On the morning of April 1993, three monks were killed at the Optina Pustyn monastery. This happened on the brightest holiday for all believers - Easter. As it turned out later, the offender chose this day for a reason.
The overcoat and the number of the beast
On April 18, 1993, a triple murder took place on the territory of the Optina Pustyn monastery in the Kaluga region. The victims of the unknown criminal were the monks Ferapont and Trofim, as well as Hieromonk Vasily. They all died from numerous stab wounds. Ferapont and Trofim were killed in the belfry, which was under a canopy right in the courtyard of the monastery, and Vasily not far from his cell.
At the crime scene, namely on the fence, investigators found a cap without a visor and a military overcoat. In the pocket of his greatcoat was a dagger with the inscription "666" on the blade. A second, similar edged weapon was found on the ground.
Portrait of a killer
Since law enforcement officers arrived at Optina Pustyn almost immediately after the attack, the entire adjacent territory was immediately cordoned off. However, the offender managed to escape. But soon the local forester received information that a strange visitor, armed with a firearm, had visited him. At the request of the guest, the forester fed him and provided him with clothes. Thanks to this incident, the detectives got their first clue and a portrait of the alleged killer was compiled. This portrait was reproduced and pasted around.
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And a miracle happened: a woman came to the police and identified the person in the portrait. It turned out to be her fellow villager Nikolai Averin. In addition, at the same time, the expert's response came: on the handle of the knife they found a fingerprint of the same Averin, which the aforementioned witness pointed to.
The reasons for the reprisal and the sentence
Nikolai Averin was detained less than a week after the murders he committed. At his house, the police set up an ambush. Surprisingly, after 6 days Averin, having wandered around the woods, returned to his home as if nothing had happened. They took him quickly and without firing a shot.
Averin told investigators that he was a soldier of Satan, so he wore an overcoat and wrote the number of the beast on the knife. And he dealt with the monks as with enemies who served God. The offender stated that he did not regret anything and did not repent of anything.
It turned out that Nikolai Averin had previously served in Afghanistan and was also serving a sentence for rape. In 1991, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. After the murder of the monks, the examination confirmed that Averin was insane and suffered from schizophrenia. Therefore, the killer was not imprisoned for what he had done, but was sent to a special closed-type hospital.
Yulia Popova
