Ion Rîmaru

Rîmaru's father Florea was also a serial killer. In the summer of 1944, a string of four murders rocked wartime Bucharest. Each victim (all were female) lived in a basement apartment, where the criminal would enter at night during a storm and bash their heads with a blunt object. Each time, the killer left fingerprints and footprints from military boots of size 42 or 43. On 23 October 1972, a year after his son's execution, Florea Rîmaru died at age 53 after falling off a train. This was officially an accident, but some authors suggest he might have been eliminated by Securitate agents, though the reason for this alleged assassination remains unclear. His body was brought to the Medico-Legal Institute, where the man's height of 174 cm and his shoe size of 42 attracted attention: the 1944 fingerprints matched his. Both their first victims even had similar names: Florea first killed Elena Udrea, while his son Ion killed first Elena Oprea. Butoi, the psychologist, theorised that a gene predisposing one to violent crimes was passed from father to son, as the murders happened under remarkably similar circumstances.

In late 1970 and early 1971, Bucharest was shaken by a series of crimes committed by unknown individual would use a hammer, a small axe, and an iron bar or a knife to attack restaurant waitresses who were alone and returning from work. He struck after midnight during unusual weather conditions such as snowstorms, driving rain, high winds, freezing cold or fog. Many women would not go outside after 9:00pm except in large groups or with men. Their terror was heightened by the police's reluctance to release details, leading to wildly exaggerated rumours. The police eventually realized that they were dealing with a serial killer; a yearlong investigation, with the help of victims who had survived, led to Rîmaru's arrest on 27 May 1971.

However, the clue which led directly to Rîmaru's arrest was a medical diagnosis sheet. On 4 March 1971, a group of six doctors found that he had "suspected periodic epilepsy"; the doctors' note was found beneath the body of Mihaela Ursu, whom he murdered in especially brutal fashion two months later. Between her fingers she had strands of his hair that were used to identify him (some have suggested that he went to the doctors to eventually be able to claim insanity at trial). Because the note was wet and bloody, only the letterhead from the Bucharest Students' Hospital was visible.

At this point the criminal began acting more randomly, not attacking waitresses exclusively and even going after two women who were together. On 15 May specialists determined that the note had been produced in Octavian Ieniște's office in March 1971. He had seen 83 students that month, of whom 15, including Rîmaru, had not deposited their diagnoses with university officials. The police closely monitored each suspect and three officers went to his dormitory on 27 May; he was not home but while they searched his room he came back at 1:00 pm. In his sack he had an axe and a knife; tests on the hair and bite marks he left and the testimony of witnesses left no reasonable doubt as to his guilt.

On 23 October 1971, Rîmaru was taken to Jilava Prison in a van. He had to be dragged to the place of execution from the moment he left the van. Until he was dead, he was in a rage and vigorously tried to escape. The three officers charged with shooting him tied him to a post in the prison yard. Asked, in accordance with the law, if he had any last wishes, he said no. The men noticed him become more agitated, trying to bite off his clothes and twisting around the post. He yelled, "Call my father, so he can see what's happening to me! Make him come! He's the only guilty one!" and "I want to live!" Because of his constant movement, it was difficult to aim accurately and in the end, his backside was riddled with bullets (as he had turned all the way round). He was buried in the town cemetery; his grave remains unmarked.

Although he had entered a university, one of Rîmaru's professors described him as shy and semi-literate, with a very poor vocabulary and an extremely narrow range of interests. His roommates reported that he behaved strangely, so they avoided him. When he became enraged, Rîmaru would harm himself; he was found to have over twenty cuts on his arms and legs. A university classmate reported that one night, at the dormitory, Rîmaru did not sleep but instead prowled outside a room where he knew a girl had come to visit a classmate. Doctors diagnosed him with esophageal spasm, reactive nervous syndrome and mental problems in 1967.

Rîmaru entered the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1966 with a grade of 5.33 (out of 10). He repeated his second year there. At the time of his arrest, Rîmaru was in the course of repeating his third year.

Ion Rîmaru ([iˈon rɨˈmaru]; modern spelling Râmaru; 12 October 1946 – 23 October 1971) was a Romanian serial killer dubbed the Vampire of Bucharest (Vampirul din București) or the Blondes' Killer (criminalul blondelor). Rîmaru terrorized Bucharest between 1970 and 1971, killing four women and attacking more than ten others. Authorities had made over 2,500 arrests before his capture. The women were attacked with an axe, bitten on the breasts and thighs, and raped after they were already dead.