1 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:14,640 Welcome to the debauchery dolls. Are you one of those people who 2 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,480 think they're cute or are you of the group that thinks they're 3 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,280 creepy as fuck? Today we'll talk about a man who 4 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:25,000 thought of them as his children. Also, stay tuned after the main 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:30,280 story for surprise bonus. I'm Dave Jarry Garrett. 6 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,840 Garrett, Where are you Garrett? Garrett Garrett. 7 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:48,480 Fast as fuck boy. What's good? 8 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:51,360 All you criminals, the Boston true crime douchebags out there. 9 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:53,800 And welcome to this episode of Criminal AF. 10 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,680 Fast as fuck boy. I'm Dave Jarry and I'm all by 11 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,880 myself for this one. And why is that Good question. 12 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,280 I'll tell you, there's a lot of you know, I mentioned that 13 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,200 shortly after coming back from my vacation this summer, I I 14 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,280 received the promotion at work And with this promotion, I've 15 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:12,120 been given a new work schedule. After completing about a month's 16 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,760 worth of training on day shift throughout July and August, I've 17 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,960 been assigned to a new shift that is the total opposite of 18 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:21,080 the shift Garrett Casey and I had been working on. 19 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,640 Now not just opposite hours, opposite days off as well. 20 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,280 So while Garrett is working, I'm off, and when I'm working, 21 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,400 Garrett is off. So it makes it pretty near 22 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,840 impossible for us to schedule some time together to get into 23 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,480 the studio. So what does that mean for 24 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:37,920 criminal AF you may be wondering? 25 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,520 Nothing long term, but it'll be a little different for a time. 26 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,600 Not sure what that time frame will be, but I've been I've been 27 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,120 told it could be anywhere from a month to six months, and 28 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,160 considering I'm now into month 2 of this new job, it's looking 29 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,560 more likely the latter. But now that my training is done 30 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:56,920 and I'm settling into my new role and schedule, I'll be 31 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,080 putting out some episodes for the time being until we can all 32 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:01,640 get back together on the same schedule. 33 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,600 And we all know Garrett brings a little extra flavor to the show. 34 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,960 I'll do my best to keep that same energy, though it'll never 35 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:11,560 be the same without my little gear bear being here. 36 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:17,000 So here we are with criminal AF presents fast as fuck boy. 37 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,840 These episodes will just be me spewing some quick stories about 38 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,000 some random shit and things that I find particularly interesting. 39 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,680 Some stories may not exactly be true crime, but it'll be 40 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,160 provoking to say the least. Now, I do want to personally 41 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,760 apologize to our faithful listeners and Patreon members. 42 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,880 I know we've lost a few of you while this whole transition was 43 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,600 going on, and you know, I can completely understand that. 44 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,000 Why would you want to financially support a show that 45 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,480 hasn't put out any new episodes? No hard feelings, we get it, we 46 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:46,920 wouldn't want to do it either you know? 47 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:49,840 So just know that Gary and I, we love you all the same. 48 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,240 For those that have stuck around, we fucking love you too 49 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,040 and you are all amazing and we all owe you so much. 50 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,240 With that being said, we are going to make a slight change to 51 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,240 our Patreon to make it a little more simpler for our listeners. 52 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:08,320 We will now be offering only two tiers for our amazing friends of 53 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,600 the show. There will be a $2.00 general 54 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,000 support tier where you can contribute less than a cup of 55 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,960 coffee from donkeys a month just to say thanks. 56 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,080 And then we'll have our $5 tier where you can get everything 57 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,280 associated with Criminal AF ad free episodes, bonus episodes, 58 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:23,720 what else? Whatever else we put out. 59 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,000 So anyone who is currently in the higher tiers can resubscribe 60 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:29,480 to one of the two tiers mentioned. 61 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:35,320 So all right, with this being fast as fuck boy, we're just 62 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,960 going to jump right into this fucked up story about a man from 63 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,640 Russia who took doll collecting to the extreme. 