confused as to why she was on television, but excited that he would finally see her again. He wrote down the number on the screen and called it first thing the following morning. Investigators could now identify the mutilated woman as Irina Trassen, but they still had no idea why she had been targeted. Theodosius Glukarev claimed he didn't know Irina and there was no evidence to suggest the pair had ever crossed paths.

As investigators tried to determine why Irina was murdered as part of an extortion plot against a stranger, they received a phone call. Another package had just arrived at Theodosius's front door. The package wasn't in a briefcase this time, but wrapped in paper. Again, it was accompanied by a handwritten note addressed to Theodosius in the same block capital letters as the first. This one read, you still don't want to pay, then kiss a woman's hand. Inside the package was the severed hand of a woman.

Forensic analysis confirmed it did not belong to Irina Trassen. A second woman had been killed and once again the police were left with no clues as to this victim's identity. The note continued, in three days you will bring the money to the train station, otherwise we will chop your daughter to pieces. The note hadn't referred to Theodosius's daughter by her name, Oxana, but this was the second direct threat against her. Two days later, Oxana was making her way home from school.

Just as she reached the entrance to her family's apartment block, a man approached and offered her some candy. All of a sudden, two other men who had been a short distance behind Oxana leapt into action. They ran up to the man, grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. The pair were undercover police officers tasked with protecting Oxana. The young girl shouted at the police officers, let Uncle Sasha go, he's good. Realising the man was known to Oxana, the officers backed off. While he wasn't technically her uncle, he was a close friend of her family.

As a precaution, the police thoroughly looked into Uncle Sasha. They discovered that he worked at the local confectionary factory, which explained why he had candy on hand. A married father, Uncle Sasha had received a government award for his hard work and commitment to the Soviet Union. With no criminal record or anything else to highlight him as dangerous, he was ruled out as being the killer who was extorting theodosius. Case file will be back shortly.

Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support case file to continue to deliver quality content. Unable to pin down a suspect, police realised that theodosius would have to meet the killer's demands in order to flush him out. Three nights after receiving the severed hand, theodosius presented himself at the Kishinev train station. He carried a briefcase containing 10,000 rubles.

The money had been hastily gathered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to facilitate the requested handover. Dozens of undercover police officers inconspicuously milled about the station, keeping a close eye on anyone who moved close to theodosius. Given the second ransom letter had contained the pronoun we, police were mindful that multiple perpetrators could be involved and could also be watching the situation unfold. Suddenly, a lone man approached theodosius. The officers observed intently, waiting to make their move.

The man was holding a cigarette and he asked theodosius for a light. He then continued on his way. He was not the man they were expecting. Several hours passed until it became abundantly clear the exchange wasn't going to take place. Either the killer never showed up, or they had realised it was a setup. During they were dealing with our quote, bloodthirsty maniac, police had to act quickly to prevent more women from being murdered and mutilated. Wild rumours were spreading, with some claiming the mutilations were the act of necromancer

sorcerers who were digging up graves. Others feared that an unidentified serial killer known as Metal Fang had arrived in Kishinev to continue his spree. Some turned their suspicions towards theodosius Glukarev himself. Word was circulating that he had recently cut ties with a criminal group who were now using the extortions as a method of intimidation. With all these leads and more having reached dead ends, investigators revisited the evidence, beginning with the two extortion letters.

Everything was niggling at one particular investigator. As he agonised over each word of the letters, the realisation suddenly dawned. In both notes the author had referred to Theodosius by his nickname, Fedos. Upon further questioning, Theodosius revealed that he didn't like his full name and would generally ask colleagues and associates to call him Fedor for short. In turn, close friends and family took to calling him Fedos. Realising the killer was amongst Theodosius' immediate circle, investigators narrowed down the list of suspects until just one person remained.

A few years earlier, Dmitri Kuzinsev was enjoying his wedding reception when he realised his new wife wasn't by his side. He searched the venue and eventually found her in a compromising position with another man. The man was Dmitri's second cousin, Theodosius Glukarev. Enraged, Dmitri chased Theodosius with a knife threatening to kill him. The guests disarmed Dmitri and tied him down before he could inflict any injuries. As Theodosius was led from the party, Dmitri shouted that he would find him and cut him.

Investigators explored Dmitri's background and discovered that he was already on the radar of the Soviet financial police, having been suspected of the theft and illegal sale of rare Soviet property. He also worked as a dining car manager for Soviet railways, which was significant given the killer had named the Kishinev train station as the extortion money drop site. Undercover officers boarded Dmitri's train in order to confront him, one disguised as a railway inspector spotted Dmitri and called him by name. Sensing he was in trouble, Dmitri jumped from the train and ran.

