Alexander Vladimirovich Bychkov was born on April 1, 1988, to Irina and Vladimir Bychkov. The family lived in a house near Belinsky, which was purchased by Alexander's paternal grandmother. Two years after Alexander's birth, his younger brother Sergei was born. From a young age, their mother forced the boys to work hard in the family vegetable garden. They also had to work for neighbors, collecting metal scrap to earn money. If they came home without money, they would face punishment.

Both of Alexander's parents struggled with alcoholism. When Alexander was about 12 years old, his father, Vladimir, took his own life by hanging himself. Neighbors believed that Vladimir's struggles with alcohol and his suicide were linked to the alleged infidelity of his wife, Irina.

In the late 2000s, a serious incident affected the family. Sergei, Alexander's younger brother, was severely beaten and suffered a brain injury after being thrown from a moving car. After this incident, Alexander left college to care for Sergei, who survived but became disabled.

On 17 September 2009, Alexander Vladimirovich Bychkov killed his first victim, 60-year-old Yevgeni Zhidkov. The two men met at a tavern. Zhidkov was on his way to fill out pension documents when Bychkov invited him to stay overnight. Once at his home, Bychkov stabbed Zhidkov while he slept and then cut up his body.

Bychkov continued to commit murders over the next few years, targeting men who were often homeless or had issues with alcohol. He would lure them to his home or secluded locations. There, he used a hammer or knife to kill them and then dismembered the bodies. He buried the remains in his backyard or in local dumps. Bychkov chose to commit these crimes during the warmer months to divert suspicion away from himself and imply that migrant workers might be responsible.

One of his victims became suspicious of him and attempted to blackmail him. This prompted Bychkov to kill him as well. In spring 2010, police found the first dismembered body, identified as Sergei Berezovsky, an ex-partner of Bychkov’s mother. In September of that year, two more bodies were discovered. Alexander Zhuplov, a man with mental health issues, was arrested for those murders and confessed to all three, leading to his commitment to a mental institution.

On 21 January 2012, Bychkov broke into a hardware store to steal knives and cash. He was arrested a few days later. In his home, police recovered a diary where he referred to himself as a "lone wolf" and claimed responsibility for 11 murders. He stated that his killing began after his girlfriend ended their relationship.

During police questioning, Bychkov made shocking claims about eating body parts from his victims. He was diagnosed with a mixed personality disorder but was found mentally capable to stand trial. On 22 March 2013, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for nine murders and a burglary. The bodies of two other victims mentioned in his diary were never located.