Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “Terminator” - Anatoly Onoprienko

Episode Date: April 22, 2019

He wanted to be remembered. He had spent a life cast aside and forgotten by his parents, siblings and peers. He hated the world that seemed so eager to forget him. So in 1989 Anatoly Onoprienko began killing whole families at random, seeking notoriety and revenge. And thanks to the fall of the USSR, this former Soviet was able to operate for years, as evidence of his crimes were swept under the rug. Parcasters - What was it like to live through the Titanic tragedy? Find out today on survival! Available now at parcast.com/survival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder, rape, and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Snow falls on a small Ukrainian village. It's just past dusk, but already everyone has gone inside.

Doors are shut and tightly locked. Inside a small house, an old man pulls the... curtains over the windows and huddles on the couch with his wife and grandchildren, preparing for another long night. The man hears a noise outside. He stands and quietly ushers his family to a back room. The man edges toward a large side window. He grabs the phone, ready to call the police.

He peeks out from behind the curtain. He can just make out the edges of a shadow standing outside the window. His heart quickens. He draws the curtain as though that might stop the intruder from coming in. But it's too late. The man climbs through the window into the light. His eyes are steely and cold. He pulls out a long knife and smiles.

Within minutes, ear-piercing screams fill the village. But nobody comes to help. Hi. I'm Greg Polson. This is serial killers on the Parkast Network. Every Monday, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're going to take a deep dive into the life of Anatoly Onoprienko, also known as The Terminator, and his brutal rampage across the villages of Ukraine.

I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. At Parkast, we're grateful for you, our listeners. You allow us to do what we love. Let us know how we're doing. reach out on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast and Twitter at Parcast Network. And if you enjoy today's episode, the best way to help us is to leave a five-star review wherever you're listening. It really does help us.

We also now have merch. Head to Parcast.com slash merch for more information. Anatoli Onoprienko killed 52 people in Ukraine between 1989 and 1996. He's best known for his brutal home invasion. where he snuck into random homes in the dead of night and killed all of the occupants, including children and the elderly. Afterward, he invariably set the houses on fire to burn the evidence. This week will cover Anatoly's early life, first murders, and the establishment of his distinctive

killing method. Next week will cover his final murders and the major Ukrainian manhunt, which finally led to his capture and confession in 1990. Anatoly Onoprienko was born in the village of Lasky in the province of Jietomer Oblast, Ukraine, on July 25, 1959. He had one brother, Valentin, who was 13 years Anatoly's senior. Anatoly's father, Yuri Onoprienko, was an abusive alcoholic who had served in World War II for the Soviet army. He would often scream at Anatoly and even hit the toddler. Adololi's mother did her best to protect him, but passed away in 1963 when Anatoly was only four.

After his mother died, Uri took Anatoly to an orphanage right away. It's not known why Uri decided not to send 17-year-old Valentin to the orphanage as well, but for years afterward, Anatoly would consider this moment to be the defining event of his life. Anatoly later said that he was haunted by vivid memories of his father. and brother sending him away. Luckily, Anatoly's grandmother was still living, and while she could not care for the boy herself, she did take him to a slightly better orphanage

in the nearby village of Privetno, and stayed with him for a few days so that he could get used to his new life. She continued to visit the orphanage frequently, over the next few years with food and care packages, but Anatoly rarely ever saw his father and brother. In the orphanage, Anatoly was shy and quiet, At first, he barely spoke, except when others asked him a direct question, but eventually he managed to adjust and make a few friends.

In school, Anatoly was a well-behaved, average student. He continued to come out of his shell, but still preferred to be alone and often took long, solitary walks in the woods around the village. These walks inspired Anatoly to enroll in the Malin College of Forestry in 1973 at the age of 14, around. Around this time, he also took an interest in team sports, especially soccer. But sports weren't his only extracurricular activity. His teachers caught him smoking, drinking vodka, and stealing repeatedly. His grades started to slip. Though he was always disciplined for his drinking and theft, Anatoly made no attempt to curb his illegal activities.

His lack of regard for rules at a young age was perhaps the earliest indicator that Anatoly had psychopaths. tendencies. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. Elsa Irmer and Kent Keel, researchers at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, found in a 2010 study that psychopaths have difficulty following rules based on moral sensibilities. Anatoly couldn't understand why he should feel remorse. for stealing and thus refused to stop even when disciplined.