The chase was short-lived as Dmitri tripped over the tracks and was swiftly apprehended. Dmitri denied any wrongdoing, but when he learned he was under suspicion for murder and extortion, he quickly confessed to the crimes against Soviet property. He vehemently denied having anything to do with the murders. With a little bit more digging, police were able to verify that Dmitri was telling them the truth. He was a criminal, but he was not the killer they were looking for. The son had just set as university student Olga Lebedeva stood alone in Kishinev Central

Park waiting for her date. Several months prior, Olga had responded to a personal ad in the local newspaper and had been corresponding with the man ever since. This was the first time they were going to meet in person. Olga's date soon approached, carrying a bouquet of flowers. He handed them to her and immediately apologized, saying he couldn't stay for their date as some important business had just come up. He then turned around and hurried away.

Confused, Olga decided to head home. As she walked through the park along a tree-lined path, she heard someone approaching from behind. Olga quickened her pace, so did the person behind her. Suddenly, Olga was jerked backwards and thrown to the ground. A man stood over her before pulling her into some bushes nearby. He wrapped a hand around Olga's neck and squeezed, using his other hand to hold up a knife. As Olga fought for her life, the contents of her bags spilled onto the ground.

She grabbed the nearest item, her hairbrush, and jammed it as hard as she could into the man's groin. He released his grip, dropped his knife, and gripped his crotch as he curled over in pain. Olga scrambled to her feet. As she rushed back onto the footpath, her attacker yelled out, I will catch up with you, creature, and I will cut you into pieces. Olga ran as fast as she could, right into the path of someone who had slipped away from a birthday party early to head home.

They took her to the police station, where the officer on duty was intrigued to learn that Olga's attacker had threatened to cut her into pieces. Police across the city had been briefed about the unidentified killer who had been sending mutilated remains to Theodosius Glukarev. The officer was aware that in one of the notes the perpetrator had used the phrase, We will chop your daughter to pieces. Seeing Olga had survived an encounter with the killer, hundreds of police officers descended on Kishinev's Central Park to scour the area for clues.

They soon came upon a plot of freshly disturbed earth. The area was dug up, revealing a shallow grave containing the body of a young woman. Her shirt was torn open, and her trousers and underwear were pulled below her knees. There were multiple stub wounds to her chest and around her genitals. Most significantly, her head was missing. Police had just uncovered the body of Irina Trasin. Now they were absolutely certain that the same man who attacked Olga Lebedeva had killed Irina and that he had used the expansive parklands as his hunting ground.

Olga struggled to recall much about her ordeal as it was dark and happened quickly, but something about her assailant seemed familiar. She was certain it was the same man she had met for a date 30 minutes earlier. Olga explained that she had been corresponding with this man for some time. The investigators asked if she had kept any of the letters. Lucky for them, she had kept them all. Each of the letters were handwritten and had been signed off with the sender's name, Alexander Skrinik.

The police were stunned. They knew Skrinik. Across most Eastern European countries, the name Alexander is commonly shortened to Sasha. Alexander Skrinik was Uncle Sasha, the man who had approached Theodosius' daughter with candy weeks earlier. A background check of Skrinik had ruled him out as a suspect, but now investigators were certain he was the killer they'd been looking for. They just needed to find some compelling evidence to prove it.

No viable forensics had been found on Irina Trassen's head or body, nor on the unidentified severed hand left at Theodosius' door. This just left the extortion notes and the letters to Olga. A handwriting expert was brought in, but when he looked at the samples, he shrugged. The extortion notes had been printed in block capitals, whereas the letters were in Skrinik's cursive handwriting. It wasn't possible to conclusively compare the two. Meanwhile, Alexander Skrinik was called to attend the Military Registration and Enlistment

Office. At 27 years of age, Skrinik was still subject to Soviet conscription until his next birthday. He arrived promptly at the military office and was shown into an adjacent room. He, along with about 20 other conscripts, filled in the necessary paperwork. Afterwards, they were told that a military representative would be in touch soon. Alexander Skrinik then left the building. Unbeknownst to Skrinik, the entire registration process was a setup by police as a way to obtain his handwriting.

The call, the staff, and the other conscripts had all been staged. The military registration papers were required to be completed in block capital letters. As soon as Skrinik left, the registration papers were given to the handwriting expert who was waiting behind the scenes. Within half an hour, the expert unequivocally concluded that the block letters in Skrinik's registration form were an exact match to those in the two extortion notes sent to Theodosius. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors.

Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support case file to continue to deliver quality content. That evening, police arrived at Alexander Skrinik's apartment, only to be told by Skrinik's wife that her husband had just left to see a movie. A contingent of plainclothes police officers quickly descended on the Patriar Cinema in central Kishinyev. The film that was about to be shown was a Soviet disaster film called Aircrew, which depicted the story of a plane full of passengers trying to take off during an earthquake.

Aircrew had debuted earlier in 1980, but due to its popularity, it was being re-screened to a sold-out audience. Police searched for Skrinik amongst the throng of cinema-goers milling outside the building and inside the foyer waiting for the movie to start. Eventually, they spotted Skrinik. He was approaching the cinema accompanied by a young woman. One quick-thinking detective approached the couple. He explained that the film was sold out, but he had two tickets he was willing to sell.

