A gruesome delivery reveals horrors in Soviet Moldova | Forensic Files

foreign [Music] deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you
need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please
see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website as it needs six o'clock on an Autumn
morning in 1980 theodosius glucarev was jolted awake by the sound of his apartment's doorbell
he rose from bed and headed to the door no one was there he poked his head into the hallway only
to find the area empty and quiet theodosius looked down and noticed a dark leather briefcase on the ground in
front of him curious theodosius laid it on its side unclasped its latches and opened it up
wedged inside and wrapped in cloth was the head of a woman foreign [Music] staggered back inside his apartment and
immediately phoned the police officers arrived at the large nine-story building where theodosius lived with his
wife and a young daughter their apartment was just south of kishinaev the Russian named Capital of
Moldova which at the time was part of the Soviet Union the officers inspected the briefcase
that had been left at theodosius's door the decapitated head belonged to a brown-haired woman whose eyes had been
gouged out theodosius was adamant that he didn't recognize the woman and there was
nothing else inside the briefcase that hinted at her identity however there was a handwritten note
addressed to theodosius and scrawled in Block capital letters the note read have you seen the gift this is an
example for you ready 10 000 rubles saw your daughter will also be headless in the evening you will come to the
train station and to bring money extortion was rare in Soviet Moldova let alone in such a brutal form
at the time ten thousand rubles was a large amount of money the equivalent of around 50 000 US dollars in today's
currency theodosius who worked as a truck driver for a local Brewery was adamant that he
didn't have access to that kind of money unable to produce the large Ransom in such a short amount of time it was
impossible for him to meet the Killer's demands given that the killer knew where
theodosius lived and that he had a daughter it was clear that they knew theodosio since some capacity
yet theodosius couldn't think of anyone who would carry out such a gruesome Act suspicious that he was hiding something
police covertly surveilled theodosius the following day discreetly tailed his truck as he drove
from the brewery and onto the streets of kashinyev where he eventually parked and
entered a restaurant it was an expensive establishment the kind of place the affluent might dine at
only once or twice a year for special occasions theodosius didn't stay long certainly
not enough time for him to eat he soon returned to his truck and drove off as the surveillance continued theodosius
started behaving erratically it seemed he realized that he was being followed he took several abrupt turns and doubled
back on his route before speeding through a red light police managed to catch up with him a
little while later by which point theodosius had resumed going about his business
he entered a bakery and emerged with a cake in hand he then walked to a nearby apartment
building which was considered one of kishinyav's most prestigious addresses theodosius disappeared inside for some
time before reappearing without the cake later that day he purchased a bouquet of
flowers and visited another high-end apartment building on an adjacent Street once again he stayed inside briefly
before exiting empty-handed he then made his way home he admitted to driving erratically after
realizing he was being pursued but explained this was because he thought he was being trailed by the Killer
police put it to theodosius that his job as a truck driver was really just a front for some kind of black market
trading he denied being involved in anything illegal but eventually confessed that
his visits to the two apartments were for clandestine meetings theodosius had been calling in on his
girlfriends neither of his girlfriends knew about the other nor were they aware that
theodosius was married with a child although he wasn't a particularly remarkable or wealthy man theodosius Was
a Serial womanizer who often bragged to his friends about his extramarital affairs
investigators were satisfied that theodosius wasn't part of any underworld scheming but had been targeted for some
other specific reason they considered the possibility that the severed head might have belonged to one
of his girlfriends perhaps the woman's husband had found out about the affair and taken Revenge
theodosius claimed that his girlfriends were both alive and well and it was quickly confirmed that he was telling
the truth both of his girlfriends attended the police station for questioning but
neither recognized the face of the woman from the briefcase this sent investigators back to square
one unable to figure out why theodosius was being extorted they worked to identify
the victim perhaps if they knew who she was her connection to theodosius would become
clear after exhausting all other avenues investigators sought permission from their country's leadership to employ a
tactic that had never been used in the Soviet Union before they asked to show a photograph of the
woman's head on National Television in the hope that someone would recognize her face
their request was granted with as much care as possible the woman's face was cleaned to be
presentable to the public her hair was neatly combed down and pinned behind her head
glass spheres were inserted into her empty eye sockets and her eyelids were closed over them
a photograph was taken and broadcast on National Television across Soviet Moldova
although a white scarf tied beneath her chin concealed her severed neck it was obvious to most that she was deceased
that night seven-year-old Victor trassen sat in front of his family's television
set eyes glued to a rerun of a popular Soviet musical miniseries dartanyan and the Three Musketeers
Victor lived with his mother and Aileen grandmother in an apartment in kashinyev