Thanks to these continued offenses, he was finally expelled from school in 1976 at the age of 17. He left the village of Privetnow and everything he had ever known behind, without telling anyone where he'd gone. All he knew was that he wanted to get far away. Anatoly felt lost. He had little enthusiasm for the things he had once enjoyed, like forestry and sports.

After spending the last few years of his life committing petty crimes, he wanted to find his purpose. He felt he was destined for great things, but didn't know where to start. His intense feelings of isolation and penchant for solitude were likely connected to the abandonment, Anatoly felt after his mother died. Psychologist John Bolby and Mary Ainsworth write, quote, The quality of the attachment bond between the mother and her infant acts as the basis for the child's ability to form future attachments. Those children who experience secure attachments as infants

are more likely to deal with episodes of not belonging in ways less injurious to their sense of self, end quote. Anatoly had dealt with his feelings of isolation by indulging in self-destructive tendencies like petty crime and drinking. Now away from Privatnow, he looked for a sign from heaven to guide him. Unfortunately, none appeared. And so with few options, Anatoly joined the army. He hoped to find a sense of belonging there. Many people join the military searching for camaraderie and a higher purpose. For many, the service is rewarding, but Anatoly felt even more ostracized from society. He's not alone. According to a lengthy study conducted by researchers at Washington University

and the University of Tübingen in Germany, in general, a high percentage of soldiers become less agreeable than civilians for years after military service. Agreeableness is one of the five dimensions of modern personality psychology. Psychologists consider any characteristic that is perceived as kind and considerate to contribute to a person's agreeableness. Unempathetic, selfish people are considered to be less agreeable and have more difficulty forming lasting relationships. During his time in the army, Anatoly struggled more than ever to form

friendships and failed to distinguish himself during his service, although he did receive extensive firearms training, which he would later put to grizzly use. It's important to note that Anatoly is a statistical anomaly. There is a popular conception that serial killers are commonly combat veterans or that military training can contribute to the violent tendencies of serial murderers, but these have been found to be myths. In fact, according to an analysis at the Florida Gulf Coast University, the percentage of serial killers who are veterans is lower than the average for the overall population. Or, more simply put, veterans comprise about 10% of the overall population of the United States, but comprise only about 8% of all serial

killers. In addition, serial killers who were veterans were not found to be any more malicious or capable than killers who never served. So while the military probably did little to include, increase Anatoli's murderous potential, it also did not provide the sense of purpose Anatoli was searching for. In fact, he felt more removed from his peers than ever. He later said of this time period in his life, quote, when I was 20, I called myself stupid because I couldn't understand people. If they were smart, then I must be stupid, end quote. This sentiment echoes a statement by well-known American serial killer Ted Bundy. He once said, quote,

I didn't know what made people want to be friends. I didn't know what made people attractive to one another. I didn't know what underlay social interactions, and quote. These parallels highlight the difficulty psychopathic individuals can have understanding and empathizing with other people. Anatoly was discharged from the army at the age of 20 in 1979. after three years of service. He took a job on a cruise ship

as part of the deck crew in Odessa, Ukraine. He dealt with his increasing feelings of loneliness by turning back to the theft he had committed in school. Anatoly mostly stole small items and loose change for fun. He had no regard for the legality or morality of his actions and so saw no reason not to steal as long as he didn't get caught. He unloaded some of his ill-gotten gains at ports,

when the cruise ship docked. Others he gave as gifts to girlfriends. Women he dated were initially attracted to his expressive eyes and quiet confidence. As he had gotten older, Anatoly had grown thin and fit. His face was gaunt and appeared sickly, but he spoke confidently and with a sense of purpose. With his mysterious charisma and penchant for gift-giving, Anatole dated several women while working on the cruise ship, though usually not for very long. His extended time at sea and low attention span prevented him from getting attached to any one person and got in the way of Anatoly forming long-lasting relationships. That changed when he met a waitress in Odessa, whose name is not known.

The two dated on and off while Anatoly worked on the ship. After three years of casual dating, she became pregnant. Anatoly seemed excited about the new child. He quit his job on the cruise ship to be with the woman and his new baby. but soon he grew bored. One day in 1984, only months after his child had been born, Anatoly suddenly abandoned his girlfriend and baby and left town.