64 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,040 How extreme Dave? Well, so extreme. 65 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,080 He ended up having 29 total life-size dolls in an apartment 66 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,240 he shared with his parents. He had names for these dolls, 67 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,400 ages, backstories, you name it. So kick off your shoes, sit 68 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,600 back, relax, get all snuggled in and tell your kids the tooth 69 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,000 fairy ain't bringing any money unless they go to fuck the bed, 70 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,440 because it's time to fuck this episode in the mouth. 71 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:09,560 So we're going to begin with a man named Anatoly Moskvan. 72 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:14,920 He was born in Nizhni Novgorod. Say that three times fast. 73 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,200 It's Russia's fifth largest city. 74 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,200 He was the only child of his parents, Elvira and Urim, and he 75 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,680 was born on September 1st, 1966. From a young age, it was a 76 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,800 parent that Anatoly was, to put it nicely, different. 77 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,520 He kept to himself, had trouble socializing with other children 78 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,080 and was often bullied. He was also extremely 79 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,400 intelligent, earning top grades in his class and many throughout 80 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:41,080 his life considered him a genius. 81 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,960 Those who have studied him believe he was and is on the 82 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,600 autism spectrum. He would spend whatever money he 83 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,920 had earned as a child and buy himself books and by doing so 84 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:54,320 taught himself multiple languages. 85 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,840 Around the age of 8, Anatoly would experience a traumatic 86 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:00,560 incident that is said to have changed him and taught him that 87 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,320 the world he lived in could become very dark and cold. 88 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,120 On his way home from school, he was beaten and raped by an adult 89 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,520 male and came home covered in bruises. 90 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:15,240 According to Anatoly, on March 4th, 1979, when he was 12, he 91 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,960 had a strange experience that significantly changed the course 92 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,920 of his life. Anatoly was participating in a 93 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,400 school project. It was sort of a challenge for 94 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,720 the students, like who can collect the most recycling. 95 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:28,760 So this led to a number of the children traveling outside the 96 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:30,760 comfort of their own neighborhoods, including 97 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,240 Anatoly. During one such endeavor, 98 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,720 Anatoly found himself alone in a neighborhood he was unfamiliar 99 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,680 with. He passed a home and went into 100 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,320 the yard to gather up their recycling when he stumbled upon 101 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,480 a group of 13 people holding candles in what appeared to be 102 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,840 some sort of ritual. In one version of the story, 103 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:52,000 they wore suits and another version they wore black robes. 104 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,520 As he looked closer, he saw a coffin in the center of the 105 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,560 group. It was open, but he couldn't see 106 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:00,080 inside from where he was standing. 107 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,840 The group noticed Anatoly and he turned to run away, but one of 108 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:07,400 the adults grabbed him and steered him inside the house. 109 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,480 This is when he learned the group was holding a funeral for 110 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:15,560 11 year old Natasha Petrova, who had died accidentally from being 111 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:20,200 electrocuted in her bathtub. The girl's mother approached a 112 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,240 frightened Anatoly and urged him to kiss the corpse of the young 113 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,000 girl, which he refused. However, the mother kept 114 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,240 insisting and eventually forced his face close to Natasha's 115 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,880 until he had no choice but to kiss her forehead again and 116 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:37,600 again and again. By the third time he kissed her, 117 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,280 he found that he had actually enjoyed the experience. 118 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:45,200 As if in a bizarre fairy tale, the mother then produced 2 brass 119 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,800 rings, one of which she placed on Anatoly's finger and the 120 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:53,320 other on Natasha's. There, she proclaimed, now you 121 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,360 are married. He was then made the promise he 122 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,600 would not tell anyone of this ritual for 40 days and then was 123 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,760 sent away with coins and fruit. Now there are countries that 124 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,760 practice like posthumous marriage ceremonies is known as 125 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,560 acrogamy. Although Russia is not one. 126 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,240 It's most commonly performed in China in the form of like ghost 127 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,680 marriages in which one or both of the parties is deceased. 