Inside Russian 'cannibal family's house of horror': Husband and wife 'made ... trends now

Their gruesome acts of murder and cannibalism shocked Russia when they came to light in 2017.

Dmitry Baksheev and Natalia Baksheeva were allegedly butchering dozens of people over a period of 18 years before police finally discovered the cannibalistic lair hidden in their flat - including cut off body parts and photos of their human meat dishes.

Dmitry and Natalia, then aged 35 and 42 respectively, were arrested after road workers found a phone containing images of him holding a severed human hand in southern Russia.

When police searched their flat in Krasnodar, they reportedly found several chopped off body parts, pickled human remains, a dozen slices of skin and recipes as well as 'cannibal videos' outlining how to cook human flesh. 

Investigators alleged the couple used dating sites to recruit women to kill and eat, but Dmitry - who was nicknamed the 'Devil = and his wife were only convicted of the murder of a waitress, whose partial remains were found in their fridge and freezer. 

Elena Vashrusheva, 35, was reportedly killed after Natalia accused her of seducing her husband before he plunged a knife into the waitress in September 2017. 

Investigators said Elena, who was living at the same military complex as the couple, had been drinking with the pair when Natalia suddenly 'got jealous', saying the waitress had seduced her husband and it led to an altercation.

Vadim Bugayenko, of the Russian Investigative Committee, said at the time: 'They were drinking alcohol together and it ended with a conflict based on jealousy.

'The wife complained and as a result her husband stabbed the woman to death.'

Natalia was 'actively involved in the murder' and incited her husband, the investigator alleged.

The murder was discovered after road worker Roman Khomyakov found Dmitry's mobile in the street in Krasnodar and saw images of him posing for selfies with a woman's body parts.

'We were putting asphalt on the road, when I found the phone,' Khomyakov said. 'I opened the photo album and looked only at two pictures.

'At first I did not even understand what was there, it looked like a head and a hand. I thought pictures were real.'

Dmitry even came looking for the phone. The road worker said he looked 'homeless' and asked for his phone, but Khomyakov said he didn't know anything and kept the phone. He later gave it to police officers. 

The phone led investigators to their flat, where some of Elena's body parts were found in their fridge, freezer and even in the frying pan on their hob, while she was identified as the woman whose head Dmitry was posing with in the pictures. 

Dmitry even came looking for the phone. The road worker said he looked 'homeless' and asked for his phone, but Khomyakov said he didn't know anything and kept the phone. He later gave it to police officers. 

The phone led investigators to their flat, where some of Elena's body parts were found in their fridge, freezer and even in the frying pan on their hob, while she was identified as the woman whose head Dmitry was posing with in the pictures. 

In the pictures found on Dmitry's phone, he can be seen holding a severed hand and sticking the fingers into his nose and mouth. Investigators believe the hand belonged to Elena. 

Among the grisly finds during the search of the couple's home was one particularly shocking pictures.

'In one of the photographs, a cooked human head lies on a dish strewn with tangerines. Instead of eye sockets there are olives, a lemon is attached to the nose,' an investigating source told local media after the search in 2017.

The picture is dated 28 December 1999 - which lead to the suspicion that the couple had been killing and eating people for 18 years. 

A police source said at the time that the picture proved to be the 'earliest date of their culinary experiment.'

Many cans with steamed meat were also found in their kitchen, according to a source who spoke to local media. 

A police search later led to more of Elena's body parts - including her severed head -, which were located in a rubbish container near the pair's home.

Dmitry confessed to throwing away the body parts, telling police: 'I did a stupid thing.' 

He told interrogators he began his macabre reign of terror in 1999 and Natalia identified dozens of women she claimed to have killed with her husband after being shown their missing person photos, local media reported in 2017.

A police source said: 'Going through the photographs, the woman has recognised more than 30 victims that they killed and eaten together with her husband.

'In their home, many mobile phones of their victims were found, and also video lessons on how to cook meals from human meat.'

Dmitry - who worked at the military academy where they lived - was seen in another picture posing with a hammer and sickle, which were the symbols of the Soviet Union, the country in which he was born.

Natalia, who used to be a nurse at the academy, was reportedly fired because of an out-of-control drinking habit.

The pair was said to have used ether and Russian drug Corvalol - which is the main substance is Phenobarbital - to make their victims fall asleep, investigators alleged in 2017.

Neighbours said the smell of the drug reeked from their small flat in the accommodation building at the Military Aviation Academy.