He never spoke to them again. Anatoly later said that he left his family behind because he felt restless, like his new family was holding him back. In this, he fits the description of a sensation-seeking person. According to Marvin Zuckerman, a professor of psychology, sensation-seeking individuals search for novel feelings and are prepared to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experiences.

And according to an FBI symposium, a high level of sensation-seeking is a very common trait in serial killers. Unfortunately for Anatoli, it was hard to support himself after leaving the cruise ship and his family. Ukraine was still run by the Soviet Union in the 1980s and was going through heavy, economic hardship. Anatoly couldn't find regular work, so he sustained himself by burglarizing homes and businesses. The underfunded Ukrainian police forces rarely looked into minor theft, so Anatoly never got in trouble with the law. For the next five years, he drifted from town to town around southern Ukraine. His thefts steadily increased until they hit their peak in 1989 when he was 30 years old. In Ukraine, 1989,

was also the height of the Parastroika, or restructuring of the Soviet Union. Revolutions were occurring in Eastern Europe and political unrest was high. The USSR was breaking apart, and the local governments of the towns Anatoly robbed were in disarray. In the words of Ukrainian attorney Ruslan Moschkovsky during Parashtroika, quote, no one was responsible for anything, end quote. Anatoly used the chaos to his advantage and became more brazen with his crimes. He robbed homes and cars in broad daylight. Though he needed the money, he also stole because the risk thrilled him

and helped him stave off a feeling of restlessness that never fully went away. He also began to drink even more heavily. Just before 1989, Anatoly found semi-permanent lodgings in a small town in Western Ukraine. He paid for the small apartment using money earned from selling stolen goods. After living in the apartment for several months, Anatoly tried to steal from his landlady, an older woman of about 60. He waited for her to leave the house during the afternoon, then broke in through the window. He expected her to be gone for hours, but after only a few minutes, the landlady returned

and walked in on Anatoly rifling through her kitchen drawers. Anatoly panicked. He pulled out his gun and shot the landlady before she could scream. Then fled the apartment. At first, he was terrified. He felt sure he was going to be caught. But while police did correctly rule the crime of burglary gone wrong, they never suspected the woman had been killed by someone living in the building.

The police left the apartment complex without questioning Anatoly. He felt exhilarated. He had gotten away with murder, and it had been easy. For years, he had felt lost. He had searched for some way to make his mark on the world to unbottle the rage that he had felt ever since, he had been abandoned as a child. Now he had found it. Anatoly's journey to committing murder is actually fairly common.

Dr. Joni E. Johnston, a forensic psychologist, writes, quote, a serial murderer might fantasize about killing for years, commit the first kill during a period of stress, and feel an emotional release or high during the crime, end quote. With this first great release of tension, Anatoly experienced a euphemy, he had never felt before. It all felt right like he had finally found his calling. It was around this time that Anatoly first reported hearing voices. The voices which he would continue to hear for the rest of his life encouraged him to let the monster inside him loose. He said the voices came from Satan and other demons and claimed he was compelled to obey them.

After years of searching for a sign from God, Anatole now believes, he was destined to serve the devil. The voices spoke to him sporadically at first, prodding him to act on his darkest impulses. Soon he was calling himself an angel who was attending a school of Satan. Anatoly was never given a definite diagnosis for the origin of the voices. If he did, in fact, hear them, as he claimed, there could have been several causes. Jonathan Foyles, a therapist at a mental health clinic, writes, quote, hallucinations are far more complicated.

than we used to think, and the mere presence of hallucinations does not merit a diagnosis of psychosis." Though auditory hallucinations are most commonly associated with schizophrenia in the popular consciousness, other more common disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, are possible explanations. Whatever the cause, Anatoly's first experience with murder left him wanting more. It wouldn't be long before he would take more deliberate steps to chase the sense of supernatural purpose he gained from his first kill. We'll join Anatoly down a dark path after this. Now back to the story.

In 1989, at 30 years of age, former soldier and petty thief, Anatoly Onoprienko, had his first taste of murder when he shot his elderly landlady during a botched robbery. He enjoyed the sense of power he felt afterward and soon claimed to hear voices, encouraging him to kill again. Anatoly resumed his normal life as a thief in the months following the murder of his landlady.

