'Granny Ripper' accused of eating victims' organs and making stew from heads

Daily Record

14-07-2025

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Tamara Mitrofanovna Samsonova, 74, from Russia, was jailed in 2017
An elderly Russian woman earned the moniker 'Granny Ripper' following a series of heinous crimes against as many as 11 individuals. Tamara Mitrofanovna Samsonova was found to have spiked her friend's salad with pills, decapitated her and boiled the head among other gruesome acts.
Born in 1947 in Uzhur, Samsonova appeared to lead an ordinary life initially. She completed her secondary education and went on to study at Moscow State Linguistic University.
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Later, she relocated to St. Petersburg, married Alexei Samsonov, and spent 16 years working for a travel agency.
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In 2000, her husband disappeared, prompting Samsonova to report him missing to the police, but he seemed to have vanished without a trace. In 2015, she even approached the investigative unit of the Fruzensky District in St. Petersburg to provide a statement regarding her husband's mysterious disappearance.
However, in 2015, her sinister nature was shockingly exposed when a passer-by discovered the dismembered remains of her tenant. The then 68-year-old Samsonova was captured on CCTV disposing of large plastic bags from her apartment under the cover of darkness, reports the Mirror US.
Footage also showed her carrying a saucepan, which allegedly contained a human head.
These were believed to be the remains of Valentina Ulanova, 79, her lodger, who suffered a horrific fate. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the victim died "on the spot" after Samsonova drugged her salad with over 50 sleeping pills in July 2015 before proceeding to dismember her body.
Samsonova travelled to Pushkin and convinced a pharmacist to sell her phenazepam, a prescription drug, which she then mixed into Valentina's favourite Olivier salad. Days later, Valentina's remains were discovered wrapped in a shower curtain on the street.
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The investigators released a statement: "Then, in order to conceal the committed crime, she dismembered the body of her victim and placed the parts in different places near the apartment block."
It is believed the woman gruesomely dismembered her lodger with a handsaw due to "personal hostile relations" after a "conflict with her friend". Reports also suggest she may have boiled Valentina's head in a pot.
In court, Samsonova displayed odd behaviour, blowing kisses at journalists before admitting to Valentina's murder. A chilling diary entry hinted she might be responsible for up to 11 other deaths, including possibly her husband and mother-in-law, who both vanished without a trace.
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Her deteriorating health, uncooperative demeanour, and the absence of further human remains made it impractical to press additional charges against her.
A report in The Sun included a source's comment: "We may never know the extent of this granny's killings."
At the time of her arrest in 2015, allegations also surfaced in 2003 she murdered her tenant Sergei Potanin.
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Sergei, a 44-year-old from Norilsk, was allegedly killed by Samsonova, who is accused of dismembering his body and scattering it on the streets.
Samsonova was under investigation for a total of 15 deaths when officers discovered a diary entry in which she wrote she "killed my tenant Volodya, cut him to pieces in the bathroom with a knife and put the pieces of his body in plastic bags and threw them away in the different parts of Frunzensky District."
Reports suggested Samsonova drew inspiration from Andrei Chikatilo, a serial killer who amassed nearly 50 murders between 1978 and 1990.
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A neighbour, who had known her closely for 15 years, observed her obsession with Chikatilo, saying: "She gathered information about him and how he committed his murders."
During her court hearing for Valentina's murder, Samsonova declared to the judge: "I am guilty and I deserve to be punished."
The then 78 year old applauded and grinned upon learning she would be kept in detention.
Nevertheless, a forensic psychiatric assessment in 2015 concluded Samsonova posed a threat to both society and herself, leading to her placement in a specialist facility before being transferred for mandatory psychiatric care at a specialist hospital in Kazan.
In 2017, she received a life sentence in a mental health facility, with the judge determining her psychological condition exempted her from responsibility for Valentina's death.