Russia's second most prolific serial killer? Alexander Pichushkin admits to 11 more murders, claims he took 63 lives

Russian serial killer Alexander Pichushkin, who was in prison for killing 48 people, has now claimed to have killed 11 more people, according to Russia's prison service.

Also known as the "chessboard killer", Pichushkin was imprisoned for life in 2007 after he confirmed killing 48 people, reported Reuters, citing Russia's penal service.

He told investigators that he was ready to admit to 11 more murders, after authorities suspected that he had killed more than 48 people.

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50-year-old Alexander Pichushkin targeted his victims, many of which were homeless, alcoholics or elderly, around Bitsevsky Park in Moscow.

He was on his murder spree from 1992 to 2006 and then was tried and jailed in 2007. Now, he has spent the last 18 years in the Polar Owl prison in the remote Arctic northern region of Russia.

The serial killer claimed that he killed 63 people, however, prosecutors have only confirmed 48 of them and charged him with 3 attempted murders as well.

Moreover, if his confession turns out to be true, it would bring his count to 59 murders and would make him Russia's second most prolific serial killer on record.

Why was he called 'chessboard killer'

Russian media nicknamed him "chessboard killer" because he told detectives that he had planned to place a coin on every square of a 64-square chessboard for each of his victims.

He killed his first victim in 1992 when he was just 18 years old, the Guardian reported. But he got arrested when he was 33 years old and was working in a supermarket, often spending time at Bitsevsky Park or home playing chess.

Currently, the most dangerous serial killer in Russia is Mikhail Popkov, a former policeman who was convicted of 78 murders.

(With inputs from agencies)