Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - "The Werewolf" Mikhail Popkov

Episode Date: February 3, 2022

At a young age, Mikhail Popkov developed a deeply misogynistic view of the world. As an adult, he used his power as a police officer to act on these feelings, murdering women he deemed to be morally defunct. By the time he was finally caught, he’d claimed over 80 lives and become one of Russia’s worst serial killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode contains discussions of murder, torture, rape, assault, and necrophilia. We advise extreme caution for listeners under 13. In the summer of 1999, a group of mushroom foragers picked their way through the woods of southern Russia, near Lake Baikal. It had been a dry month, so the friends had to venture deep into the forest to find the precious fungi. Their efforts hadn't been in vain, though. one of the group members let out an excited yell as they discovered a trove of morels under a mossy log.

The elated band knelt down to gather their treasure when one of them heard something odd. It sounded like a wounded animal, struggling to breathe. Curious, the group went to investigate. They pushed through the foliage, stepping over leaves and fallen branches, until they came upon a horrifying sight. Lying in the brush was a woman,

no older than 18, she was naked and mutilated, with hundreds of puncture wounds all over her body and a bloody gash in her head. It was like she'd been attacked by some vicious animal, but a closer look told another story. The woman's neck was purple and raw, ringed in bruises, the size of two human hands. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is serial killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're investigating Mikhail Popkov, Russia's werewolf killer. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson.

Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. In the first part of this episode, we'll explore Popkov's childhood trauma and trace is misogyny-fueled killing spree that claimed the lives of over 80 women. Later, we'll see how police ignored signs that one of their own was a killer and watch as technological advances finally bring Popkov's decades-long rampage to an end. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by Shopify.

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inspired by Rio's nude beach with cheeky bikini. or caps your sun-kissed bliss with immonada gelada, where zesty Brazilian lemonade accord meets coconut milk and golden brown sugar. Don't miss Sol de Janeiro's limited edition perfume mist collection only at Sephora. Most of us like to think we're a decent judge of character. We study a person's actions, their relationships, maybe what they do for work,

and draw conclusions about who they are. If a man shows himself to be a good person in one aspect of his life, we can usually assume him to be good enough. other ways as well. But some men aren't like this. Some have monsters hidden deep inside of them, the kind that only comes out at night. Mihail Popkov was, by all appearances, an exemplary person. He was a caring husband, an attentive father, and a decorated police officer.

But when the sun went down and his loved one stopped watching, he transformed into someone else, someone who liked to hunt women, to make them suffer, make them bleed. But though it's easy to see how and why Popkov got away with his horrific crimes for so long, it's also important to examine where his killer urges came from, because his life started out like so many others. Popkov was born in 1964, in one of the northernmost cities on earth, a frigid little town called Norilsk in what was then the Soviet Union. Not much is known about Popkov's early childhood, but according to him, one of his formative experiences occurred when he was about five years old.

Around that time, Popkov's parents moved over a thousand miles south to Angarsk, leaving the young boy with his grandmother. When he finally rejoined his family in the new city, he was shocked to discover that his mother had given birth to another child, his sister, Lena. Popkov felt betrayed by his parents. Not only had they left him behind, but they had changed the family without including him. He was extremely jealous of how much attention Lena received, but figured he could win back his parents' love with obedience and good grades.

Popkov studied hard in school and even used his recess break to finish up homework. His strong work ethic endured as he grew older. At age eight, he started working alongside his father, digging graves in the cemetery. As he entered his teenage years, Popkov decided to take on a career of his own and became a mechanic. By 1981, 17-year-old Popkov had a job at a petrochemical company. He was earning money and preparing to move out of his parents' house. When he did something many teenagers do, he fell in love.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly for Popkov. He had a girlfriend and a solid career path ahead of him. He couldn't be happier. But then he got some life-altering news. He was being conscripted into the army. His girlfriend was a realist and told him in no uncertain terms that she would not wait for him. Nevertheless, Popkov held out hope for the entire two years he was gone. When he was finally demobilized in the mid-1980s, he returned to Angarsk and showed up on the girl's doorstep, eager to continue their relationship.

