Caught killing 14 people, Russian serial killer Elena Labacheva, who claimed the murders were inspired by Hollywood movie ‘Bride of Chucky’ and boasted that killing brings her sexual pleasure, was sentenced to 13 years in jail in Moscow.
Naming herself ‘Bride of Chucky’, Lobacheva was in a gang with four male accomplices who call themselves ‘butchers’. This ruthless gang had killed 14 homeless people and drunken men for fun, claiming the murders were to ‘cleanse’ the streets of Moscow.
Lobacheva claimed to have been inspired by the 1998 Hollywood horror movie ‘Bride of Chucky’, about a possessed doll killing people in a terrifying occult way, but also hero-worshipped notorious Russian serial killer Alexander Pichushkin. Among the 14 cruel murders, she admitted committing half of them.
It is reported that there was no evidence to prove Lobacheva had taken the last stab to end the victims’ life in three murders; hence she was only sentenced with 13 years of jail despite the ill-reputed crimes.
After her arrest, she told police that "randomly stabbing the body of a dying human brought her sexual pleasure". She and the four ‘butchers’ stabbed a drunken carpenter 171 times with a knife, while some other victims were battered to death with hammers.
The gang’s leader Pavel Voitov, 23, said of Lobacheva that she clearly enjoyed the bloody scene and murder. "She laughed as we killed, it was clear as day that she loved it," he said.
Pavel Voitov was sentenced to life imprisonment, while three other accomplices, aged from 19 to 25, would be jailed from 9 rs to 16 years.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione, suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEOBrian Thompson, contested his extradition to New York at a court hearing Tuesday, though it isn’t expected to delay legal proceedings significantly.
Little new information has come out about a possible motive, though writings found in Mangione’s possession hinted at a hatred of corporate greed. He remains jailed in Pennsylvania.
Here's the latest:
Among the items recovered by investigators was a spiral notebook, a law enforcement official said.
Luigi Nicholas Mangione described the notebook in a three-page handwritten letter police in Pennsylvania found when they arrested him, writing that it would contain clues about the attack.
“The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it,” Mangione wrote, according to the official.
The law enforcement official was not authorized to disclose information about the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
— Michael R. Sisak
An X account linked to Mangione includes recent posts about the negative effect of smartphones on children; healthy eating and exercise habits; psychological theories; and a quote from Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti about the dangers of becoming “well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
In addition to a three-page, handwritten document that suggests he harbored “ill will toward corporate America,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny has said Mangione also had a ghost gun, a type of weapon that can be assembled at home and is difficult to trace.
Officers questioned Mangione, who was acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Officers also found a sound suppressor, or silencer, “consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” she said.
He had clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter and a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching one the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, the commissioner said.
Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, according to Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for a “co-living” space in Honolulu where the suspect lived in 2022.
Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment. An image posted to a social media account linked to Mangione showed what appeared to be an X-ray of a metal rod and multiple screws inserted into someone’s lower spine.
His grandfather was a self-made real estate developer and philanthropist.
“Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland Del. Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”
From January to June 2022, Luigi Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Honolulu. Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin, said he was widely considered a “great guy,” though he had long dealt with severe back pain that interfered with many aspects of his life.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Mangione mostly stared straight ahead during Tuesday's hearing in Pennsylvania, occasionally consulting papers, rocking in his chair, or looking back at the gallery. At one point, he began to speak to respond to the court discussion but was quieted by his lawyer.
Judge David Consiglio denied bail to Mangione, whose attorney, Thomas Dickey, told the court his client did not agree to extradition and wants a hearing on the matter.
Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said that although Mangione will create “extra hoops” for law enforcement to jump through by fighting extradition, it won’t be a substantial barrier to sending him to New York.
This booking photo provided by Pennsylvania Department of Corrections on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, shows shows Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Pennsylvania Department of Corrections via AP)
Luigi Nicholas Mangione is escorted into Blair County Courthouse, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Gary M. Baranec)
Suspect Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa. (Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
