Anatoli Neželski

Anatoli Neželski (born 22 January 1951) is an Estonian serial killer who murdered three people in Tallinn between 1994 and 1996. After Neželski was found guilty, convicted and given 15 years imprisonment, he was subsequently released in 2013 after serving out the entirety of his sentence.

Early life Neželski was born in 1951. In his youth, he was employed on fishing boats and travelled around various seaports, before changing professions to work in a plywood and furniture factory. While employed at the factory, Neželski, who had a lifelong interest in firearms, manufactured himself a pistol which he would later use in the killings.

Imprisonment and release On the morning of 17 March 1998, Anatoli Neželski was detained on Kauba Street while collecting bottles. The reason for his relatively short sentence was due to a loophole in Estonian law at the time: in 1994, the harshest penalty available was the death penalty and there were no life sentences, and the longest available being the 15 year-sentence. When he was captured in 1998, the death penalty had been abolished and the highest available penalty he could be given was the 15-year sentence.

In 2009, after 11 years behind bars, Neželski applied for early release, citing that he was repentant about his wrongdoings and wanted to live and work to redeem himself. In 2012, Neželski withdrew his requests for early release from the Harju County Court, as his sentence was nearing its completion by that time. In March 2013, he was released from prison, and now lives freely in Tallinn.