But true to her word, she'd married six. someone else. Popkov was heartbroken. After years spent dreaming of the day he'd be reunited with his first love, here he was alone. He tried to cheer himself up by thinking of the people who still cared for him. He stopped to buy a bouquet of flowers for his mother and set off for home. However, when he walked into the house, he was met with a jarring sight. In the living room, he saw his mother having sex with one of his father's friends. Meanwhile, his dad had passed out nearby. Seeing that, Popkov likely concluded that he'd walked in on his mother cheating on his father. However, that wasn't the case. His father not only knew about the act,

but he'd participated before Popkov arrived. Regardless, Popkov couldn't get over the shocking revelation. He was revolted by his mother's behavior, which he deemed to be immoral. According to Popkov, the experience kick-started a deep distrust of women, as well as a disgust for any expression of their sexuality. Vanessa is going to take over in the psychology here and throughout the episode. As a reminder, she is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg.

Psychologists have noted a number of negative emotional and behavioral consequences for children who experience parental infidelity. In a 2016 study, Doctor of Psychology Crystal Sanchez found that these kids often experienced feelings of disgust, anger, and a loss of respect for their parent. The research subjects also reported that the discovery impacted their own intimate relationships. They were more likely to suspect their partner of cheating and, in general, had an overly pessimistic view of romantic love. Similar to the test subjects, Popkov's developmental experiences with his mother influenced

his perspective on relationships. He decided that women were inherently evil beings. But then, in early 1986, at the age of 22, Mihail Popkov came across someone he thought was different, special. That woman was 20-year-old Yelena Mishirova. The two met while cross-country skiing, which was a popular winter activity in the area. And although they hit it off immediately, there was one problem. Yelena already had a boyfriend.

Luckily for Popkov, his competition had yet to return from the Army. army. This time, Popkov was the suitor who stayed in town and got the girl. He and Yelana dated for just four months before marrying that June. In preparation for their new life, he moved out of his parents' house and into the apartment Yelena shared with her grandmother. Soon after, the newlyweds welcomed their daughter, Eccaterina, whom they affectionately called Katya. Things were looking up for the young family and got even better when one day Popkov ran into a former classmate. They got to be a former classmate. They got to talking and the man mentioned that he was working as a police officer, Popkov was intrigued.

In the Soviet Union, police were respected and feared throughout the community. They had a reputation for doing what they wanted, for shooting first and asking questions later. Popkov liked the idea of such unequivocal power. As an officer, he'd be the judge of what was right and was wrong. His interest peaked. He asked his own friend for more details. The salary was 10 rubles less than Popkov's current job, but the work schedule was much more convenient. He was sold. He quit his job and enrolled in a months-long police academy training program.

The program included psychological evaluation to determine if candidates were fit for service. Popkov passed the exam, but those administering the test identified some disturbing character traits. They noted that Popkov had... a tendency towards conflict and a hostile attitude. The test also suggested that he displayed a moral instability and a general disregard for behavioral norms. What might seem like a litany of red flags didn't disqualify him from becoming a member of the police force.

And in July of 1987, Popkov was sworn in as a full-fledged officer. From there, the future looked bright. Popkov had an impressive new career and a beautiful family. For the next five years, things seemed solid, and the Popkovs appeared to be happy. But one fateful day in 1992, this illusion of stability was shattered. Every year on March 8, Russia celebrates International Women's Day, one of the most important national holidays. That year, on the eve of the celebration, 28-year-old Mikhail Popkov, returned home early to congratulate his wife and daughter, as was custom. When he arrived, Popkov noticed something.

strange. His five-year-old daughter, Katya, was standing outside in the freezing cold. She said a man had come by with cake and flowers, and her mother had asked Katya to give them some privacy. When Popkov walked into the house, his eyes fell on a scene that would transport him back in time and reignite an anger so powerful that it couldn't be contained. Coming up, Mihail Popkov hunts the women of Angarsk. Love. It's been the subject of poems, novels, music, and film. It's also been the driving force behind some of the most horrendous crimes in history. Hi, I'm Vanessa Richardson. Join me for Season 2 of Criminal Couples and meet the lovers who took their passion to perilous lengths. Featuring standout episodes from female criminals, serial killers, solved murders, and crimes of passion. This season of criminal couples gets to the heart of what makes two turn to a life of murderous crime. Some couples were set off by revenge or greed.

Others were fueled by sex and drugs. All acted in the name of love. Discover the darker side of desire in season two of the Spotify original from Parcast, Criminal Couples. Follow for free and tune in every Monday only on Spotify. Every outfit starts with a choice. What am I wearing underneath? Something comfortable?

