Today is Saturday, October 16th, 2021.

On this day in 1936, Andre Chiquitillo was born.

He would grow up to become one of the most infamous serial killers in the USSR.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Due to the graphic nature of this crime, listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes descriptions of murder and violence against children, sexual assault and rape of children and minors, and cannibalism.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

Today, we're covering the birth of serial killer Andre Chikatilo, known by many names.

He murdered and brutalized at least 52 young people over a 12-year period. Now let's go back to Yablotchne, Ukraine on the prime source of agriculture for the USSR.

When Andre Chiquatillo was born, the region suffered from massive famines.

So Chiquatillo grew up used to severe scarcity, and those conditions helped create

a monster. From a young age, Chichotillo suffered from hydrocephalus. Too much cerebrospinal fluid in his

skull damaged his brain and caused him to wet his bed at night. His mother didn't understand his condition

and beat him whenever he was incontinent. Because his father was in the military, Chikatilo

often endured her abuse all alone. But nothing compared to the devastating famines he had to survive. During

these harsh periods, many resorted to cannibalism to survive.

While Chiquatillo was a boy, his mother told him that he once had an older brother

who the neighbors kidnapped and consumed.

We don't know whether this story had any truth to it, but it definitely left a mark on the young

André Chichotillo. Yet even that may not have been his worst memory. As a young boy, Chichotillo

acted out sexually. When he was 15, he attacked an 11-year-old girl, and while wrestling with her, he ejaculated prematurely.

When his teenage peers heard about the episode, they mercilessly mocked him.

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