his grandmother was content to let Victor enjoy the swashbuckling action on screen as the young boy had recently
been overcome with anxiety and the program provided a much-needed distraction a few nights earlier Victor's mother
Arena had left home to catch up with a friend she said that she would only be gone for
30 minutes but by the time Victor awoke the next morning she still hadn't returned
Victor took himself to school and later made dinner for himself and his grandmother
he kept this up all the while bombarding his grandmother with questions about his
mother's whereabouts but she couldn't give him any answers Victor's concerns for arena grew until
he parked himself in front of the television one night for a mental reprieve all of a sudden datanyan and the Three
Musketeers was interrupted by a special News Bulletin a photograph of a woman appeared on
screen Victor immediately recognized the woman as his mother Arena he was confused as to why she was on
television but excited that he would finally see her again he wrote down the number on the screen
and called it first thing the following morning investigators could now identify the
mutilated woman as Arena trasen but they still had no idea why she had been targeted
theodosius glucarev claimed he didn't know Arena and there was no evidence to suggest the pair had ever crossed paths
as investigators tried to determine why Arena was murdered as part of an extortion plot against a stranger they
received a phone call another package had just arrived at theodosius's front door
[Music] the package wasn't in a briefcase this time but wrapped in paper again it was accompanied by a
handwritten note addressed to theodosius in the same block capital letters as the
first this one red you still don't want to pay then kiss a woman's hand inside the package was the severed hand
of a woman forensic analysis confirmed it did not belong to Arena thrashen a second woman had been killed and once
again the police were left with no clues as to this victim's identity the note continued
in three days you will bring the money to the train station otherwise we will chop your daughter to
pieces the note hadn't referred to theodosius's daughter by her name Oksana but this was
the second direct threat against her two days later Oksana was making her way home from school
just as she reached to the entrance to her family's apartment block a man approached and offered her some candy
all of a sudden two other men who had been a short distance behind Oksana leapt into action
they ran up to the man grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground the pair were undercover police officers
tasked with protecting Oxana the young girl shouted at the police officers let Uncle Sasha go he's good
realizing the man was known to Oxana the officers backed off while he wasn't technically her uncle he
was a close friend of her family as a precaution the police thoroughly looked into Uncle Sasha
they discovered that he worked at the local confectionary Factory which explained why he had candy on hand
a married father Uncle Sasha had received a government award for his hard work and commitment to the Soviet Union
with no criminal record or anything else to highlight him as dangerous he was ruled out as being the killer who was
extorting theodosius foreign unable to pin down a suspect police realized that theodosius would have to
meet the Killer's demands in order to flush him out three nights after receiving the severed
hand theodosius presented himself at the kishinyev train station he carried a briefcase containing 10 000
rubles the money had been hastily gathered by the ministry of internal affairs to
facilitate the requested Handover dozens of undercover police officers inconspicuously milled about the station
keeping a close eye on anyone who Moved close to theodosius given the second Ransom letter had
contained the pronoun we police were mindful that multiple perpetrators could be involved and could also be watching
this situation unfold suddenly a lone man approached theodosius the officers observed intently waiting
to make their move the man was holding a cigarette and he asked theodosius for a light
he then continued on his way he was not the man they were expecting several hours passed until it became
abundantly clear the exchange wasn't going to take place either the killer never showed up or
they had realized it was a setup believing they were dealing with a quote bloodthirsty Maniac police had to act
quickly to prevent more women from being murdered and mutilated wild rumors were spreading with some
claiming the mutilations were the act of necromancer Sorcerers who were digging up Graves
others feared that an unidentified serial killer known as metal Fang had arrived in kishinyev to continue his
spray some turned their suspicions towards theodosius glucarev himself word was circulating that he had
recently cut tires with a Criminal group who were Now using their extortions as a
method of intimidation with all these leads and more having reached dead ends investigators
Revisited the evidence beginning with the two extortion letters something was niggling at one particular
investigator as he agonized over each word of the letters the realization suddenly dawned
in both nodes the author had referred to theodosius by his nickname fedos upon further questioning theodosius
revealed that he didn't like his full name and would generally ask colleagues and Associates to call him Fedor for
short in turn close friends and family took to calling him Thanos realizing the killer was amongst
theodosius's immediate circle investigators narrowed down the list of suspects until just one person remained
ha a few years earlier Dimitri kazinsev was enjoying his wedding reception when he
realized his new wife wasn't by his side he searched the venue and eventually found her in a compromising position
with another man the man was Dimitri's second cousin theodosius glucarev enraged Dimitri chased theodosius with a
knife threatening to kill him other guests disarmed Dimitri and tied him down before he could inflict any
