Aleksei Rjabkov

Aleksei Rjabkov (born December 29, 1964) is an Estonian serial killer who, together with several accomplices, murdered four people in Harju County from 1995 to 2009. His case is considered notorious due to his lenient sentences and his committing violent crimes after his early release.

1990s crimes In late 1994, Rjabkov got into an argument with two brothers named Vladimir and Dmitri over debts and women. Angered by their interaction, he decided to kill both, enlisting the help of another acquaintance named Aleksandr Tronin. In early January, he bought a TT pistol from a friend named Yuri, and on January 15, he and Tronin lured the brothers to a forest near Kehra. Once there, Rjabkov fired two shots at Dmitri, before proceeding to shoot Vladimir three times, killing both. He and Tronin then hid the bodies.

On March 26, together with his 24-year-old brother Deniss and 33-year-old friend Lev Šmõrov, the trio went to the AS Krooning gas station on Paldiski Road in Tallinn. Deniss acted as the getaway driver, while Rjabkov and Šmõrov went inside, ostensibly to buy cigarettes. They came face-to-face with two clerks, Aivar and Eeno, shooting the former non-fatally while the latter was hit in the heart, dying on the spot. Rjabkov and Šmõrov then stole 1,500 kroon and left. Aivar survived his injuries, but the bullet was left lodged in his spine. His brother and Šmõrov, who both received 9 years imprisonment, appealed their verdicts, with only the latter succeeding in getting a small reduction of one and a half years.

However, by late 2008, he suffered several personal losses, as he was fired from his job, developed an addiction to alcohol, frequently quarreled with his wife, his health rapidly deteriorated and his younger brother was murdered. The trio often visited Stepan's apartment, sometimes accompanied by Kornatšjov's girlfriend. There were claims that Stepan had made inappropriate comments about her in Kornatšjov's presence, after which the latter had threatened his new friend if he did not quit.

At their joint trial, neither Rjabkov nor Kornatšjov was able to provide a concrete reason as to why they had killed Stepan, claiming that they had been drunk at the time.

Imprisonment and status Following his imprisonment, Rjabkov was remanded to serve his prison sentence, with a scheduled release date in March 2022. He filed a petition to be released early in June 2021, but it was unanimously denied by the court, fearing a repeat of his previous crimes. No information about him has surfaced since then, but due to the passage of time, it is presumed that he has been released.