And let's be honest, something that keeps everything looking smooth. That's where Vanity Fair lingerie comes in. Their new smoothing wireless bra has four-way stretch fabric for all over smoothing, soft lightly lined cups for a natural shape, and no wire comfort that last all day. All over smooth, all-day comfort, vanity fair lingerie. Find yours at Target today. Now back to the story. In 1992, 28-year-old Mihail Popkov's life seemed perfect.

He had a loving family and a well-respected job as a police officer. One day that March, he came home early to find his five-year-old daughter standing out in the cold. Young Katya said her mother was in the house with a man. Popkov's stomach dropped. He was immediately reminded at the time he had walked in on his mother having sex when he was a teen. He staled himself for what he might find. Then, flung open the door. Inside, he flew into a rage and accused his wife of cheating on him.

According to Popkov, he dug through the trash and found two used condoms. Yelena denied any wrongdoing and insisted they were left by a friend who'd recently stayed the night. Despite Yelena's protests of innocence, Popkov couldn't let the issue go. That night, he got wildly drunk and dreamt of hurting his wife. Although he stopped questioning Yelena about the incident, he dwelt on it all the same. He didn't understand how she could do this to him. He thought she was different. He quickly spiraled out of control.

Popkov began to obsess over thoughts of killing his wife, but resisted the temptation. Instead of taking his rage out on Yelena, he looked for another woman to punish. And one night after work, he found one. We don't know much about Popkov's first victim, but based on a number of similar accounts, we've constructed a likely scenario. However, it's important to note that this is just educated guesswork. While driving by a nightclub in his police car, Popkov noticed an intoxicated woman walking alone. He seethed inside.

He wondered what she was doing out so late, clearly drunk. On a whim, he pulled over and offered her a ride. reassured by Popkov's police uniform, she got into the car. The conversation likely started off innocent enough, but soon, things took a turn. Popkov claims the woman took a swing at him, and he reacted reflexively, knocking her out cold. Looking down at her unconscious form, he started to panic. His thoughts raced and his hands went clammy. He didn't know what to do.

He could dump her on the side of the road, but she'd seen his face and would probably report him to the police. He knew he'd get fired if that happened. He thought about taking her to the hospital, but that would also lead to questions and potential punishment. Feeling backed into a corner, Popkov decided there was only one thing he could do. He resolved to teach the woman a lesson, to teach all women a lesson. They couldn't hurt him anymore. So he picked up his police baton and hit the woman again and again. Afterwards, he drove deep into the Siberian wilderness. When they were far enough from the city that no one would hear her screams,

he pulled over and shoved her out of the car. As she regained consciousness, Popkov retrieved a blade of some kind from the vehicle and attacked. As he hacked and slashed and stabbed, he imagined the various women in his life and thought about their disgusting behavior. He saw his mother getting drunk on cheap vodka and fornicating with his father's friend. He saw his wife having sex with her co-worker while their daughter waited outside. He didn't know the woman at his feet, but surely she was just as awful as the women he did know.

Hurting her felt good. Finally, he could make someone pay for their sins. When his victim was dead, Popkov dumped her naked body in the forest, not even bother. to bury her. He checked his police car and cleared out any possible evidence. Then the deed done, Popkov simply went home like nothing had happened. Hours passed, then days. Popkov waited nervously for the police to show up at his door, or for his wife to ask him where he'd been that night. Anything. But that never happened. Even if the woman's body was found, no one asked Popkov a single question about that night. Popkal found that getting away with murder was thrilling. He kept going

over the evening in his mind, savoring the details. He couldn't decide if he should feel guilty or not. After all, as a police officer, he was supposed to prevent crimes, not commit them. But eventually, he told himself that any self-respecting woman wouldn't be out late drinking and getting into strange man's cars. Women with such poor morals needed to be punished. With this reasoning, Popkov decided that he'd done the city a favor, cleaning up the streets of, quote, fallen women. In the end, he concluded that the best thing he could do for society was to do it again. And so he resolved to hunt women regularly.

