A Russian judge has handed out a life in prison sentence to the "chessboard murderer" who was convicted last week of killing 48 people.
The sentence was read out by the judge, as Alexander Pichushkin, a 33-year-old former supermarket worker, looked at the ground, a Reutersreporter in court said.
Asked if he understood, Pichushkin replied: "I'm not deaf. I understood."
Pichushkin was given his nickname by the Russian media because he told detectives in a confession that he had hoped to put a coin on every square of a 64-square chessboard for each of his victims.
He is Russia's deadliest serial killer since Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 and executed for killing more than 50 people.
Russia is now observing a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty