The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs

Viktor Sayenko, Igor Suprunyuck, and Alexander Hanzha, collectively known as "The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs", were a pack of Ukrainian thrill killers who brutally killed dozens of people during a near-four week-long murder spree. While Hanzha never directly participated in the murders, he is considered a part of the group as he was aware of the criminal activities.

Backgrounds
Sayenko, Suprunyuck, and Hanzha were all born in 1988 to wealthy, influential parents and attended school together. The three individuals had several phobias, which they dealt with by doing strange activities, such as standing on a balcony of their apartment, hanging over the railing to combat their fear of heights. Hanzha had blood phobia, which Suprunyuck suggested tackling by actually torturing and killing stray dogs. The three then proceeded to do so and taking pictures of them standing beside the corpses. The boys were also apparently enthusiasts over the Nazi cause. After graduating high school, Sayenko and Hanzha went to their respective jobs, while Suprunyuck, officially being unemployed, became an unlicensed taxi driver. The three took up robbing Suprunyuck's passengers, some of whom were reported to later wind up as their victims. On March 1, 2007, Hanzha later committed two armed robberies that he would later be charged for. Eventually, Sayenko and Suprunyuck apparently lost interest in robbing and decided to take it to the next step, murdering random people for the sheer thrill of it.

Murder Spree, Arrest, and Incarceration
Starting on July 25, 2007, with Ekaterina Ilchenko and Roman Tatarevich, Sayenko and Suprunyuck initiated their killing spree, randomly picking pedestrians and then bludgeoning them with blunt objects, such as hammers and steel construction bars, and recording some of the murders (see section below). Some of the victims were also robbed of their possessions. Multiple bodies would be found in one day, usually two. Additionally, some victims were killed in not Dnepropetrovsk, but towns located in the surrounding areas. Their spree came to public attention after a survivor, fourteen-year-old Vadim Lyakhov, immediately ran to the police after his friend was murdered by them, and also when a victim, Natalia Mamarchuk, was beaten to death in front of many witnesses. The initiated investigation was kept secret at first, but eventually, sketches were distributed and the victims' stolen possessions were listed to local pawn shops.

The three were arrested a week after the spree ended, when Suprunyuck tried selling a mobile phone belonging to one of his victims. The phone had to be turned on to ensure it worked, allowing law enforcement agents to find it and trace its location, leading to the arrests of Sayenko and Suprunyuck. Meanwhile, authorities invaded Hanzha's home and arrested him, but not before he managed to erase the information on numerous stolen mobile phones he attempted to flush down the toilet. Sayenko, Suprunyuck, and Hanzha were all charged for numerous instances of premeditated murder (excluding Hanzha), animal cruelty, robbery, and armed robbery. All three immediately made confessions, though Suprunyuck would go on to withdraw his. Eventually, all three men were found guilty to all of their respective charges. Sayenko and Suprunyuck were both sentenced to life imprisonment, while Hanzha was sentenced to nine years in prison, the brief sentence being because Hanzha never participated in the murders.

Murder Films
Sayenko and Suprunyuck's ghastly videos of their murders received a large amount of attention. One of the videos managed to find its way into the Internet on December 4, 2008; it is a recording of the brutal murder of Sergei Yatzenko, who was killed on July 27, 2007. The leaking of the video received criticism, but it was later admitted that control over videos posted on the Internet was "virtually impossible".

Modus Operandi
Sayenko and Suprunyuck killed their victims by savagely bludgeoning them with blunt objects like hammers and steel construction rods. They often aimed for the faces, beating them so badly that the victims would be almost unrecognizable. Some of the victims were also subjugated to torture and mutilation, the latter of which included the gouging out of eyes, and some were also robbed of their possessions, which Sayenko and Suprunyuck would later sell at pawn shops.

Known Victims

 * ?, 2005: Unnamed boy
 * 2005-2007: Numerous unnamed victims of their robberies
 * March 1, 2007: Two unspecified armed robberies
 * 21 killed, plus eight survivors, in the June-July 2007 killing spree. Known victims are:
 * June 25:
 * Ekaterina Ilchenko, 33
 * Roman Tatarevich
 * July 1 :
 * Evgeniya Grischenko
 * Nikolai Serchuk
 * July 6:
 * Egor Nechvoloda
 * Elena Shram, 28
 * Valentina Hanzha
 * July 7 :
 * Andrei Sidyuck, 14
 * Vadim Lyakhov, 14
 * July 12: Sergei Yatzenko, 48
 * July 14: Natalia Mamarchuk, 45
 * ?: Unnamed woman

On Criminal Minds
While the Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs haven't been referenced in Criminal Minds, they appear to be the inspiration behind Turner's Group. Both were killing packs consisting of three members (although all three members of Turner's Group participated in their killings, while only two out of the three Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs committed their spree), they killed for the fun of it, they recorded some of their murders, and they killed their victims by savagely bludgeoning them with blunt objects, sometimes even leaving their victims unrecognizable. Sayenko and Suprunyuck's habit of robbing several of their victims and selling the items is also similar to how Ben Foster robbed some of his victims and sold the belongings. However, Ben sold the items for money for his medication, while Sayenko and Suprunyuck presumably sold them just for additional thrills. Additionally, it was originally thought that Ben's murders, all of which were extremely violent and random, were committed by a group of thrill killers, instead of just one severely psychotic individual.