Pop Cobb began to live a double life. During the day, he was a model husband, father, and police officer. But at night, when he was off duty, he was something else entirely. He would don't his uniform and sit in his cop car, waiting outside of places he might find inebriated women, bars, clubs, restaurants. Once he honed in on a target, he'd offer her a ride home. Sometimes he'd offer her alcohol or sex. Occasionally, if the woman behaved in a way he deemed proper,

basically if they refused to drink or sleep with him, he'd let her live. He might even escort her home or help her carry her bags inside. But women who accepted his offers of sex or alcohol, who were friendly, trusting, or open to a good time, weren't so lucky. He'd bashed them over the head, drive them into the middle of the woods, and hack them to pieces. Popkov was proud of his after-hours work

and started calling himself the cleaner. And though his victims were random, his methods were very intentional. He kept condoms in his glove compartment to use with willing women before he killed them. Other times he forced himself onto his victims. Sometimes he even had sex with their dead bodies. Popkov also started taking confiscated weapons from the police station. He stashed things like keys, screwdrivers, or knives under the front seat of his car. The trunk was for bigger tools, like an axe or a baseball bat. When he finished with a selected weapon, he'd wipe his fingerprints clean and leave it near the crime scene.

Over three years, Popkov continued to claim victims, sometimes several a month. His crimes got more and more violent. In one case, it was rumored he even cut out a woman's heart. Finally, after dozens of women went missing, the people of Angarsk started to talk. They were convinced there was a killer amongst them. They dubbed him the werewolf because of how brutally he mangled his victims. However, the police shut down. these concerns. They insisted that local gangs were to blame for the uptick in crime,

not a serial killer, but the community wasn't convinced. Popkov used the widespread fear about the werewolf to his advantage. If a woman turned down his offer to escort them home, he'd remind them that it wasn't safe for them outside. This twisted strategy worked. Popkov continued his rampage for the next six years, sometimes killing several women each week. On a few occasions, he was even called to the scene of his own crime. In these instances, he sat back and watched higher-ranked detectives, search in vain for evidence he knew didn't exist. As he got away with murder after murder,

Popkov started to feel bulletproof, until one day in 1998 when he finally made a mistake. On January 26, 1998, 17-year-old, Svetlana Misiavichis was walking home from a friend's house. It was a cold night, below zero. Svetlana could barely feel her fingers, so when a police officer pulled over and asked if she wanted a ride, she gratefully accepted. She huddled over the car's heater, warming her stiff fingers.

She couldn't believe her luck, an officer was personally escorting her home. But when he passed her house without stopping, she didn't feel so lucky anymore. She asked the officer where they were going, thinking perhaps he'd made a mistake. He didn't respond. A wave of dread twisted in her stomach.

In ominous silence, the man drove Svetlana out to the middle of the woods and instructed her to get out of the car. Then, despite the frigid temperatures, he demanded she take off her clothes. The next thing she knew, the man was smashing her head against a tree. She fell to the ground and he tried to force himself onto her. Somehow Svetlana managed to crawl up. out from under him and run to the car, but she didn't have the keys, disoriented from the blows to her head but determined to keep her life, she ran. Eventually, Svetlana came to the road and

spotted an elderly man walking his dog. This was it. This was her chance to escape. She ran after him, but the man refused to help. As she watched the man walk further and further away, Svetlana didn't know what to do. Shivering uncontrollably, she ducked behind a bush and waited for a car to pass. Finally, headlights. She waved desperately at the car, begging them to stop. They came to a halt, and the driver came into view. It was Popkov. The killer cop attacked Svetlana again, even more brutally this time. He tore out half her hair and mutilated her so badly that it paralyzed half her body. Once he was through with her, he left her bloody, naked, and freezing on the side of the road.

Popkov assumed that the cold, coupled with her injuries, would finish off Svetlana by morning. He was wrong. The next day, she was found and taken to a nearby hospital. When she arrived, the staff thought she must be dead and sent her to the morgue. When the teenager came two, she spotted a toe tag on the body next to her

before losing consciousness again. Thankfully, the next time she woke up, it was in a hospital bed with her mother by her side. Despite facing a long road to recovery, Svetlana was determined to identify the man who so brutally attacked her. She reported the incident to police and told them the person responsible for her suffering was one of their own. When they showed her a photo of Mihail Popkov,

she confirmed that he was her attacker. But to Svetlana's dismay, the authorities refused to act. At this time, the culture of... still heavily favored and protected officers. As a result, Popkov wasn't even suspended. That meant he was free to use his disguise as a cop to kill and kill again. Up next, technological advancements finally help bring down the werewolf killer. This episode is brought to you by Prime.

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may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating, rumbling, and abdominal discomfort. Now back to the story. By December of 1998, police officer Mihail Popkov had killed dozens of women in the Russian city of Angarsk. His latest victim, 17-year-old Svetlana Misiwiczewicz, had miraculously survived and was resolved to bring him to justice. But the police were less than helpful.

