Nikolai Dzhumagaliev

Case details

Nikolai Dzhumagaliev (Russian: Николай Джумагалиев; born 1952) was a serial killer in the Soviet Union republic of Kazakhstan during 1980. He was known as “Metal Fang” because of unusual false teeth made from white metal. He was declared insane and was committed to a mental institution in Tashkent. He escaped in 1989 while being transported to another facility and was recaptured in 1991 in Fergana.

He was described as having made it his mission to rid the world of prostitutes and he was said to have killed seven women before he was caught. He was charged with a total of seven murders. Some sources put the total number of victims at 50–100, and it was also stated that the number of murders believed to have been committed was at least seven.

Timeline

• December 3, 1981 — Committed to a Tashkent mental institution.
• 1989 — Escaped from the mental institution while being transported to another facility.
• 1991 — Recaptured in Fergana, Uzbekistan (after being reported by a local woman).

The offence

Nikolai Dzhumagaliev lured women into a park area and raped them, then hacked them to death with an axe. He practiced cannibalism after killing his victims, carving the meat and serving it to friends at dinners and get-togethers. It was stated that he cooked certain parts of his victims and ate some, and that he prepared ethnic dishes out of his victims and served them to his friends.

It was also stated that he would bag up the remaining parts of a victim and take them home.

Investigation and discovery

The crimes were discovered when people whom he invited to his house found remains in his home. Friends discovered a human head and intestines in his fridge and immediately reported him to authorities, leading to his arrest. Another version of the discovery described two drunks invited over to his house for “snacks,” who discovered a woman’s severed head in the kitchen and alerted police.

Police realized that he held get-togethers with friends right after murders and fed his guests parts of his recent kill.

Arrest and custody

Nikolai Dzhumagaliev was arrested after he was reported by friends who discovered a human head and intestines in his fridge. He escaped in 1989 while being transported to another facility. He was recaptured in 1991 in Fergana, Uzbekistan, after being reported by a local woman who claimed that a young man was propositioning her earlier in the day.

Trial and disposition

He was charged with seven murders in all. He was found insane and was committed to a mental institution in Tashkent. He escaped from authorities in 1989 while being transported to another institution, and for two long years local law enforcement searched and hoped that killings would not start up somewhere else in the Soviet Union. He remained in a mental institution thereafter.

Other details

• He had previously served time for manslaughter in the late 1970s (as part of being described as having spent a year in jail for manslaughter) and it was also stated as serving time for manslaughter in the 1970s.
• He was described as a well-spoken, clean-shaven gentleman who was neatly dressed, and as possessing white metal teeth after losing his natural teeth years before.
• It was stated that while not exactly a “loner,” he generally kept to himself and walked around town trying to meet different women wherever he went, with a favorite spot near a river bank where he would lure women into a dark end of the park nearby.
• It was stated that he escaped from asylum in 1989, was re-captured in 1991, and was “now jailed in the asylum.”
• A reference to “Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers” and “Crimelife.com” appeared in the material, including a description labeling his motive as “PC/Sex,” modus operandi as cannibal “ripper” of women, and disposition including that he served time for manslaughter, was ruled insane, escaped, and was recaptured.