The Nighttime Killers (Нічний Серійник) is the media epithet for the killers responsible for a string of brutal murders in Kiev, Ukraine between 1991 and 1997. Two men, Vladyslav Volkovich (Владислав Волкович) and Volodymyr Kondratenko (Володимир Кондратенко) were arrested and charged with 16 murders. Most victims were shot with a .22 sporting rifle and stabbed or bludgeoned with a wide variety of weapons ranging from stitching awls to bricks and iron bars. The killers claimed that they began the murder spree in order to prepare themselves for an eventual career as contract killers, practicing on the homeless, and continued killing for profit and for fun. Kondratenko committed suicide in prison during the trial. Volkovich was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.