'Cannibal Couple' Confesses To Eating 30 People

The Baksheevs were originally arrested in 2017 for a murder commited in Krasnodar, a city in southern Russia. The story behind the arrest seems farcical, but the police were initially tipped off to the pair’s sordid activities by complete accident. 

On September 11, 2017, road workers were conducting routine repairs and maintenance on one of Krasnodar’s roads. During their work, one of the construction workers discovered a phone—a phone belonging to Dmitry Baksheev. 

The contents of the phone were shocking and disturbing to say the very least. The road workers were disgusted to find what appeared to be Dmitry, taking a selfie of himself, whilst holding remains of a human hand. More photos showed remains of a human head, as well as photographs of a human scalp. 

Shockingly, one photo that was circulated throughout Russian media outlets purportedly shows Dmitry Baksheev with parts of a human body in his mouth.
Horrified at what they had discovered, the workers reported it to the police.

Only a day later were the remains found. According to the local newspaper Zhivaya Kuban, the body of a woman was found dismembered on land operated by a military aviation school found on Krasnodar’s Dzerzhinsky Street. 

“During the inspection of the scene, a bag and a bucket with body parts of the deceased were also found, as well as a bag with things,” spoke Yvette Agayan, a member of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Krasnodar Territory.

Due to the incriminating evidence, Dmitry was quickly identified and taken in for questioning. Although Dmitry and his wife lived a very antisocial lifestyle, it didn’t take investigators long to find him as a local resident of Krasnodar.

Upon interrogation, Dmitry stated that he didn’t kill the 35-year-old female victim. Instead, Baksheev claims, he simply took photographs of her corpse after discovering her. Again, according to Baksheev, he then proceeded to dispose of the remains in a nearby trash can. Unsurprisingly, Dmitry was unable to give specific details as to where the body was disposed of. The phone that held the damning photos was lost just one day after he’d taken them.

Upon the arrest of both the Baksheev couple, they reportedly confessed to eating the remains of up to 30 individuals. Their apparent tactic of trickery was to use online dating websites to lure local Russians into their secluded dormitory, before drugging them, killing them, and eventually, eating them.

Despite their insistence of being serial cannibalistic killers, evidence towards their murderous nature begins and ends with the killing they were arrested for. Human remains were indeed found in their home, seemingly being prepared for consumption by the Baksheevs, but the remains only belonged to one person.

The victim of the murder was eventually discovered to be a woman named Elena Vakhrusheva (born March 5, 1982). Elena had been killed by Dmitry on the 8th of September after Elena and Natalia had begun to argue. With tensions rising to an unbelievable level, Natalia ordered Dmitry to kill Elena, which he obliged. Reportedly, Natalia took satisfaction in this and assisted in the murder as well.

Sadly, Elena had no hopes of survival. Reports state that she died due to multiple stab wounds. The Baskheevs then proceeded to dismember Elena’s body, scattering some remains, and keeping the remaining for themselves.

While the case was first spurred on as a single murder charge, the couple were eventually charged with group murder. 

Amidst a media frenzy, leaked photographs soon emerged in the public, quickly leading to speculation that the Baksheevs had acted with others, many labeling them as a ‘cannibal family’. This was also spurred on by the Baksheevs own testimonies that they had killed more than two dozen people.

Stories of shady behavior did not help either, with the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reporting that one of the Baksheev’s previous neighbors had stated that Natalia had sold pies to the local residents for extra income. The ex-nurse said that when asked what the pies were filled with, Natalia would reply “whatever’s around.”

While many stories of the Baksheevs may be more urban myth than urban killing, the unhinged couple were eventually tried and convicted for their crime against Elena Vakhrusheva.

Natalia Baksheeva was convicted in 2018 with incitement to murder, facing 1.5 years in prison and 10 years in a penal colony. Reports state that she attempted to reduce her sentence after the fact, but this request was denied, and she continues to serve her sentence to this day.

In the same year, Dmitry was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to 12 years and 2 months in prison with maximum security facilities. On the 16th of February, 2020, whilst serving out his sentence, Dmitry Baksheey died due to lack of treatment for type one diabetes.