Forest Maniac

The Forest Maniac (Russian: Лесной маньяк) is the nickname given to an unidentified Russian serial killer who killed at least 12 people in the Samara Oblast from 1993 to 1997, predominantly targeting couples. During the investigation, several suspects were identified and one was convicted for two murders, but his guilt in the remaining killings remains a subject of debate.

Murders Modus operandi As victims, the killer would choose couples who secluded themselves in their cars around Samara and its suburbs, always at night. Typically, he would observe potential victims and wait until one of them got out of the car, whereupon he would stab said victim several times and then kill the remaining occupant. In one instance, in order to lure the victims out of the car, he hid in the bushes and pretended to cry out for help. In at least one survivor's account, he shot at their car with a sawed-off shotgun.

Some have speculated that the killings might have been motivated by the mystical or the occult, due to the claim that some of the victims' bodies had supposedly been posed in the shape of a cross.

After being given first aid and his condition was stable enough, Sidorenko provided a description of the killer to the authorities, who developed a facial composite from his testimony. After the killings, the criminal stole their VAZ-2106 and drove along the Krasnoglinsky Highway, where the car was spotted by traffic police. The officers ordered him to stop, but the man ignored their demands, got out of the car and ran into the woods. During the chase, he engaged in a scuffle with them and shot one of the officers with the sawed-off shotgun, seriously wounding him and allowing him to escape.

In the course of the investigation, it was suggested that the murderer could be a law enforcement officer, as the crimes were committed near several penal colonies and the hands of one of the victims were tried with a trouser belt with handcuffs mounted on it. As a result, Voroshilov had to be disciplined repeatedly and was even sent to a psychiatric hospital, but was found to be sane and allowed to return on duty. On the other hand, however, one of his neighbours refused to believe that he was capable of such things and claimed that Voroshilov would never hurt a fly.

On 6 July 1998, the criminal case against the officers was transferred to the Samara District Court. Eventually, in 1999, five of the accused officers were brought before the court, but on 26 October of that year, the case was returned to the prosecutor's office for additional investigation.

The identity of the Forest Maniac remains a subject of debate. After Voroshilov's arrest, six more murders took place in Samara from 1997 to 1998, all of which were eerily similar to the ones committed by the serial killer. This had led some to question Voroshilov's guilt, while investigators continue to insist that he was the perpetrator, pointing out that the killings ceased after his arrest.