Kaspars Petrovs
Encyclopedia
Kaspars Petrovs is a Latvian national, and a convicted serial killer
. He was convicted of the murder of thirteen elderly women by the Riga
Regional Court on May 12, 2005 and sentenced to life in prison.
Petrovs, the son of a prominent medical doctor, had been homeless for several years. Initially held in connection with the murders of five women in February 2003, he later confessed to killing more than thirty women. He was initially charged with 38 murders, 8 attempted murders, and a number of theft and robberies, mostly involving elderly female residents of Riga, Latvia
between 2000 and 2003. However, authorities only pursued charges in the deaths of 13 of the victims due to a lack of forensic evidence in the other cases.
Petrovs, who had a previous conviction for theft in 1998, maintained after his arrest and during his 2005 trial that he had not "intended to kill his victims, but only to rob them." Petrovs strangled the women after following them home and forcibly entering their apartments or posing as a Latvijas gāze (state gas company) employee. Petrovs stole an estimated 18,000 lats
(26,000 euro
s) in goods and money from his victims.
After his conviction, Petrovs apologized to his victims' families in court and asked for their forgiveness. "I cannot return the victims to life by words, but I wish they were still alive, that nothing had happened..."
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. He was convicted of the murder of thirteen elderly women by the Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
Regional Court on May 12, 2005 and sentenced to life in prison.
Petrovs, the son of a prominent medical doctor, had been homeless for several years. Initially held in connection with the murders of five women in February 2003, he later confessed to killing more than thirty women. He was initially charged with 38 murders, 8 attempted murders, and a number of theft and robberies, mostly involving elderly female residents of Riga, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
between 2000 and 2003. However, authorities only pursued charges in the deaths of 13 of the victims due to a lack of forensic evidence in the other cases.
Petrovs, who had a previous conviction for theft in 1998, maintained after his arrest and during his 2005 trial that he had not "intended to kill his victims, but only to rob them." Petrovs strangled the women after following them home and forcibly entering their apartments or posing as a Latvijas gāze (state gas company) employee. Petrovs stole an estimated 18,000 lats
Latvian lats
The lats is the currency of Latvia. It is abbreviated as Ls. The lats is sub-divided into 100 santīmi ....
(26,000 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s) in goods and money from his victims.
After his conviction, Petrovs apologized to his victims' families in court and asked for their forgiveness. "I cannot return the victims to life by words, but I wish they were still alive, that nothing had happened..."