Andrei Melyukh

On February 8, 2002, Melyukh attempted to rob 75-year-old Pavla Shlykova, but she did not lose consciousness after being hit on the head and was able to call for help. Later that day, Melyukh was arrested by police officers Yevgeny Rusinov and Talgat Sirazhitdinov, who were patrolling the area and accidentally stumbled across him. Whilst he fiercely resisted cooperating initially, he ultimately confessed to the crimes during an interview with investigators working on the case.

In spite of his claims of innocence, Melyukh was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Chelyabinsk Regional Court on November 14, 2002. In addition to this, he was later sued by the surviving victims and ordered to pay them 500,000 rubles, which was later reduced to 200,000 by the court. He attempted to appeal his sentence to the Supreme Court, which upheld the conviction. He has then transferred to the Black Dolphin Prison, where he remains as of November 2022.

Melyukh's first recorded attack took place an undisclosed date in 2000, when he attacked a woman named Ella Dergachyova and stole items worth 3,000 rubles. In September 2001, he attacked 77-year-old Irina Kruglova and stole 100 rubles, but this time, the attack proved fatal.

Andrei Fyodorovich Melyukh (Russian: Андрей Фёдорович Мелюх; born January 23, 1977), known as The Brick Maniac (Russian: Кирпичный маньяк), is a Russian serial killer who killed ten pensioners and wounded ten more during robberies in Chelyabinsk from 2000 to 2002. He was eventually captured, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Andrei Fyodorovich Melyukh was born on January 23, 1977, in the village of Kanashevo, Chelyabinsk Oblast. He was raised in a dysfunctional family, as his father was repeatedly tried for property crimes and his mother was an alcoholic. Due to these circumstances, the young Melyukh was eventually sent away to an orphanage, where he spent his formative years. In 1997, he was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for robbing a pensioner the previous year and served out his sentence in full, being released sometime in 2000.