injuries as theodose use was led from the party Dimitri shouted that he would find him
and cut him investigators explored Dimitri's background and discovered that he was
already on the radar of the Soviet Financial police having been suspected of the theft and illegal sale of rare
Soviet property he also worked as a dining car manager for Soviet Railways which was
significant given the killer had named the kishinyev train station as the extortion money drop side
undercover officers boarded Dimitri's train in order to confront him 1. disguised as a railway inspector
spotted Dimitri and called him by name sensing he was in trouble Dimitri jumped from the train and ran
the chase was short-lived as Dimitri tripped over the tracks and was swiftly apprehended
Dimitri denied any wrongdoing but when he learned he was Under Suspicion for murder and extortion he quickly
confessed to the crimes against Soviet property he vehemently denied having anything to
do with the murders with a little bit more digging police were able to verify that Dimitri was
telling them the truth he was a criminal but he was not the killer they were looking for
the sun had just set his university student Olga labadeva stood alone in kashinyev's Central Park waiting for her
date several months prior Olga had responded to a personal ad in the local newspaper
and had been corresponding with the man ever since this was the first time they were going
to meet in person Olga's date soon approached carrying a bouquet of flowers he handed them to her and immediately
apologized saying he couldn't stay for their date as some important business had just come up
he then turned around and hurried away confused Olga decided to head home as she walked through the park along a
tree-lined path she heard someone approaching from behind Olga quickened her pace
so did the person behind her suddenly Olga was jerked backwards and thrown to the ground
a man stood over her before pulling her into some bushes nearby he wrapped a hand around the Olga's neck
and squeezed using his other hand to hold up a knife as Olga fought for her life the contents
of her bag spilled onto the ground she grabbed at the nearest item her hairbrush and it jammed it as hard as
she could into the man's groin he released his grip dropped his knife and gripped his crotch as he curled over
in pain Olga scrambled to her fate as she rushed back onto the footpath her attacker yelled out
I will catch up with you creature and I will cut you into pieces Olga ran as fast as she could ride into
the path of someone who had slipped away from a birthday party early to head home
they took her to the police station where the officer on duty was intrigued to learn that Olga's attacker had
threatened to cut her into pieces police across the city had been briefed about the unidentified killer who had
been sending mutilated remains to theodosius glucarev the officer was aware that in one of the
nodes the perpetrator had used the phrase We Will chop your daughter to pieces believing Olga had survived an encounter
with the killer hundreds of police officers descended on kishinyev's Central Park to scour the area for Clues
they soon Came Upon a plot of freshly Disturbed Earth the area was dug up revealing a shallow
grave containing the body of a young woman her shirt was torn open and her trousers
and underwear were pulled below her knees there were multiple stub wounds to her
chest and around her genitals most significantly her head was missing police had just uncovered the body of
Arena trasen now they were absolutely certain that the same men who attacked Olga labadeva
had killed Arena and that he had used the expansive Parklands as his hunting ground
Olga struggled to recall much about her ordeal as it was dark and happened quickly but something about her
assailant seemed familiar she was certain it was the same man she had met for a date 30 minutes earlier
Olga explained that she had been corresponding with this man for some time investigators asked if she had kept any
of the letters lucky for them she had kept them all each of the letters were handwritten and
had been signed off with the sender's name Alexander skrinic the police was stunned
they knew screenik across most eastern European countries the name Alexander is commonly shortened
to Sasha Alexander skrinic was Uncle Sasha the man who had approached theodosius's
daughter with candy weeks earlier a background check of skrinic had ruled him out as a suspect but now
investigators were certain he was the killer they'd been looking for they just needed to find some compelling
evidence to prove it [Music] no viable forensics had been found on Arena thrason's head or body nor on the
unidentified severed hand left at theodosius's door this just left the extortion notes and
the letters to Olga a handwriting expert was brought in but when he looked at the samples he
Shrugged the extortion notes had been printed in Block capitals whereas the letters were
in screenix cursive handwriting it wasn't possible to conclusively compare the two
meanwhile Alexander skrinic was called to attend the military registration and enlistment office
at 27 years of age skrinic was still subject to Soviet conscription until his next birthday
[Music] he arrived promptly at the military office and was shown into an adjacent
room he along with about 20 other con scripts filled in the necessary paperwork afterwards they were told that a
military representative would be in touch soon Alexander skrinic then left the building
[Music] unbeknownst to skrinic the entire registration process was a setup by police as a way to obtain his
handwriting the call the staff and the other conscripts had all been staged the military registration papers were
required to be completed in Block capital letters as soon as krennic left the registration
papers were given to the handwriting expert who was waiting behind the scenes within half an hour the expert
unequivocally concluded that the block letters in screenix registration form were an exact match to those in the two
extortion notes sent to theodosius that evening police arrived at Alexander Skrillex apartment only to be told by
