In Ukraine, three young men who went on a month-long killing spree have been charged with murdering 21 people. The violent attacks plunged the eastern city of Dnepropetrovsk into a vortex of fear in the summer of 2007. The three, who are now 20 years old, were teenagers at the time they allegedly battered their victims with hammers and pipes.

Rumours of a maniac killing both young and old paralysed Dnepropetrovsk, one of the largest cities in Ukraine. Police, however, linked the reign of terror to a group of teenagers.

Theyre not revealing how they caught them but, with mobile phone footage of some of the murders, officers have little doubt of the identity of the criminals.

We think they were doing it as a hobby, to have a collection of memories when they get old, said Detective Bogdan Vlasenko.

The former classmates have been behind bars for almost a year now and its believed they've pleaded guilty to all the murders.

They are thought to have used iron pipes and hammers on their victims. Mobile phone footage also suggests they practised on cats first.

They all come from prosperous families and have allegedly admitted they committed the crimes just for fun.

Detectives say they the killers werent targeting anyone in particular. They just picked up people who looked like they wouldnt fight back.

You see, no one would fear for their life when these boys were offering them a ride, said Ivan Stypak, Chief Police Officer of the Dnepropetrovsk region.

However, the parents of the suspects refuse to believe their children could be killers. They insist their children were forced to confess their guilt.

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