He often burglarized homes with a friend named Sergei Ragozin, who he had met while working out at the gym. Ragozin was an intimidating man, taller and broader with a buzz cut and permanently cruel expression. The two were experienced thieves and made a formidable team. One night, on the way back from a burglary trip to Russia, the two men spotted a car on a deserted road pulling a trailer. Without warning, Anatoly cut the car off and stopped short in front of the vehicle. The man in the car slammed on his brakes and laid on his horn. Anatoly grabbed a rifle from the back seat and got out of the car.

Ragozan was taken aback, but grabbed his own weapon without any questions and followed Anatoly onto the road. Ragozen assumed they would rob the car and leave as they'd done in the past. Anatoly had something else in mind. He approached the driver of the car and yelled at him to roll down the window. As soon as the driver complied, Anatoly shot him at point-blank range, and without missing a beat, fired another shot at the driver's wife, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

Brugosin was in shock. He angrily asked Anatoly why he had murdered the couple. Anatoly's only reply was that he would kill Ragoz's family if Ragoz had ever told anyone what had just. happened. Confused and a little frightened, Ragozan helped Anatoly bury the bodies and set fire to the car. A month later, in 1989, Ragozan was again driving with Anatoly down a deserted road when Anatoly stopped another couple in their car. Just like before, Anatoly seemed seized by a sudden violent urge. He ordered the couple to roll down their window and, without warning, shot them both.

This brought Anatoly's victim count up to five. Ragozan couldn't understand Anatoly's bloodlust. In his mind, they had always stolen together for the money. In fact, Ragozan had considered Anatoly weak and strange. Almost in shock, he now watched Anatoly drag a murdered couple from their car and throw them in the ditch at the side of the road without a trace of remorse. Not bothering to wipe the blood from his hands and clothes, Anatoly took what money he could from the victims

and again set fire to the car and the bodies, in his words, to get rid of the evidence. For weeks, Ragozan had been growing increasingly terrified of Anatoly. He noticed that Anatoly did not like seeing families together, especially families with children. And this made Ragozin scared that his own children were in danger. After the second set of roadside murders, Ragozan cut ties with Anatoly,

Initially, he feared Anatoly would be angry that Ragozan no longer wanted to work together, but he hardly reacted at all. As long as Ragozan swore to keep his mouth shut about the murders, Anatoly seemed happy to be on his own. Thanks to the randomness of Anatoly's crimes and the political turmoil in Ukraine, Anatoly and Ragozan were not pursued by police. Authorities investigated the sights of the two burned cars, but could not assign a motive or pick up on any leads.

Of course, this was because there was no motive. Anatoly, whether at the whims of the voices he heard or simply from sudden violent anger, murdered his victims for no discernible reason. Though the crimes took place only four weeks apart, police never connected the two incidents or suspected them of being committed by the same perpetrators. The lack of consequences strengthened Anatoly's belief that this was the path he had been born to follow. He relived the murders over and over in his mind, fascinated with the final moments of his victim's lives. It was during these moments that the victims gave Anatoly something he often craved in his daily life, attention.

Years of subsisting in poor conditions and stealing for his livelihood had made Anatoly feel ignored by the wider world. He detested the masses of people who brushed past him in the streets and avoided eye contact. particularly avoiding the families who seemed so happy together. But when his victims pleaded with Anatole for their lives, he was finally the center of their worlds. It fed his ego and compelled him to keep killing. Anatoly's feelings are consistent with those of many killers who believe themselves to be special and deserving of notoriety.

Neurologist Jack Pemond writes that individuals with delusions of grandeur, like Anatoly, are at a high risk for psychopathic behavior. Anatoly's frustration that his potential was not being recognized led him to seek violent revenge against society. But of course, it only pushed him farther into isolation. After Ragozan cut ties with Anatoly in 1989, Anatoly robbed Holmes on his own. But not even the boldest burglaries could give him the thrill he experienced while killing.

Several months after Ragozen, goes and left, Anatoly decided he needed to kill. He once again swerved in front of a family on a dark road in the middle of the night. After the car was stopped, Anatoly approached with a rifle and demanded the driver rolled down his window. This time, Anatoly saw a sleeping 11-year-old child in the back seat. The family he had stopped was on their way back from a road trip and were only miles from their hometown.

