MOSCOW , Russia ( Reuters ) -- A Moscow court began trying a supermarket worker who prosecutors say murdered 49 people over a 14-year period , which would make him Russia 's worst serial killer in a decade . Pichushkin is accused of luring victims to his flat before smashing them to death with a hammer . His lawyer said 33-year-old Alexander Pichushkin had confessed to most of the murders , but it was unclear how many . The jury must decide whether or not he is of sound mind . `` My client understands that he is to blame for most of these murders , '' Pichushkin 's lawyer , Pavel Ivannikov , told reporters outside the courtroom after a fifteen-minute hearing . Pichushkin scowled as he was brought into Moscow City Court under heavy guard for a preliminary hearing at which he opted to be tried by a jury , instead of a panel of judges . If convicted , Pichushkin -- called the `` Bitsevsky Maniac '' by Russian media after the Moscow park where many of the alleged victims were killed -- would be Russia 's most deadly serial killer since Andrei Chikatilo , convicted in 1992 of 52 murders . Prosecutors say Pichushkin befriended many of his victims in Bitsevsky park by inviting them to drink vodka with him , then bludgeoned them to death with a hammer . Some of the victims had fragments of glass pressed into their skulls . Prosecutors also say Pichushkin confessed to the murders in police custody . Russian media reported that for every person he killed , he placed a coin on a chess board and that he had been planning to cover all 64 squares on the board . The trial was adjourned until September 13 to allow time for a jury to be selected . It is expected to be lengthy , as it will hear from at least 41 relatives of the alleged victims and a total of 98 other witnesses . During the hearing , relatives of two of the alleged victims sat just meters from Pichushkin . The accused occasionally stretched his arms and stared out from the glass enclosure where he was held , without displaying any emotion . In a red and white checked shirt and jeans , he looked older than his age , with gray peppering his dark hair . Speaking quietly before the hearing , one middle aged man , Alexander Fyodorov , recalled his family 's efforts to track down his missing brother , who would be 47 this year . `` I want Pichushkin to sit in prison for the rest of his life , '' he said . Although Russia has not formally abolished the death penalty , it has been observing a moratorium on capital punishment . Another elderly woman who was also in the court , Tamara Klimova , came home from holiday to discover her husband was missing . The body was not found for five years . Prosecutors now believe he was killed by Pichushkin . `` I would like him to be handed over to the people so that they can tear him apart , '' Klimova told reporters . E-mail to a friend .
Killer also confesses to most of the murders , unclear how many . Jury will decide whether 33-year - old supermarket worker is of sound mind . Killer lured victims by inviting them to drink vodka , then hammering them to death . If convicted Pichushkin would be Russia 's most deadly serial killer since 1992 .