Vlado Taneski was born in 1952 in the town of Kičevo, in what was then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia). He was the second of three children raised in a conservative and rigid household. His father was a World War II veteran, and both parents were strict disciplinarians. His relationship with his mother, who worked as a cleaner, was particularly tense and has been cited as a psychological influence in later years.

Taneski was an intelligent and educated man. He studied journalism in Croatia, developing an early passion for poetry and the written word. At the age of 21, he met Vesna, a law student who would become Kičevo’s first female lawyer, and the couple had two children. While Vesna built a successful legal career, Taneski’s own career was modest but steady. He began working at a local radio station, then spent roughly 20 years reporting for major Macedonian newspapers including Nova Makedonija and Utrinski Vesnik.

The early 2000s brought a series of personal and financial setbacks. In 2002, his father died by suicide, and months later, his mother died of an accidental overdose. In 2003, Taneski lost his long-term reporting job due to downsizing. The following year, his wife Vesna received a promotion and moved to Skopje, leaving him alone in Kičevo. Friends later described him as withdrawn, bitter, and increasingly obsessed with his mother’s memory.

Between 2004 and 2008, Vlado Taneski committed a series of sadistic murders targeting elderly, working-class women—specifically those who were uneducated cleaners, like his late mother. All the women were raped, bound, and tortured before being strangled. The crimes occurred in or around Kičevo, his hometown.

Confirmed Victims:

Mitra Simjanoska (64)

Disappeared: November 16, 2004

Found: January 12, 2005

Cause of Death: Strangled, bound, raped, tortured

Ljubica Licoska (56)

Disappeared: Early November 2007

Found: February 3, 2008

Cause of Death: Strangled, beaten, raped, bound

Zivana Temelkoska (65)

Disappeared: May 7, 2008

Found: May 16, 2008

Cause of Death: Strangled, raped, tortured; bound with telephone cords

Taneski inserted himself into the investigations as a freelance journalist, reporting on the very murders he had committed. What initially seemed like diligent crime coverage soon raised police suspicion—his articles included details not released to the public, particularly about the murder weapons and bindings.

A DNA test later confirmed that semen found on two of the bodies matched Taneski, and on June 20, 2008, he was arrested. A search of his family’s rural cottage uncovered a collection of pornographic material, ropes, cords, and personal items belonging to the victims—further linking him to the crimes. Authorities were preparing to charge him with a third murder and were also investigating him for the 2003 disappearance of 73-year-old cleaner Gorica Pavleska.