Dmitry Leonidovich Gridin was born on March 4, 1968, in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, in the Soviet Union. He grew up in a family that was respected in the community. His father worked as the head of the workshop at the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, which was an important job in the industrial city. 

As a young man, Gridin attended Magnitogorsk State Technical University, where he was a student. He pursued his education seriously and was focused on his studies. He later got married and had a daughter who was just six months old at the time.

Dmitry Leonidovich Gridin committed his first murder on 31 July 1989, killing 16-year-old Zhana Terenchuk on the porch of her house. Following this, he made three more unsuccessful attempts to attack other girls. One of these girls was able to provide a detailed description of him, which led to his nickname, "The Lifter."

A month later, Gridin murdered two more victims, Danzili Usmanova and Lyudmila Pozdnyakova. During these crimes, he left a fingerprint at one of the scenes, which later helped in his capture. On 25 November 1989, he attempted to attack another girl. However, she fought back strongly, causing him to flee the scene. In his haste, he dropped his hat and glasses. This evidence made him easy to identify since he was out in very cold weather, which made him stand out. When he was arrested, a knife was also found in his possession.

The case attracted a lot of attention in society. People were angry and demanded the death penalty for him. His trial began in the fall of 1990 and was filled with public unrest, as many wanted him to face the harshest punishment. On 3 October 1990, the Chelyabinsk Regional Court sentenced Gridin to death. However, his sentence was later changed to life imprisonment in December 1993.

Gridin was sent to prison on Ognenny Ostrov in the Vologda Oblast. In 2000, he appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which found that there were violations in his case. Nonetheless, the Russian government denied his release, stating that attacks on women stopped after his arrest.

In 2013, a TV crew interviewed Gridin in prison. He expressed his intention to apply for parole in 2014, exactly 25 years after his arrest. However, when he tried to challenge the Presidential Decree on pardon in 2014, his application was denied. He further sought to appeal this decision, but the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the ruling. Gridin made another parole request after 25 years but was denied again by the Belozersky District Court. In the summer of 2017, he applied for parole a second time but was rejected again. Even after over 28 years in prison, Gridin continued to deny any guilt for his crimes.