'Serial Psyche': Anatoly Onoprienko killed 52 innocent people just to avenge his troubled childhood
Anatoly Onoprienko was a serial killer from Ukraine whose killing left everyone scared. He was often called the "terminator" or the "beast of Ukraine". Killing nearly 52 innocent victims, police had a hard time tracking him down. However, they managed to trace him when a massive manhunt was conducted. Unlike other serial killers who might think a lot before selecting someone as their victim, Onoprienko was different. He was not interested in finding the backstory of any person or what he could take from them. Rather, he was more interested in the act of killing. One could say there was a sheer pleasure in killing that he enjoyed.
This enjoyment is what made him kill victims one after the other rather than giving time for the previous story to die down. It is believed that Onoprienko's hatred towards humanity stemmed from how he was treated in childhood. When he was four, his mother passed away and his father decided to send him to the orphanage while he kept his brother with him.
Feeling abandoned by his own family, Onoprienko did not have a pleasant childhood. The orphanage did not give him the upbringing like one would hope and it only added fuel to the fire when it came to Onoprienko's hatred for humanity. Through his killing, it was almost like Onoprienko wanted to kill everyone who had a happy family. He would break into houses, kill all the members in the family, and then set the house on fire. It became his signature move, something he was identified with. It is believed Onoprienko carried out these acts because he wanted to punish people who had better living conditions and life than him.
At the same time, he painted a picture that his killings were directed towards people who lived in a warm loving home. He used a shotgun as his murder weapon. Fortunately, his killings came to an end when the police were able to track him down. During his time in jail, Onoprienko was caught on tape asking what if God had given him the right to carry out the things he did while adding that he had no way to prove if God was testing him as he committed all these crimes.
When the time came for Onoprienko to appear in court, he tried to use insanity as his defense. However, the court refused to hear this and gave him life imprisonment. Onoprienko had a heart attack and died while in prison. 'Serial Psyche' airs on Fridays at 8 pm ET on Reelz.