10 Facts About Irina Gaidamachuk

Irina Viktorovna Gaidamachuk is a Russian serial killer who killed 17 elderly women in Sverdlovsk Oblast between 2002 and 2010.

Irina Gaidamachuk moved to Krasnoufimsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast in the early 1990s, where she met her husband Yuri, with whom she later had two children.

Irina Gaidamachuk's alcoholism was so extreme that Yuri reportedly would refuse to provide her with money out of fear that she would spend the money on alcohol.

In 2002 Irina Gaidamachuk began to murder elderly women around Sverdlovsk Oblast.

Irina Gaidamachuk would pretend to be a social worker to gain access to the homes of the women, where she would kill them with an axe or hammer, then rob the victim for whatever money she could find.

In 2010 Irina Gaidamachuk attempted to kill another elderly woman, who managed to escape.

Irina Gaidamachuk killed her final victim, Alexandra Povaritsyna, whose neighbour had seen her leave around the time of the murder.

Irina Gaidamachuk stated that she committed the murder-robberies to pay for vodka to feed her alcohol addiction, as her husband refused to give her money for it.

Irina Gaidamachuk gave a confession to the indictment during the preliminary investigation but contested this throughout her trial.

In June 2012, Irina Gaidamachuk was charged with 17 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum possible sentence for women according to the Russian Law Relatives of the victims were outraged at the short length of the sentence, citing that Irina Gaidamachuk received only just over a year per killing, adding that she should never be freed.