128 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:20,080 Now, how did this affect Anatoly? 129 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,160 Well, he later reported that following this bizarre 130 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:27,320 encounter, Natasha visited him in his dreams nightly, where she 131 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,120 would torment him and urge him to return to the cemetery in 132 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,920 which she was buried and performed black magic rituals. 133 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,800 Anatoly refused to ever return to that village and night after 134 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,480 night, for days and weeks on end, Natasha would return to his 135 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:44,080 dreams urging him to visit and perform black magic. 136 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,600 Eventually Anatoly did visit the cemetery again and acted out the 137 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,080 rituals as Natasha had described in his dreams. 138 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:58,880 The dream stopped for a while. Anatoly eventually told his 139 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,640 parents with the marriage ritual and that Natasha would visit him 140 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,920 in his dreams nightly. Confused and concern for their 141 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:09,080 son, Elvira and Urim would bring Anatoly to a Doctor Who 142 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,000 diagnosed these reoccurring dreams as being caused by 143 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,720 puberty. He was prescribed a sedative to 144 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:19,000 help him sleep and sent back home not long after, the nightly 145 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,720 visits returned, with Natasha now demanding that Anatoly 146 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,360 procure a tooth from another boy and place it under his pillow. 147 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:31,000 She would then collect it tooth fairy style and attach herself 148 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,159 to the tooth's owner. Somehow, Anatoly managed to get 149 00:08:35,159 --> 00:08:38,919 another boy's tooth, did as he was instructed, and was finally 150 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:43,640 left in peace by Natasha. He still made an annual visit to 151 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,400 her gravesite, hoping to keep her spirit at rest. 152 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,000 Following this incident, Anatoly developed a macabre fascination 153 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,600 or obsession with death, burial practices, and cemeteries that 154 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:56,360 would consume him for the rest of his life. 155 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:59,640 He loved strolling through cemeteries, studying the 156 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:01,840 gravestones, and enjoying the serenity. 157 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:07,880 In fact, he coined the term necropolis, meaning expert on 158 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:13,040 cemeteries, to refer to himself. After secondary school, Anatoly 159 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,000 enrolled in the Gorky Institute of Foreign Languages, where he 160 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,280 earned a degree in philology, which is the study of languages. 161 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,960 Anatoly was a polyglot, speaking 13 different languages, many of 162 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,120 which he had taught himself. As an interesting side note, 163 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:31,960 this is the age late teens, early to mid 20s, at which 164 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,720 symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions and hallucinations 165 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,400 usually are diagnosed. Just keep that in mind now. 166 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,680 Anatolia earned a PhD from Moscow State University, 167 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:46,880 specializing in Celtic history. He was a linguist by profession, 168 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,360 writing scholarly articles and books including dictionaries and 169 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,280 teaching languages. A nerd's nerd and you could say 170 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:56,960 it was around this time that he took a deeper interest in the 171 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,200 black magic and the occult and found some like minded people 172 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:04,280 joining a group of Luciferians. Perhaps he was influenced by the 173 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,280 rituals he had supposedly performed at Natasha's behest. 174 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,160 His beliefs would become increasingly bizarre, prompting 175 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,720 him to engage in some truly sinister activities. 176 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:18,480 After completing his studies at Moscow State University, Anatoly 177 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,680 would work there as a lecturer, but it didn't take long for his 178 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:25,280 peers and students to realize his eccentric beliefs and his 179 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:27,400 awkward and sometimes uncomfortable demeanor. 180 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:31,640 He was very difficult to work with, so he was let go from the 181 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,120 university. Not long after, in 2003, he 182 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,320 began a relationship with a woman named Yalia. 183 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,640 They never consummated the relationship, as this was 184 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,600 against Anatoly's oath of celibacy. 