Actor of the same role: how blood, missing shoe and DNA helped to find the "maniac from VGIK"

More than 20 years later, investigators found a maniac who operated in Moscow and the Moscow region in 2002. He turned out to be a former VGIK student, an undergraduate actor Alexei Gaskov, who was involved in the murders of seven women, two underage girls and a man. The case was able to get off the ground thanks to DNA testing, and as a result, the court sentenced Gaskov to life imprisonment. He himself claimed to have committed more than 100 murders, but it was not possible to confirm these words. The details of the story are in the "Izvestia" material.

The first arrest

Alexey Gaskov attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies back in 2003. At that time, in the industrial city of Berdsk in the Novosibirsk region, they were looking for the murderer of a young girl whose body was found in her own apartment. ""The investigators found out who was the last to visit the victim, and they found a "man born in 1975," who, according to the prosecutor's office, "was related to creative circles."

The visitor turned out to be Alexei Gaskov, a graduate student who had recently returned to his hometown. He was detained and arrested. Novosibirsk investigators found out that Gaskov had been living in Moscow for several months, contacted colleagues in the capital and learned that in the fall of 2002, 23-year-old Agnes Santisteban, niece of the adviser to the President of Peru, was killed and raped in Khimki.

However, the matter stalled there. It was not possible to prove Gaskov's involvement in both crimes. Soon, the operatives detained another man, the so—called "Berdsky maniac", who had been killing and raping girls since 1999.

It turned out to be Mikhail Yudin, Gaskov's friend. Although the investigation suspected that the friends could have committed the crime together, but in the end all charges against Gaskov were dropped. However, the man did not stay at large for long. In 2007, he was sentenced to 10 years and 3 months for raping an 11-year–old girl, the daughter of his acquaintance. He was released from prison in December 2016.

The verdict after 24 years

In 2024, investigators resumed investigating the murders and rapes of girls in Moscow and the Moscow region. After comparing the DNA traces left at the sites, they found that one person was involved in the series of episodes. Since the data of the previously convicted Alexei Gaskov was already in the forensic databases, he was quickly identified. A resident of Berdsk was detained again and proved guilty of the murders 22 years later.

According to the investigation, Gaskov came to Moscow to enroll in the VGIK. He studied at the university for only six months and was expelled after the first session for absenteeism and drunkenness. The failed film actor committed his first crime in the spring of 2002. In total, from March to November, Gaskov killed and raped seven young women and two underage girls, as well as stabbed a man. He killed two people in the city's Pushkino Park within a few hours of each other. According to "Izvestia", Gaskov came there to work on the rides.

Judging by the case file, Gaskov tried to choose victims in parks, got to know them and took them to deserted places. He first strangled and stabbed some of the girls. He killed others after the rape to hide what he had done.

After his arrest, Gaskov actively cooperated with the investigation: he confessed, described in detail and showed how he committed crimes. He even claimed that he had committed more than 100 murders, but the investigation did not find any confirmation of his words.

According to "Izvestia", in addition to the confession of the maniac himself, the investigation relied on the testimony of his old acquaintances, including the same Mikhail Yudin, who was sentenced to life in prison. " " He remembered drinking with a friend after his return to Berdsk, and he told me that in Moscow "he had a "mulatto chocolate bar." Yudin also saw a friend pull out a torn gold chain with a pendant from his pocket during a trip to get another bottle.

Another witness said that Gaskov returned to the dormitory one day covered in mud and blood, with bruises and without one shoe. He explained that he was attacked by a group of young men. Two weeks later, the man left Moscow. The episode coincided with the murder of Agnes Santisteban.

The main evidence was a biological examination. Her results confirmed that Gaskov was involved in the murders and rapes.

During the investigation, it also became clear that the man had been systematically sexually abusing his underage stepdaughter for several years. The victim confirmed the circumstances of the incident.

On September 28, the Moscow Regional Court sentenced Gaskov to life imprisonment in a special regime colony. He was found guilty of murdering ten people, raping, indecent assault and involving a minor in alcohol consumption.