MURDER: The Laughing Cannibal of Russia

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 Vladimir Nikolayevich Nikolayev, was born on March 16, 1959, in Novocheboksarsk, USSR. There is not much known about his early childhood or family. What we can find is that he was in and out of prison for much of his life. He was sentenced mostly for theft and robbery. Friends said that he was an alcoholic, unsociable, and liked to cause arguments and be rowdy. Nikolayev was not a sociable person.

His life was spent more incarcerated than free. The few months he had between sentences were used to commit the next crimes that would get him jailed. The stints out of jail were usually two or three months. The longest one he had was seven months in 1997, in which he committed these murders.

Vladimir Nikolayev's mug shot at the time of his arrest in 1997 (Russian Police)

FIRST MURDER AN ACCIDENT

The first kill was a complete accident. During an alcoholic argument, Nikolayev hit his neighbors while arguing over light for a cigarette. They started a fist fight and the neighbors fell to the floor unconscious. 

After the punching, he took the unconscious friend to his home and tried to revive him. Nikolayev tried everything to wake up his acquaintance. He punched him in the face two times and threw some cold water on his face. However, he would not wake up!

When he realized that the acquaintance was dead, not unconscious, Nikolayev started panicking. He started to dismember the body. He cut off the man's head, arms, and legs. At the same time, the haphazard killer also decided that he would cut a chunk of the dead man's leg and taste it.

Nikolayev boiled the piece of thigh meat. He did not like the taste of it and decided to cook it another way. This time, he fried it. It must have tasted quite good, as Nikolayev later claimed he also tried it with potatoes. Nikolayev was so enthusiastic for the taste of human flesh that he also shared a piece to his friend. Unfortunately, the friend was not aware that he was eating parts of a dead man. He took it home to his wife who to make dumplings for her husband, herself, and their children.

SECOND MURDER

The second time that Nikolayev killed was intentional. He was craving more human flesh, and he murdered another one of his drinking companions. This time, he ate portions of his victim, and cut pieces to sell at an open market.

It is alleged that he sold around 5 kilograms of the human flesh at an open market and passed it off as "exotic kangaroo meat". He used the money from the sale to buy more booze.

EXPOSED BY THE NEIGHBOURS

He was finally caught when the woman that made the dumplings got suspicious by the strange odour coming from the meat. Nikolayev passed it off as tenderloin meat, and she proudly shared it to the neighbors. However, when her and her husband tried the given food, it was such an off-putting scent that she decided to take it to a doctor for testing. This is when they found traces of human blood, and then concluded that it was human meat.

SENTENCING

The authorities were informed, and Vladimir Nikolayevich was arrested on suspicion of murder. He confessed quite shortly after that. In 1997, the Supreme Court of the Chuvash Republic, in Cheboksary, sentenced him to death. In 1999, the death penalty was abolished in Russia and his sentence was changed to life in prison.

After 25 years of sitting in jail, Nikolayev decided that he would apply for a pardon. This means that he would try to apply for freedom this year. He is currently serving his prison sentence in the notorious Black Dolphin penal colony. It is on the border of Russia with Kazakhstan, and it is one of the oldest prisons in Russia. 

Nikolayev showing his tattoos at Black Dolphin Prison (National Geographic)

At Black Dolphin Prison, inmates are kept isolated in cells behind three steel doors. They are allowed 90 minute of exercise in steel cages, and are under surveillance 24 hours per day. The inmates are not allowed to rest or sit on their bunks during waking hours, which are around 16 hours per day. They are fed soup four times a day and are allowed to entertain themselves with books, newspapers and a radio. 

He was offered to do various interviews; however, he would only do them if he was paid in cigarettes, cookies, and sweets. So, the offers eventually dried up. His nickname, "The Laughing Cannibal", came about because Nikolayev would be smiling and laughing when describing his heinous acts in interviews. His other moniker is "Vladimir the Cannibal".

In 2006, Nikolayev said that a prisoner should be given a choice to do a life sentence or choose the death penalty. He would rather be executed.

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