185 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,880 However, they wanted a child together, but Anatoly's parents, 186 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,840 whom he still lived with, were totally against the idea. 187 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:53,920 Anatolia and Yalia went through the necessary steps of adoption 188 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,960 anyway, and they attempted to adopt A baby girl, but because 189 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:00,560 of Anatoly's living situation, the fact that they weren't 190 00:11:00,560 --> 00:11:03,320 married and didn't earn enough money, they were denied. 191 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:07,360 Obviously, the relationship fell apart shortly thereafter. 192 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,480 This is believed to be the tipping point between reality 193 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,440 and fantasy for Anatoly. Since he couldn't have a child 194 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,360 of his own, he would give someone else's child another 195 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,840 chance at life, as we will soon learn. 196 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,960 In 2005, Anatoly began work with a fellow academic to help write 197 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,960 a catalogue of area cemeteries. Countless records were destroyed 198 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:33,840 during the Cold War, and Anatoly had explored a total of 752 199 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,040 cemeteries in less than three years, noting the information on 200 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,480 the gravestones. Not surprisingly, he loved this 201 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:45,000 job and was as happy as a proverbial pig in shit, he was 202 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,880 quoted as saying. I am attracted to cemeteries 203 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:52,080 like a magnet. He would come to know everyone's 204 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:55,560 names, the dates they were born and died, and the cause of their 205 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:59,560 deaths, all by memory. He didn't take any food or water 206 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:02,200 with him during his long hours of documenting gravestones, 207 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:04,560 often opting to drink out of puddles. 208 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,240 He even slept in the cemeteries, either on benches, the grass, or 209 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,400 in one case, he was found by a group of gravediggers sleeping 210 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,760 in a coffin which had been scheduled to be buried. 211 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:21,880 He found the accommodation cozy. People began noticing this 212 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,640 strange man occupying the cemeteries at all hours of the 213 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:28,160 night, including by the undesirables of the villages. 214 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,320 Anatoly was beaten and robbed several times while he was 215 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:37,760 researching these graveyards. To help make ends meet while 216 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,720 doing this project, Anatoly would accept per diem jobs 217 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:42,520 working with children as a language tutor. 218 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:45,280 He would help these children with any number of the 13 219 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:49,160 languages he was fluent in. His mother, Elvira, said 220 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,360 Anatolia was happiest when working with children. 221 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,840 Oddly enough, this love of children would ultimately lead 222 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:01,280 to his demise. He began developing very macabre 223 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,160 habits during his time. Perhaps it was something he 224 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,400 learned while practicing black magic or as a Luciferian. 225 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,680 Anatolia began sleeping on the graves of children, particularly 226 00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:16,600 the graves of young girls, and soon he would later say the 227 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,640 children began to talk to him. They would visit him in his 228 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,320 dreams as he slept on their graves and would only sleep on 229 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,520 the graves of children who liked him. 230 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,400 Using his knowledge of local history, he would ask these 231 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:34,400 children questions to decipher if they were actual spirits or 232 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,360 demonic beings acting like children. 233 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,280 And of course, the children knew the answers to all of Anatoly's 234 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,800 questions, probably because he wanted the children to be real. 235 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,560 I mean, let's face it. Around 2009, strange occurrences 236 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:50,680 were happening around a number of these cemeteries. 237 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,040 Some visitors noticed that the graves of their loved ones had 238 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:57,080 been tampered with. Some appeared as though the soil 239 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,440 had been disturbed, while others found letters or cards placed on 240 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,400 the graves. One night in 2011, police 241 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,760 patrolling a cemetery noticed the man who appeared to be 242 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,360 painting a gravestone. They asked for his 243 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:15,000 identification and found that he was none other than 43 year old 244 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,400 necropolis extraordinaire, Anatoly Muskin. 