Skrinik was interested. The detective suggested that they walk around the side of the building where it was much quieter in order to make the exchange. Skrinik and the young woman happily accompanied the detective. Once they were away from the crowd, other officers converged on Skrinik and placed him under arrest. At the police station, Alexander Skrinik remained indignant. He denied having done anything wrong and pointed to his Government Labor Award and membership of the Soviet Communist Party as proof of his good character and innocence.

However, once investigators revealed the ruse at the enlistment office and the handwriting analysis evidence they had against him, Skrinik abandoned his charade. Skrinik then made a surprise confession. Arena Trassen was not his first murder victim. Several years earlier in the mid-1970s, he had been living and working in Yakutia, a sparsely populated Soviet region in the Far East of Russia. There, Skrinik met and murdered a flight attendant named Nina Puganova. After killing Nina, Skrinik removed her breasts and genitals before dumping her body.

The remains were later discovered, however authorities at the time were unable to solve Nina's murder. Skrinik disclosed that he had stabbed Arena Trassen to death after meeting her for ice cream at the park where her body was later found. He decapitated Arena post-mortem, kept her head, before burying her body in a shallow grave. Skrinik's third and final victim was a woman named Anastasia Mikhailova. Like Arena before her, Skrinik had met Anastasia for ice cream before stabbing her to death

and mutilating her body. This time Skrinik had kept Anastasia's severed hand as a souvenir. Having already discovered Arena's headless body, police probed Skrinik for the whereabouts of Anastasia's remains. Skrinik said that Anastasia was buried in a different park and offered to take them to the exact location. The following day, he escorted investigators to an area of Woodland. He pointed to the exact location where officers should start digging.

Sure enough, about a foot below the surface, police uncovered the remains of Anastasia Mikhailova, who was missing a hand. Investigators had everything they needed from Anastasia, a full confession to the murders and Anastasia's remains. What they now wanted was Skrinik's motive for these brutal slayings. Skrinik explained that about a year into his marriage, after his son was born, he was dissatisfied with his life. Specifically, Skrinik wanted more sex.

He placed a personal ad in the local newspaper with the intention of attracting a woman who would be willing to sleep with him. Eventually, Skrinik met up with a woman who responded to his ad and the two had sex. As a result, Skrinik contracted a venereal disease. This instigated Skrinik's hatred towards women, who he now blamed for his unhappy marriage and the lack of sex to which he felt entitled. Skrinik appointed himself as a, quote, orderly of nature and decided that it was his calling to destroy women.

As to why he extorted his friend Theodosius Glukarev, Skrinik simply explained that he was jealous of Theodosius, who boasted of his active sex life and multiple extramarital affairs. His intention was to, quote, let this womanize a shake with fear and at the same time fork out. A few months after his arrest, Alexander Skrinik stood trial for the murders of Nina Puganova, Irina Trasin and Anastasia Mikalova. At the start of his testimony, he boasted that anyone with a weak disposition should

leave the room. Skrinik then recited his crimes without any hint of remorse. He told the court that he enjoyed murdering the three women and that if he hadn't been caught, he would still be killing. The three judges of the Supreme Court found Skrinik guilty of all charges and sentenced him to death. In 1981, Alexander Skrinik attended his date with the firing squad. On a chilly night in 1991, a group of teenagers gathered in their usual hangout, a barren

stretch of desert next to a busy highway near Bakersfield, California. A dismal spot littered with trash and shell casings. By nightfall, it turned into a sort of lovers lane where high school kids drank and smoked. Then two boys left their group and headed into the darkness. They came upon a horrific scene. The body of a young woman murdered just hours before. She had no enemies besides girls at school, teenage stuff, not any kind of trouble that somebody would murder her.

This 1991 murder made news headlines for years as it shocked and divided a quiet working-class community. Of course, I knew about Maria's case. Everyone in Bakersfield knows about Maria's case. They were glued to their TV sets and read the paper every day. There was a lot of speculation in Wasco that maybe he was not the all-around athlete that people thought he might be. When he lied about being her boyfriend, I felt like he had something to do with it.

Justice took its course in a twisted and controversial case that captivated many. But what if the real killer were yet to be discovered? Because he warned me that he told me that I would tell the detectives that he was here when he wasn't really here. If you asked the sheriff's department and if you asked the prosecutor's office, they would say, yeah, we solved it. It's just unfortunate how things ended up. In this series, we will hear brand new clues, interview people that have never spoken publicly

before, and discover family secrets that shed light on who may have killed Maria Rodriguez and why. I kind of want all of our families hidden secrets in all of the dark past. I want it to come out to light. I'm Octavia McHenry for Case File Presents, and this is In the Shadows, the story of Maria Rodriguez.