Siberian serial killer cop convicted of dozens more murders

A Siberian policeman who raped and killed women after offering them late-night rides was found guilty of dozens more murders on Monday, making him Russia's most prolific serial killer of recent times.

A court in the city of Irkutsk found Mikhail Popkov guilty of 56 murders between 1992 and 2007, sentencing him to a second life term. He was already in prison after being convicted of killing 22 women in 2015.

Popkov offered rides to women late at night, sometimes in his police car, while off-duty around his city of Angarsk near Irkutsk.

He killed them using weapons including a hammer and an axe, then dumped their bodies in the woods, at the side of the road and in a local cemetery. He was also found guilty of raping 10 of the women.

Popkov described himself as a "cleaner" who was purging his home city of prostitutes. All but one of his victims were women between the ages of 16 and 40. His other victim was a policeman.

The grey-haired 54-year-old appeared in court in prison uniform, his head bowed, Russian television showed. He will be sent to a prison that is exclusively for convicts serving life terms, nicknamed the "Black Dolphin."