245 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:23,320 For one reason or another, Anatoly agreed to take police 246 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,120 back to the apartment he shared with his parents, and what the 247 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:28,920 officers found would shock and horrify them. 248 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,720 Before even entering the apartment, the police were 249 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,160 assaulted by the sickening smell of human decay. 250 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,920 Once inside, they found that every surface of the small 251 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:43,200 apartment was covered with clothes, newspapers, Anatoly's 252 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:48,360 collection of 60,000 books and most disturbingly, numerous life 253 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:54,200 sized dolls, all female. The dolls ranged from toddler 254 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,880 size to adult size and were clothed in a variety of outfits, 255 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,520 bonnets, dresses, boots, jackets, hats and scarves. 256 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:03,720 Some appeared to be wearing makeup. 257 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,560 They were everywhere, perched on the furniture, sitting on the 258 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:13,240 floor or lying randomly about. When Anatoly's parents, who 259 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,720 appeared to be oblivious to the smell, were asked about the 260 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,720 dolls, they replied that their son always had an interest in 261 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,840 lifelike dolls. We knew it was a hobby to make 262 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:27,560 big dolls, said his mother. When one officer moved the doll, 263 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,960 he heard music and discovered that Anatoly had placed a music 264 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:35,360 box inside of it. At the same time, police came to 265 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:39,880 the realization that these were not dolls but mummified human 266 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:44,080 remains. At the police station, Anatoly 267 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,880 spoke freely. He said that he had been robbing 268 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:50,880 the graves of newly deceased females since 2003, when he got 269 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,120 the idea to adopt them as his own. 270 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:57,280 When his own adoption application was denied, he said 271 00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,680 that he would go to the cemetery in the middle of the night where 272 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,680 he would dig up the freshly interred corpse and begin the 273 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,120 preservation or mummification process. 274 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,040 First, he wrapped them in a mixture of salt and baking soda, 275 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,560 then stuffed rags inside of them and wrapped nylon tights around 276 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:16,440 their heads and legs. For their face, he took the 277 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:19,800 plastic or porcelain from an actual doll face and fit it 278 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:24,120 carefully over their skull. Eyes consisted of paint or 279 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,040 buttons because the girls had to be able to see so that they 280 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:29,800 could watch cartoons with Anatoly. 281 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,280 He made sure to record their vital statistics from the 282 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,480 headstones so that he could celebrate their birthdays at 283 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,240 which they would be presented with gifts. 284 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,320 He talked to his girls in their own language. 285 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:48,000 There was a total of 26 bodies in the apartment, with an 286 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,800 additional 3 bodies in the garage. 287 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:53,120 Those who had somehow fallen out of favor with their creator. 288 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:57,560 Like had they misbehaved? Did they stink too much? 289 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,720 Like why were they in the garage now? 290 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,960 The human dolls. They ranged in age from 3 to 25. 291 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,920 The oldest one in terms of seniority had been with Anatoly 292 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:12,280 for nine years. Not surprisingly, news of the 293 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:15,599 ghoulish professor as macabre menagerie of human dolls spread 294 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:18,599 quickly. Anatoly was given the nickname 295 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:22,359 The Lord of the Mummies and was charged with 44 separate 296 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,040 criminal counts, including desecration of graves. 297 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,840 In 2012, he was given a psychiatric evaluation and found 298 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:32,720 to be unfit to stand trial, having been diagnosed with 299 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,920 paranoid schizophrenia. He has been in a psychiatric 300 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,600 facility since that time and as of last report was not 301 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,280 considered well enough to be released. 302 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,600 So you're probably wondering what the fuck is wrong with this 303 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,600 guy. Now, Anatoly was diagnosed with 304 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,360 schizophrenia, which is defined as a serious mental illness 305 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:55,560 marked by being out of touch with reality. 