Despite Svetlana's testimony against Popkov, it took months for them to investigate the incident. When detectives finally interviewed Popkov, he laughed off the allegations as a joke, and when they asked his wife Yelena about the attack, she said he'd been with her all night. With Yelena's alibi in hand, police concluded, that Svetlana must be confused because of her head injuries. So the investigation was cut short and sent to the archives. Even so, Popkov didn't want to push his luck. Svetlana had come too close to unraveling everything.

After that, he retired from policing and began selling cars instead. But he made sure to keep his badge. It was too convenient a way to get women to trust him. The investigation into Popkov's attack on Svetlana may have ended prematurely. but it had far-reaching consequences. In fact, when mushroom foragers found 18-year-old Yebginya Protasova half dead in the woods the next summer, she decided not to report the incident.

She'd seen what happened to victims when they tried to fight back against the police. Meanwhile, Popkov continued his killing spree. After the close call with Svetlana, he'd gotten more careful, but he also became more ambitious. He knew that the police would weigh his words more heavily than that of his victims, and he was ready for a challenge. On the night of June 2,000, Popkov was on the hunt. As he sat in his car listening to the radio, he noticed women walking by.

Marina Lijina and Lillia Pashkovskaya had a lot in common. They were in their mid-30s and worked at the same shop in Angarsk. They also had teenage daughters waiting for them at home. On this particular evening, they'd gone to visit Marina's sister nearby. When they left around midnight, they considered ordering a taxi, but changed their minds. It was a mild summer night, and a walk sounded relaxing. On their way home, Popkov pulled up beside them and offered them a ride. He showed them his badge and said he was an off-duty police officer.

We don't know why Marina and Lilia agreed to get into the car. What we do know is that they soon found themselves stranded in the woods, like so many women before them, with the werewolf killer. Once there, Popkov killed one of the women. Seeing what had happened to her friend, the other ran into the forest before he could get to her. Popkov had never handled two victims at once and wasn't prepared for something like this to happen,

but he couldn't risk another police investigation. He caught up to the fleeing woman and stabbed her so many times that the forest floor was stained red. With his bloody deed finished, Popkov cleaned himself up and drove home. It wasn't until he tucked his own teenage daughter into bed that he realized he was missing something very important, something that could bring his entire murder spree to an end.

Mihail Popkov had dropped his police badge at the scene of the crime. Frantic, he left home and drove to the clearing where he'd butchered his latest victims. When he arrived, he was relieved to see he'd gotten there before the authorities. Popkov retraced his steps along the forest floor, gleefully reliving the previous night's killings. He quickly found his badge nestled amongst the fallen leaves. As he walked back to his car, an unexpected noise caught his attention. One of his victims was still breathing.

Popkov was impressed. He'd left her for dead hours ago, but he wasn't one to leave loose ends. He grabbed a shovel from his car and finished the job. Afterwards, he'd checked the crime scene for a crime scene for a while. any other evidence, then headed to work. Marina and Lelia were found days later. As with so many of the murders, the police couldn't find any clues about their killer. Once again, Popkov walked away unscathed. He felt untouchable.

For the next ten years, Popkov continued to terrorize the women of Angarsk, scattering their bodies across the area. The public became so frustrated with the mismanagement of the case that eventually, Eventually, they suspected the authorities might be on the murderer's side. Finally, in 2011, the police seemed to acknowledge that they needed a different strategy. So they assigned the growing case to a new investigation team. Looking through all the evidence, the squad quickly noticed something investigators had overlooked until now. As a former cop, Popkov knew how to get rid of evidence, but he'd forgotten about one crucial

detail, his tire tracks, fresh-eyed, detectives spotted the same tracks in multiple crime scene photos and started connecting the dots. They sent the photos in for closer analysis and experts determined that they were made by a Lada 4x4, an off-road vehicle often used by law enforcement officers. In the light of this discovery, the team reconsidered Svetlana Mysievich's testimony, that she was attacked by a policeman. Maybe she'd been telling the truth all along. Investigators decided to question the 3,500 current and former officers who had been on duty since the murders first began 20 years ago.

In March of 2012, it was Popkov's turn. Popkov was calm as he made his way to the familiar station. He'd evaded capture for this long. One more interview wouldn't make a difference, but there was one thing he didn't anticipate. Since he'd quit the force in 1998, scientific advancements had made DNA testing widely available, and the new team was utilizing this technology. They'd taken semen samples from the werewolf's crime scenes to compare against saliva samples from the officers they spoke with. When Popkov arrived for his evaluation, investigators requested to swab the inside of his mouth.