Without hesitating, Anatoly shot the man driving. driving the car and then his wife in the passenger seat. He then opened the back door and shot the sleeping boy before he knew what was happening. The murder of a child was nothing to Anatoly. He despised the children of happy families as much as he did their parents. He calmly dragged his three victims to the side of the road, grabbed a can of gasoline from the trunk of his car, and set the bodies aflame. But after this latest killing, something changed for Anatoly.

The craving to kill, which had gradually increased over the course of 1989, receded slightly. He assumed that sooner or later the police would connect his murders over the previous year, making his deeds, if not his name, famous throughout Ukraine. This satisfied his need to be recognized, and he decided to leave Ukraine in search of a new passion. We'll discover one passion stole Anatoli's heart in a moment. Now, back to the story. In 1990, at the age of 31, Anatoly Ono Prienko was starting a new life.

He left his home country behind after brutally killing eight people, including an 11-year-old child, the previous year, and traveled to Western Europe. Packing up and leaving his previous life behind was nothing new for Anatoly. Ever since his mother died and his father abandoned him when he was four.

he had regularly left town whenever the impulse struck. What was new this time was his destination. In the past, he had always stayed in his home country of Ukraine. Now, though he had no visa, he made his way through Europe, fleeing the imaginary authorities who he felt would someday pursue him. Over the next year, Anatoly made his way through Germany and Austria, where he worked odd jobs and did his best to survive on limited means. traveling across numerous countries illegally was not easy.

Anatoly couldn't take any regular work due to his illegal status. So he continued his habit of stealing whatever he needed. Over time, his life in Western Europe came to remind him of his younger days in Ukraine. He had become a face in the crowd once again. At first, all that sustained him were the memories of the euphoria he felt during the 1989 killings. But even that comfort faded after several. years and Anatoly fell into a deep despair. He considered killing himself out of desperation, but he heard mysterious voices in his head telling him that he could not commit suicide. He later

said that the voices insisted, quote, I live and keep doing what I am doing and finish this game, end quote. Anatoly constantly felt like he was called to a higher purpose and claimed that he enjoyed the sense of power that killing granted him. His self-importance was. He was a was so intense that he even felt he had a direct telepathic link with Satan. The feelings of grandiosity that Anatole experienced are felt by many serial killers. According to criminologist Dr. Robert Hare, grandiosity and limited empathy are two of the most common traits of psychotic serial killers and are also symptoms of antisocial personality disorder or APD. Though APD is not known to cause auditory or visual hallucinations,

It could explain Anatoli's lack of remorse. Many individuals with APD are not psychopathic, but the disorder has been strongly linked with some psychopathic traits. According to the WHO's international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, an incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, and a low tolerance to frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence, are two other symptoms of the disorder. These symptoms fit with Anatoly's history of abandoning the people closest to him and his

unpredictable violent outbursts. But he was never officially diagnosed with the disorder. He was not. Though many people who had casual relationships with Anatoly noted his strange and antisocial behavior, he never willingly saw a psychologist or received an official diagnosis. Anatoly never truly opened up to anyone. He kept the vicious rage inside him, a secret, until he could hold it inside no more, and then unleashed it on the innocent. Anatoly stayed in Germany and Austria for a total of five to six years.

No crimes during that period have been linked to him, and he claimed that despite the voices' promises that he would one day need to kill again, they did not compel him to do so while in Europe. Officials later doubted these claims, considering the intense and violent killing spree he had just begun a year before, But there is no evidence that he committed any crime other than theft during his travels.

Anatoly's European hiatus ended in 1995. Now 36 years old, he returned to Ukraine. His urge to kill had returned. And he was confident that enough time had passed since his previous crimes that he would not be hunted by police. But he was disappointed to learn that he had never been hunted in the first place. Thanks to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine had become independent, and his deeds of two years prior had scarcely been noticed in the political upheaval. The same political trouble that had prevented police from investigating Anatoly

had also made his killings minor footnotes in the country's history. This enraged Anatole. He had killed out of lust for power and attention. To have his crimes ignored made him feel worthless once again. especially after living the past six years in poverty, he had wasted all those years for nothing. The rage fueled his desire to continue killing in Ukraine. Anatoly was determined to do whatever it took to make people notice him.