306 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:58,480 Although it can't be cured, it can be regulated with 307 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,280 medication. Now, looking at his history, we 308 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,880 can see that Anatoly exhibited many signs of schizophrenia, and 309 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,800 it's interesting to note that nobody has been able to verify 310 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:11,920 the existence of Natasha Petrova, let alone the events of 311 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,080 her funeral. Was this all a delusion? 312 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,440 A figment of Anatoly's imagination Probably never know. 313 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,200 He reported that he only unearthed bodies who told him 314 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:25,280 that they wanted to be rescued and live with him. 315 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,600 He laid on the ground above their specific grave, and if he 316 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,080 heard a voice saying that they wanted to come out, he would 317 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:35,240 oblige. Auditory hallucinations or 318 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,960 magical thinking. Again, no way to know. 319 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:41,600 The reason he was not punished by law is that his mental 320 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:43,800 disease or defect made him unable to appreciate the 321 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,080 wrongfulness of his acts. He said that while he was aware 322 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,280 that grave robbing was illegal, he felt the need to rescue the 323 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,040 girls from their graves was more important. 324 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:55,960 He stated that he meant to keep them until he could figure out a 325 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,120 way to reanimate them, either through magic or science. 326 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,120 In court, he expressed no remorse, telling the girls 327 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:07,000 families. You put them in the ground. 328 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:09,800 I brought them home and warmed them up. 329 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:14,600 So what are your thoughts on Anatoly and his dolls? 330 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:16,440 Do you think he was out of touch with reality? 331 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,160 Can you imagine his parents sharing an apartment with a 332 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,240 bunch of decomposing humans and remaining clueless? 333 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,320 Or did they choose plausible deniability? 334 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,000 Like they knew, but they pretended not to know. 335 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:33,080 You know, I don't know if my kids brought home death and I 336 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,760 smelt it, yeah, I would 100% know. 337 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:37,920 You know, I'd be like, what? What the fuck is that? 338 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,600 So leave us a comment about your thoughts regarding the story on 339 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:45,080 our social media or on Spotify. All comments are welcome, even 340 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:48,360 the ones that call us douchebags because hey, algorithms work the 341 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:49,800 same. Doesn't care if it's good or 342 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:51,000 bad. That comment is a comment. 343 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:52,760 It shows that there's discussion happening. 344 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:56,680 So let's hear him now. Shout out goes to Debbie from 345 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:58,800 True Crime University for writing and sharing this story 346 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,200 with me. She knows how insanely hectic 347 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,920 it's been, so I can't express my gratitude enough. 348 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,040 Now, I promised a bonus to this episode, and since we're on the 349 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,680 topic of dolls and it's nearly Halloween, let's talk about 350 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,760 arguably the most haunted doll on the planet. 351 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,040 No, we're not talking about Annabelle, although she is a 352 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:22,080 fucking freak of a doll. We're here to talk about Robert. 353 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:25,760 Now a good part of this story comes from the website 354 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,640 ghostsandgravestones.com with some added tidbits sprinkled in. 355 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,240 So go check out that site and many more regarding Robert the 356 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:34,440 doll. Now the story of Robert goes 357 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,920 like this. In the early 1900s when a young 358 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,720 boy named Eugene Robert Otto was given a one-of-a-kind handmade 359 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,080 doll by a servant that worked for his parents in his home. 360 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:48,840 Eugene, who everyone called Robert also named the doll 361 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:53,920 Robert and told everyone, now my name is Jean, I'm Jean the 362 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:56,840 doll's Robert. Now, Jean and Robert quickly 363 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:59,120 became attached and we're now best of friends. 364 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,520 The home where Eugene lived, now called the Artist's House, is 365 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,760 located at 534 Easton St. It was built between 1890 and 366 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,640 1898. It was here that Jean was given 367 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,280 Robert the doll and where a friendship that lasted 368 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:16,880 throughout his lifetime and beyond was forged. 