Police in the Urals hunt granny killing 'sadist' who has 'murdered 32 pensioners'

Police dubbed him a 'sadist', emphasising that he never steals money or other belongings from his helpless victims. The 'maniac' appears only interested in strangling them to death. The killer's tactics show similarities between him and Russia's worst-ever female killer 'Satan in a Skirt', Irina Gaidamachuk, who was jailed for 20 years after killing 17 elderly women, prompting concerns he is a copycat killer. Her murderous spree was also in the Urals.

In each case, the latest serial killer claims to represent the owners of the apartment block. Gaidamachuk used a similar ploy, posing as a social worker.

Elderly women have been urged to take extreme caution in opening their doors to strangers.

Alexander Shulga, senior assistant to the Head of Sverdlovsk Region Investigative Committee said: 'The police are after a serial killer who murders lonely elderly women. A criminal investigation is launched under article 105 - murder - of the Russian Criminal code'.

The suspect is described as aged 25 to 35, 170 to 175 cm tall, with a foot size of 40-41, and to be an 'Asian national'.

He is believed to be a city rather than a rural man and to be of a low social and wealth level. He has travelled to kill over a wide area on the western fringe of Siberia including Sverdlovsk region and Chelyabinsk, Kazan and Samara region, say reports. Police have his DNA from a murder scene in Ekaterinburg in 2012 when he killed two elderly pensioners. He left in handkerchief and a light at the crime scene, said investigators.

Mother of two Gaidamachuk, 42, was last year jailed until 2032 for her campaign of murder.  Posing as a social worker, her victims were aged 61 to 89. While she strangled some victims, she killed others by smashing their skulls with a hammer or axe. Unlike the latest killer, she did steal small amounts of cash from her victims. 'I just wanted to be a normal mother but I had a craving for drink. My husband Yury wouldn't give me money for vodka', she said.