He panicked and asked what would happen if he refused the test. Although he ultimately agreed to the swab, that hesitancy was concerning. So when Popkov left the building, they assigned an officer to tail him. Popkov's first stop after the police station was to a lawyer's office. This only made him look more suspicious, but it wasn't enough to make a move. So for the next few weeks, investigators continued watching Popkov, biting their time while they waited for the DNA results to come in. Finally, in June of that year, they got their answer. The samples matched. They'd found their werewolf.

The authorities sprang into action and caught up to pop. Popkov while he was on a train to Vladivostok. When questioned, he initially confessed to three murders, but as the investigation continued, that number rose to 22. As he spoke to investigators, Popkov described many of his killings in detail and seemed proud of what he'd done. He told police he wanted to, quote, cleanse the streets of prostitutes, a claim made somewhat less credible by the fact that

none of his victims were believed to be sex workers. While detectives interrogated Popkov, prosecutors wrote up formal charges. But before he could be tried in court, he needed to pass a psychological evaluation. A forensic sexologist concluded that, though his actions seemed insane, Popkov was fully aware of what he was doing. So he went to trial. With the evidence against him and his confessions on record, it was hardly surprising that Popkov was found guilty.

In January of 2015, he was sentenced to life in prison. He was slated to live out his days at the Black Dolphin, a remote penal colony on the border of Kazakhstan, that holds Russia's most sadistic criminals. Despite the rock-solid case against him, Popkov's guilt wasn't evident to everyone. His wife and daughter refused to believe the charges. They spoke to news outlets and went on TV

telling anyone who would listen that he wasn't a killer. Popkov's wife, Yelena, said she always felt safe around her husband, and if he was released, she'd continue to live with him. No questions asked. His daughter Katya even told a reporter that she wanted to try and solve the crimes herself to prove her father's innocence. Yelena and Katya's denial in the face of overwhelming evidence represents a psychological effect known as cognitive dissonance. This concept theorized by social psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s dictates that humans have a natural desire for logical consistency between their beliefs and their actions. When these two things don't line up, we experience cognitive dissonance.

She even lied to the police when Svetlana Misyvicius identified him as her attacker. When she was confronted with the idea that her husband was actually a serial killer, she wasn't willing to change her beliefs to match reality, because if she did, that meant she'd help a murderer go free, and she would never do something like that. Meanwhile, Popkov didn't make it any easier for Yelena and Katya to defend him. Although he already had one life sentence on his head, he continued to confess to more brutal crimes over the next several years. Some believe he did this to increase his kill count and secure his spot among the ranks

of Russia's worst serial killers. Others think he wanted to extend his time in pretrial detention, ahead of the Black Dolphin Penal Colony, where the living conditions were much worse. Regardless of Popkov's true goal, his additional admissions led to another trial in December of 2018. This time he was convicted of 56 more murders and given a second life sentence. The court also stripped him of his police rank. As of 2020, Popkov still resides at the Black Dolphin, where he was put to work making face masks during the coronavirus pandemic. Mihail Popkov was dubbed the werewolf killer because of how violently he maimed his victims.

But the moniker fits in more ways than one. Like his namesake, Popkov lived a double life. By day, he was a devoted husband, father, and policeman. But at night, he transformed into something his loved ones couldn't even recognize. So which was the real Popkov, the man or the werewolf? the answer isn't so simple. While it might be comforting to believe in monsters, the truth is some men are just as capable of violence,

even if we can't see it. And when you think about it, that's more terrifying than any creature from your nightmares could ever be. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back soon with a new episode. For more information on Mihail Popkov, amongst the many sources we used, we found deserted place,

How Maniacs are caught in Russia by Sasha Suleem extremely helpful to our research. You can find more episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cutler, sound designed by Michael Motion, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Joshua Kern. This episode of serial killers was written by Danny Messerschmitt,

with writing assistants by Natalie Pertsovsky and Joel Callan, fact-checking by Kara McElhline, and research by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood. Serial killers stars Greg Paulson and Vanessa Richardson. It's been said that love is a many-splendered thing. That is, until it's not. In season two of criminal couples, discover true stories of couples who turned their love lives into a life of crime. Lies and deceit are just the beginning. Follow the Spotify original from Parcast, Criminal Couples. Catch new episodes every Monday, free and only on Spotify.

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