369 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,960 While he seemed like an ordinary cloth doll, it wasn't long 370 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,920 before Robert was involved in strange and somewhat terrifying 371 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,800 events. The first hint that something 372 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:29,160 out of the ordinary was happening was one night when 373 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,680 Jean, who was only 10 years old at the time, awoke to find 374 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,600 Robert the doll sitting at the end of his bed, staring at him. 375 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,400 Moments later, his mother was awakened by his screams for help 376 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:42,480 and the sounds of furniture being overturned in her son's 377 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,720 bedroom. Gene cried for help, begging his 378 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,440 mother to have rescue him. When she finally was able to 379 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,040 wrench the locked door open, she saw a poor Gene curled up in 380 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,960 fear on his bed, his room in shambles, and Robert the doll 381 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:01,000 sitting at the foot of the bed. Nobody knows for sure why or how 382 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,240 this child's play thing could actually wreak havoc on a 383 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,200 child's bedroom or do anything at all. 384 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:07,000 After all, it's just a toy, right? 385 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,240 Well, but the weird and inexplicable didn't stop at that 386 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,320 one occurrence. Gene's parents would often hear 387 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,800 their son upstairs talking to the doll and then hear a 388 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,240 response back in a totally different voice. 389 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,400 They reported seeing the doll speak and witnessing his 390 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,960 expression change. Giggling and sightings of 391 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,000 Roberts running up the steps or staring out the upstairs window 392 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,760 were also reported. Now, Robert continued to live 393 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,320 with Gene throughout his lifetime and after Gene's 394 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:40,600 parents died, he moved back into their home with his wife, Anne. 395 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:44,680 Jean decided that the doll needed a room of his own and 396 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,480 placed him in the upstairs room that had a window overlooking 397 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,920 the street. Now Anne, you know she felt 398 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,640 uneasy with Robert in the house and although she couldn't put 399 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,360 her finger on it, she wanted Jean to lock the doll up in the 400 00:22:56,360 --> 00:23:01,720 attic where he could do no harm. Now Jean conceded, and as one 401 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,360 could imagine, Robert the doll was not happy with his new 402 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,440 living arrangements. Soon, visitors to the home heard 403 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,240 footsteps in the attic, the sounds of someone pacing back 404 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,240 and forth, and devilish, giggling. 405 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:16,840 Neighborhood children reported seeing Robert watching them from 406 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,560 the window in the upstairs bedroom, and told accounts of 407 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,160 the doll actually mocking them as they walked to school. 408 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:26,320 When Gene heard this, he immediately went to investigate, 409 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,120 knowing that he had locked Robert in the attic and there 410 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:31,200 was no way he could be sitting by the window of the upstairs 411 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:35,120 bedroom. But to his complete shock, when 412 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:37,600 he opened the door to the bedroom, there was Robert 413 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:39,600 sitting in the rocking chair by the window. 414 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,000 Jean locked Robert back up in the attic several times. 415 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:45,840 He's time discovering him again, sitting by the window in the 416 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,040 same upstairs bedroom, now Jean Otto. 417 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:53,120 He died in 1974 and when a new owner moved into the house on 418 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:56,560 Eaton Street, their 10 year old daughter was delighted to find 419 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,520 Robert the doll in the attic. But her delight soon ended when 420 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,000 she claimed that Robert was alive and that the doll wanted 421 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,920 to hurt her. She awoke often in the middle of 422 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:08,800 the night, screaming in fear and told her parents that Robert had 423 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:13,480 moved about in the room. Solaris Hills newspaper reporter 424 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,920 Malcolm Ross visited Robert at the artist's house and had a 425 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:18,560 very eerie experience with the doll. 426 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,160 When Malcolm and a friend entered the room with the doll, 427 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,640 Robert's face had an expression of concern, as if to ask who are 428 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,640 these people and why are they here now? 429 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,960 The friend told Malcolm Robert's back story and pointed out the 430 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,960 children's furniture that had been purchased by Jean. 431 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,800 It was at this moment that Malcolm noticed a change in the 432 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:41,040 doll's expression. As if he was following the 433 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:44,520 conversation, one of the men in the room made a comment about 434 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,520 what an old fool Jean Otto must have been to build all this 435 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,320 furniture for a doll. Again, Robert's expression 436 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:54,560 changed, this time to one of anger. 