In 1995, Anatoly vowed to take revenge on all of those who had ignored and belittled him. He would make the world fear his name. He wasted little time. He traveled to a small village where he had. distant cousin lived. He knew his cousin was a hunter and watched from a distance while his cousin returned from a hunt with fresh meat. Anatoly watched his cousin store his equipment at home and take his kill down the road to be cooked. Once he was gone, Anatoly broke into his cousin's house and stole his shotgun along with some other small items. Anatoly took the gun to a barn and used a saw to cut the

barrel. This would cause the shotgun pellets to spread more widely when the gun was fired, increasing the destructive power of the gun in close quarters. Close quarters combat was exactly what Anatoly had in mind. In the bitter cold winter of 1995, Anatoly took his new gun to Odessa, the port town where he had once worked on the cruise ship and the place where he had abandoned his newborn child. Anatoly chose the town because he knew the layout well, and he wanted to make sure he could escape. If he was going to be remembered for his crimes this time, He would have to outdo himself, and that couldn't be done in a single night. Anatoly staked out several houses in the village until he found one owned by a 70-year-old woman,

who he considered an easy target. Anatoly broke into the house of the elderly woman just before dawn. He went straight for the bedroom and shot the woman in the head. Then he set fire to the house without bothering to steal anything. Anatoly later stated he took conscious action. to mislead the police. He considered them as adversaries and an obstacle on his path toward immortality. On the one hand, he needed to ensure they couldn't suspect him right away, and so he chose random victims. On the other hand, he wanted to make sure they would connect his

crimes to a single perpetrator so that he would be recognized for his deeds. Anatoly was adamant that both the police and the public notice him. Dr. Catherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology, writes that some killers relish the idea that, with press coverage, they can terrorize many more people. It expands their sense of power. Quite a few view themselves

as unique human specimens who deserve to be recognized for their uniqueness and studied. Anatoly wanted the newspapers, the public, and the police to panic. He was willing to go as far as it took to get the attention he wanted. After murdering the elderly woman,

in Odessa, Anatoly left without looking back. Four days later, he made his way to Malin, the town where he had once attended the College of Forestry. Anatoly's rampage began in places where he had once lived and worked, places which reminded him of how unhappy he had been growing up. By beginning his second killing spree in these towns, he was taking revenge on his past. It was a way of showing himself that he was no longer the weak man that had been ignored. there years before. In Malin, Anatoly deliberately taunted his victims for the first time.

While walking late at night, he came upon a couple having sex in their car. He retreated to the bushes on the side of the road and fired his gun through the car window, wounding the man. Instead of quickly and methodically finishing off his victim, as usual, Anatoly waited, confident the woman hadn't seen him. He watched her jump out of the car, hastily put on her clothes and run away. He assumed she went to find help, and he was excited at the prospect of killing anyone she brought back. But after a few minutes, the woman returned alone, probably afraid to leave the bleeding man by himself for too long. Anatoly shot the woman as she desperately tried to help the man out of the car. Then he emerged from the bushes and slit the man's throat.

He left the corpses on top of each other in the back seat, got in the car, and drove to his secluded location. He watched the car go up in flames, as he had done so many times before. After he escaped, Anatoly decided to bide his time before killing again. He waited to see if either of his murders would appear in the newspapers, or if police were already on his trail. Once again, he was disappointed. Because his crimes were executed at random, the police again did not connect his murder in Odessa with the killings in Malin. This led to Anatoly. This led to Anatoly. Formulating a rigid modus operandi, one that would instantly make his murders recognizable and connected from now on. He first tried out his new method a month after murdering the couple in the car.

It was now January of 1996, and it snowed nearly every day in Ukraine. Anatoly took advantage of the early darkness to stalk his next victims. He found a family of four, a man, his wife, and two children living in a remote house out of the same. outside of the village of Malin. Once the sun set, Anatoly crept up to the house and watched the family through the windows for hours in the bitter cold. He waited until the two children were in bed and the lights were out. Then he stood outside the house and threw stones softly against the front window. After a few minutes, the man of the house came outside to see what was going on. He

shined a flashlight into the night, but couldn't see a thing in the falling snow. Anatoly jumped from his hiding place at the side of the door and shot the man with his sawed-off shotgun. Before the man even hit the ground, Anatoly was inside the house. He moved from room to room, systematically checking for anyone still inside. Because he had spent hours watching through the windows,

he already knew where the man's wife and children slept. He attacked the children's mother first, stabbing her in the chest as she tried to run from him. Then he went after the children, stabbing them both in their bedroom. Confident that the house was too remote for anyone to have heard the noise, Anatoly took his time ransacking the house, stealing money and electronics. Once he finished, he soaked the first floor of the house in gasoline and set it a light. Anatoly escaped into the night while the fire blazed in his rearview mirror.

