Ihar Piatrovich Hershankou (also ''Hershankoŭ''; be, Ігар Пятровіч Гершанкоў; russian: Игорь Петрович Гершанков, ''Igor' Petrovich Gershankov''; ca. 1981 — 19 or 20 November 2018) was a convicted

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

ian serial killer and fraudster. Hershankou was one of the leaders of "Black Realtor," a group of criminals who took over homes through legal means and then murdered the former owners. Hershankou's criminal activities took place in Mahilioŭ,

. He was convicted of murdering six people between 2009 and 2015. He was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in 2017 and executed by firing squad in 2018.

Early life

Hershankou graduated from a professional college as an automotive mechanic. He served in the

Armed Forces of Belarus The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus (, ) consist of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Republic of Belarus Ministry of Defence. Being a landlocked country, Belarus has no navy. In 20 ...

. After demobilization, he found work as a driver delivering candies to shops. In 2002, he met Tacciana Hershankova and they opened a real estate business that offered financial assistance to pay off debts by exchanging a client's home for a smaller house and a lump sum payment. The couple targeted debt-ridden alcoholics. In 2009, Hershankou killed a client with a bat after closing a real estate deal. He then strangled the client's partner and buried their corpses in a village cemetery. The double murder remained undiscovered until 2015. In 2010 Hershankou and Hershankova were sentenced to 5 years in prison for fraud after they refused to make payments to clients. After an early release in 2012, Hershankou and Hershankova opened another real estate company targeting similar clients. The couple partnered with Siamion Berazhnoy, who at that time; had no history with real estate. As was past practice, Hershankou obtained a list of major debtors and they chose a man named Larionov, who lived in

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

. Berazhnoy pretended to be a municipal employee and showed Larionov a mix of real and forged documents stating that his house would be taken away by city authorities. Hershankou offered to purchase the home before the city could seize it. To celebrate Hershankou and Berazhnoy drank vodka, but laced Larionov's with clonidine. After losing consciousness, Larionov was tied up and buried alive in a village cemetery in Chavusy District. In 2013—2015, three more people were killed the same way. Hershankou and Berazhnoy were arrested in 2015 after a failed murder attempt. Berazhnoy and Hershankou cooperated with authorities, and Hershankou confessed to the murders. In 2016, Mahilioŭ regional court sentenced Hershankou and Berazhnoy to death. In 2017, Hershankova was sentenced to 24 years in prison for her role. The Supreme Court of Belarus dismissed the appeal. The

UN Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per y ...

called for the delay and review of Berazhnoy and Hershankou's case. According to the human rights group Viasna-96, Hershankou and Berazhnoy were executed on the night of 19–20 November 2018. Amnesty International condemned their executions.

References

External links

Amnesty International report on Belarus, 2017/2018
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hershankou, Ihar 2009 murders in Belarus 2013 murders in Belarus 2016 murders in Belarus 2018 deaths 2000s murders in Belarus 2010s murders in Belarus 21st-century executions by Belarus Executed Belarusian serial killers Male serial killers People convicted of fraud People executed for murder Real estate brokers Year of birth uncertain