Nikolai Aleksandrovich Ageyev was born on May 1, 1974, in the industrial city of Kurgan, located in Kurgan Oblast, Russia. Very little is publicly known about his childhood or early life. Like many from economically struggling regions of post-Soviet Russia, Ageyev grew up in a challenging environment, and by the early 2000s, he had turned to a life of crime. He became involved in robberies, some of which escalated into violent assaults. This early criminal activity marked the beginning of a long and brutal pattern of violence that would span decades.

In 2003, Ageyev was convicted of robbery and assault and sentenced to several years in a penal colony in Sverdlovsk Oblast. While serving this sentence, he displayed violent tendencies that foreshadowed his future crimes. In 2006, during an altercation driven by personal animosity, Ageyev murdered a cellmate, earning an additional 16 years on top of his existing sentence. His violent behavior behind bars marked him as a dangerous individual, yet over time, he managed to portray himself as a model prisoner.

In October 2017, Ageyev was transferred to a facility in Kurgan, and by July 2018, after more than a decade in custody, he was granted parole for what authorities described as “exemplary behavior.” Upon release, however, Ageyev had nowhere to go. He relocated to Yekaterinburg in Sverdlovsk Oblast, living as a vagrant and surviving on the margins of society. His release proved catastrophic, as within weeks he would embark on a killing spree that would claim multiple victims and horrify the Russian public.

After his release, Ageyev’s life spiraled quickly into violence. In early August 2018, he began committing a series of robberies and assaults against acquaintances and random individuals. On August 17, 2018, he committed his first post-parole murder. He visited the apartment of an elderly woman he had met the previous day, located on Sortirovochnaya Street in Yekaterinburg. Upon entering, Ageyev immediately attacked her—choking her and then striking her at least 11 times with a hammer and an axe. He stole 13,000 rubles before fleeing the scene.

Following this killing, Ageyev fled to Chelyabinsk, where he continued his violent crime spree. Over the next month, he targeted food vendors during nighttime robberies, carrying a metal wrench as his weapon of choice. He struck victims without warning, often leaving them seriously injured, before emptying cash registers and spending the stolen money on alcohol and food. These attacks escalated law enforcement’s manhunt for the so-called “wrench robber,” though Ageyev managed to evade capture by constantly moving between cities.

On September 11, 2018, Ageyev committed his most brutal crime. In Kamensk-Uralsky, he befriended a 36-year-old man outside a liquor store and was invited to his apartment to drink vodka. Inside the home, the man’s 10-year-old stepdaughter was present while her mother worked a night shift. After several hours, Ageyev decided to rob the apartment and assault the child. When asked to leave, he attacked his host, striking him repeatedly with the wrench until he was unconscious. Ageyev then sexually assaulted the 10-year-old girl, after which he drowned her in the bathtub. He stole 19,000 rubles before leaving. The man survived his injuries and, upon his wife’s return, authorities were notified, triggering an intense regional manhunt.

Two days later, on September 13, 2018, Ageyev was arrested at a railway station in Chelyabinsk after investigators identified him from surveillance footage taken near the crime scene. While in custody, he spontaneously confessed to the murders and multiple assaults. His case was escalated to high-level investigators due to the brutality of his crimes.

On June 20, 2019, after being deemed mentally fit to stand trial, Ageyev was formally charged with multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, robbery, sexual assault, and child abuse. Throughout his trial, he displayed no remorse, often hiding his face behind a medical mask and cap. On September 18, 2019, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court found him guilty on all counts and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

After his sentencing, Ageyev was transferred to the Polar Owl Colony, one of Russia’s most secure “special regime” prisons, located in the remote Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. For several years, he exhibited no notable disciplinary issues. However, in April 2024, his violent tendencies resurfaced. He developed a hostile relationship with his cellmate, Arsan Mukayev, a 47-year-old Chechen militant convicted for his role in the murder of 13 Russian soldiers during the Second Chechen War.

On April 20, 2024, Ageyev retrieved a piece of cement from the prison and repeatedly struck Mukayev as he lay in his bunk, hitting him approximately 39 times. Mukayev died shortly afterward in the prison hospital from severe trauma and shock. During the subsequent investigation, Ageyev admitted to the killing, stating bluntly that he had done it simply because he disliked his cellmate.

On December 12, 2024, Ageyev was convicted of murder once again and sentenced to a second life term, cementing his reputation as one of the most dangerous inmates in the Russian penal system.