He claimed the voices spoke to him then, approving of his actions. on assuring him he was on the path to greatness. This murder method would become Anatoly's signature. He targeted the men of the house first, which he saw as his biggest threat, shooting them at a slight distance. Then, to minimize noise and conserve ammunition, he used a long hunting knife to kill any women

and finally, any children in the house. Anatoly said he trained himself with the help of the voices he heard to see his victims not as people, but as targets to be dispatched on his path toward immortality. He operated in a quick, methodical, and brutal fashion, in step with the military exercises he had been trained in years before. After killing the family of four outside Malin,

Anatoly was satisfied he had at last found the way towards what he called his great destiny. He decided he needed a place to stay to avoid suspicion and provide him with a base from which he could plan his future crimes. he sought out a distant relative. He remembered a cousin, Piotr, who he had some contact with when he was a young boy. Piotr lived in the town of Yavariv, not far from Anatoly's hometown of Lasky. Ukrainian culture is very family-centric. So when Anatoly showed up unannounced on Piotr's doorstep after decades, Piotr was overjoyed. He felt obligated to take care of his cousin Anatoly,

who told Piotr he was down on his luck and looking to change. his life. Piotr was happy to help. Anatoly took advantage of Piotr's generosity and moved into his house along with Piotr's wife, Yelena. Anatoly told his cousin he was looking for a job. He did his best to seem like a quiet man committed to cleaning up his act. Piotr was convinced, but Yelena was not. She was suspicious of Anatoly's tendency to disappear for days without any explanation and of the rifle he kept under his bed. After a couple of months, she demanded that Piotr tell Anatoly to leave. Piotr was conflicted. He felt responsible for his cousin and genuinely believed that Anatoly was trying to get back on his feet. But gradually, he too became uncomfortable with

Anatoly's strange behavior and argued with him repeatedly when Anatoly refused to get rid of the gun. Then Piotr found an unusual solution to the problem at hand. Anna Caza, a hairstylist who lived in the village. She was a hardworking single mother with two children who was easy to get along with. Piotr thought the two would make a good match. He hosted a family party and introduced Anna to Anatoly. They got along well, and much to Piotr's delight, started dating.

Only a couple weeks after meeting Anna, Anatoly left Piotr's house and moved in with her. Once he moved in, Anatoly committed to his new role as man of the house, and affectionate father figure to Anna's two children. He told Anna that he was a businessman and traveled for work. He began disappearing for days at a time, but always brought back money, so Anna had no reason to doubt his story.

She also badly needed the money to support her children. Anna had escaped an abusive relationship a few years before, and Anatoly was gentle and loving to her. She cherished their relationship. Of course, Anatole was not true. traveling for business. He was systematically expanding his murderous rampage to every corner of Ukraine. Despite the multitudes of murders he had committed already, Anatoly's reign of terror had just begun. Next week, we'll continue to delve into Anatoly's increasingly brutal killing spree and the

many attempts of the Ukrainian police to catch him, culminating in the largest manhunt in Ukrainian history. Anatoly ensured his crimes would be forever remembered, not just in Ukraine, but throughout the entire world. Next week, we'll continue delving into the twisted psyche of Anatoly Onoprienko and discover the heinous crimes that earned him the nickname, The Terminator. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. We'll be back Monday with a new episode. You can find more episodes of serial killers, as well as all the parcasts, other podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, CastBox,

tune in, or your favorite podcast directory. Several of you have asked how to help the show. And if you enjoy the show, the best way to help us is to leave a five-star review. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast and Twitter at Parcast Network. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week.

Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler, is a production of Cutler Media and is part of the Parcast Network. It is produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound designed by Russell Nash, with production assistants by Ron Shapiro and Paul Mahler. Additional production assistance by Carly Madden and Maggie Admire. Serial Killers is written by Terrell Wells and stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson. Want to hear something? Spooky.

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