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Rostov Puts Third Recent Serial Killer on Trial

A man accused of raping and murdering at least six children will soon go on trial in the third serial-murder case recently in the southern region of Rostov-on-Don, a newspaper reported Tuesday.


Roman Burtsev, 25, was arrested last July and confessed to his crimes, giving investigators a detailed description of them, Izvestia reported.


He told police he often felt remorse and on one occasion even donated 5,000 rubles (90 cents) for the funerals of one of his victims, a 12-year-old girl.


Burtsev, who is divorced and has a 10-month-old son, said he committed the murders out of a fear of being punished for his sex crimes.


The regional court in Rostov-on-Don, about 1,000 kilometers south of Moscow, is prepared to open hearings on the case soon, Izvestia said.


The report came just days after another local resident, Vladimir Mukhankin, 36, pleaded guilty to murdering eight women and was sentenced to death by the city court.


Rostov-on-Don gained notoriety as the home of Andrei Chikatilo, the "Rostov Ripper," who was convicted and executed in 1994 for killing and mutilating 52 women and children in the region over a 12-year period.

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