A Russian 'cannibal' pensioner known as Granny Ripper, who gave children sweets made from the flesh of her victims, has died of Covid-19 before the end of her serial killer trial. Sofia Zhukova, 81, a retired pig slaughterer, was accused of butchering schoolgirl Anastasia Alexeenko, seven, whose severed head was found in 2005 with a severely battered face. She was also charged with murdering and dismembering a 52-year-old male street cleaner and janitor in Russian city Khabarovsk, and killing a woman friend, aged 77. A phone call assuring Anastasia's mother, Natalya, that the girl was still alive had been made from the sausage factory where the pensioner worked as a pig slaughterer, the court was told. Local children found his severed arm in a rubbish skip while other remains were stashed in plastic bags at a skip.

Source: Daily Mail January 05, 2021 15:48 UTC