Denis Gorin

Denis Vladimirovich Gorin (; 15 November 1979 – 1 July 2024) was a Russian serial killer and cannibal who, with the aid of his brother, committed at least four murders in the town of Aniva, Sakhalin Oblast, from 2002 to 2012. In 2018 he was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment.

In early 2023, while in a penal colony, Gorin signed a contract with a private military company (PMC) and was sent to Ukraine to participate in the Russian invasion of the country. Gorin fought in the ranks of the Storm-Z and was wounded during a battle, after which President Vladimir Putin pardoned him and allowed him to return to his hometown. This act sparked outrage across Russia, causing great debate about the morality of pardoning criminals to fight in the ongoing war. Gorin later died in the war.

Early life Very little is known about the early years of Denis Gorin's life. He was born on 15 November 1979, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai, but later in life, his family moved to Aniva, in the Sakhalin Oblast. He has one brother named Evgeniy and a sister whose name is not known to the public.

While living in the town, Gorin was regarded well by locals, as he was not known to engage in any criminal activities or aggressive behaviours. After graduating from high school, he married and had two children, but the family began experiencing financial struggles later on due to Gorin's lack of higher education. In the early 2000s, Gorin became an alcoholic and started living on the streets.

Murders First murder and imprisonment In late 2002, the then-23-year-old Gorin committed his first known murder, with the victim being an acquaintance of his. He was arrested a short time later and charged with murder and desecrating a corpse. At trial, Gorin stated that after killing the victim, he cut off the soft tissues of his body and then ate them, claiming that he had done so under the threats of his brother Evgeniy, an accomplice who threatened to kill him if he didn't cannibalize the victim. During this period, he never worked and earned his money by doing odd jobs and stealing, spending most of his time among other homeless people and alcoholics. The victim's body was discovered in the spring of 2012.

The next murder the brothers committed took place during the celebration of the Old New Year, on the night of 14–15 January 2012. That same day, Gorin was arrested by the police and immediately began confessing. On 27 February 2013, he was convicted of the two murders and sentenced to 20 years and 10 months imprisonment. The testimony of one such neighbour, known only as "Dmitry Vladimirovich," stated that after being arrested in 2012, officers opened a refrigerator and found an abundance of human meat in there.

On 24 October 2023, Gorin published a photo on his Odnoklassniki page dressed in a military uniform with a ribbon of Saint George and a patch with the inscription "Zacheburashim," similar to what volunteers wear on the Ukrainian front. Friends and acquaintances of Gorin stated that, after being wounded in battle, he was sent for treatment at a military hospital in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.