scrennick's wife that her husband had just left to see a movie a contingent of plain clothes police
officers quickly descended on the Patria Cinema in central kishinaev the film that was about to be shown was
a Soviet disaster film called air crew which depicted the story of a Plane full of passengers trying to take off during
an earthquake air crew had debuted earlier in 1980 but due to its popularity it was being
re-screened to a sold-out audience police searched for screening amongst the throng of Cinema goa's Milling
outside the building and inside the foyer waiting for the movie to start eventually they spotted skrinic
he was approaching the cinema accompanied by a young woman one quick thinking detective approached
the Kabul he explained that the film was sold out but he had two tickets he was willing to
sell skrinic was interested the detective suggested that they walk around the side of the building where it
was much quieter in order to make the exchange and the young woman happily accompanied
the detective once they were away from the crowd other officers converged on skrinic and placed
him under arrest at the police station Alexander skrinic remained indignant he denied having done anything wrong and
pointed to his government labor award and membership of the Soviet Communist party has proof of his good character
and innocence however once investigators revealed the ruse at the enlistment office and the
handwriting analysis evidence they had against him skrinic abandoned his charade
skrinic then made a surprise confession Arena thrassen was not his first murder victim
several years earlier in the mid-1970s he had been living and working in yakutia a sparsely populated Soviet
region in the Far East of Russia there skrinic met and murdered a flight attendant named Nina puganova
after killing Nina skrinic removed her breasts and genitals before dumping her body
The Remains were later discovered however authorities at the time were unable to solve Nina's murder
disclosed that he had stabbed Arena thrashen to death after meeting her for ice cream at the park where her body was
later found he decapitated Arena post-mortem kept her head before burying her body in a
shallow grave screeny's third and final victim was a woman named Anastasia mikhailova
like Arena before her scrinik had met Anastasia for ice cream before stabbing her to death and mutilating her body
this time skrinic had kept Anastasia's severed hand as a souvenir having already discovered Arena's
headless body police probed screening for the whereabouts of anastasias remains screening said that Anastasia was buried
in a different Park and offered to take them to the exact location the following day he escorted
investigators to an area of Woodland he pointed to the exact location where officers should start digging
sure enough about a foot below the surface police uncovered the remains of Anastasia mikalova who was missing a
hand investigators had everything they needed from Alexander skrinic a full confession
to the murders and Anastasia's remains what they now wanted was Skrillex motive for these brutal slangs
scrinik explained that about a year into his marriage after his son was born he was dissatisfied with his life
specifically skrinic wanted more sex he placed a personal ad in the local newspaper with the intention of
attracting a woman who would be willing to sleep with him eventually skrinic met up with a woman
who responded to his ad and the two had sex as a result screening contracted a venereal disease
this instigated screenix hatred towards women who he now blamed for his unhappy marriage and the lack of sex to which he
felt entitled skrinic appointed himself as a quote orderly of Nature and decided that it
was his calling to destroy women as to why he extorted his friend theodosius glucarev skrinic simply
explained that he was jealous of theodosius who boasted of his active sex life into multiple extramarital affairs
his intention was to quote let this womanizer shake with fear and at the same time Fork out
[Music] a few months after his arrest Alexander skrinik stood trial for the murders of
Nina puganova Arena thrazen and Anastasia mikalova at the start of his testimony he boasted
that anyone with a weak disposition should leave the room then recited his crimes without any hint
of remorse he told the court that he enjoyed murdering the three women and that if he
hadn't been caught he would still be killing the three judges of the Supreme Court
found skrinic guilty of all charges and sentenced him to death in 1981 Alexander skrinic attended his
date with the firing squad foreign [Music] foreign [Music]

In the summer of 1980, Theodosius Glukharev received a series of harrowing deliveries to his home in Kishinev, Soviet Moldova. The contents ultimately unravelled the murders of three women – Nina Puganova, Irina Trasyn & Anastasia Mikhailova.

An extortion attempt by the killer helped narrow down the suspect pool, but still, investigators were no closer to catching the killer. Who was this individual who had been dubbed a “blood thirsty maniac?”

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Holly Boyd Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-247-nina-puganova-irina-trasyn-anastasia-mikhailova/

Brief Summary

The episode details the murder of Arena Trasen and the investigation leading to Alexander Skrinic's arrest and execution.

Key points

The Decapitated Head. Theodosius discovers a woman's head in a briefcase left at his door.
A Mother's Murder. Investigators identify the victim as Arena Trasen, Theodosius's supposed target.
The Killer Revealed. Olga's date turns out to be the killer, Alexander Skrinic.
Skrinic's Confession. Alexander Skrinic admits to multiple murders, shocking investigators with his chilling details.
Trial of a Killer. At his trial, Skrinic shows no remorse and boasts about his crimes.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is an example for you, ready?

A chilling note found in a briefcase.

2:39WatchMay 20, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.