437 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,400 As Malcolm later stated, there was some kind of intelligence 438 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,200 there. The doll was listening to us 439 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:06,320 now. Myrtle Reuter, the woman who 440 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,160 bought the artist's house after Jean Otto had passed, kept 441 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:13,040 Robert for 20 years, even taking him to her next home in 1980. 442 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,320 But she grew tired of his antics. 443 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:21,480 She donated Robert to the Fort E Martello Museum in 1994, and 444 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:25,160 Myrtle died a few months after donating him, but Robert still 445 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:30,240 continues on to this day. Many believe that the origin of 446 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,000 Robert's evil lies in the one who originally gave him to Gene 447 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,680 Otto, the servant who worked for Gene's parents. 448 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,520 This woman was supposedly mistreated by her bosses, and to 449 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,560 punish them, it is believed that she cursed the doll with voodoo 450 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:45,520 and black magic. That might explain the many 451 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,160 mysterious and frightening experiences people have had with 452 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:52,000 Robert the Doll, but if so, wouldn't the haunting end when 453 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,400 the owners died? Nobody really knows for sure, 454 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,040 but one thing remains. Robert the Doll continues to 455 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,360 taunt and scare those who come to view him, especially guests 456 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:05,440 to the 4 E Martella Museum who attempt to take his photo 457 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,080 without express permission. Many have reported their cameras 458 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,840 becoming inoperable when they try to take a picture of Robert, 459 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:14,320 only to begin working again when they left the museum. 460 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,360 And others experience life altering hardships after leaving 461 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:22,280 Robert the Doll, like divorces, loss of employment, and even 462 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,240 deaths. This led to people writing 463 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:27,880 letters or returning to the museum to ask for Robert's 464 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,200 forgiveness for taking his picture without his consent. 465 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:32,720 Now this is an actual real thing. 466 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:35,440 People really write letters to this Robert Nadal? 467 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:40,200 And one such letter reads, Dear Robert, I just want to apologize 468 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:42,200 for taking a photo of you before I ask permission. 469 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:44,880 I must not have heard the instructions correctly before I 470 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,320 photographed you. Since our meeting, I've suffered 471 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,080 a series of heartbreaking misfortune. 472 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,120 Please forgive me. Again, please accept my sincere 473 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:57,120 apologies and if you see fit to forgive and end the bad luck, I 474 00:26:57,120 --> 00:26:59,040 would appreciate it, as would my family. 475 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,440 Thank you your friend and admirer James. 476 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,200 Now, Robert the doll still sits inside a glass case and you can 477 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,640 still see him today, but the glass doesn't seem to stop him 478 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,440 from inflicting fear and discomfort to museum staff and 479 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,680 visitors. So be warned, if you do go to 480 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,960 visit Robert at the Four E Mattel Museum, please afford 481 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,280 Robert the respect he requires and ask him for permission to 482 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,280 take his photo. You could be in for some very 483 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:31,040 hard times if you don't. All right, that'll do it for the 484 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,040 Puppeteer by Criminal AF. Fast as fuck boy. 485 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:36,760 Let us all know what you thought of this episode. 486 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,560 Comment on Good Pause or Spotify or leave a review on Apple 487 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:41,480 Podcast. Thank you all for hanging out 488 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,120 with me. Head on over to 489 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:46,280 criminalasbuck.com to ask us anything you like via our mail 490 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:47,880 call tab. Or if you'd like us to give our 491 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,680 shitty advice on any situation that's plaguing you, You know, 492 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,800 hit us up on a deer douchebags tab signing off from studio 493 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,400 Chloroform. Keep your head on a swivel and 494 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:59,880 stay safe. Till next time, See you. 495 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:43,330 Now give me our theme music. Music.