Belarusian 'Chainsaw Killer' Gets New 22-Year Prison Sentence

Uladzislau Kazakevich sits in court during his more recent trial last month.

MAHILEU, Belarus -- A Belarusian teenager serving a 15-year prison term after being convicted of killing a woman with a chainsaw at a shopping mall has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for attempted murder in a separate case.

The Mahileu regional court on May 14 found Uladzislau Kazakevich guilty of trying to kill guards at the prison where he is being held in the eastern city of Shklou, and of plotting to kill the warden.

The court ruled that Kazakevich's new sentence includes the initial one, so he is now set to serve 22 years in total.

Kazakevich's second trial started on April 11. The prison administration accused Kazakevich, 19, of stabbing a prison guard with a handmade knife and trying to stab another guard in October 2017.

At his previous trial, Kazakevich pleaded guilty to using a chainsaw and an ax to attack four women at a shopping mall in Minsk in October 2016, killing one and injuring two.

In March 2017, he was convicted of murder with extreme violence, attempted murder, and the infliction of injuries and sentenced to 15 years in prison, the maximum term for a minor in Belarus.

Kazakevich's parents say that their son is mentally ill and needs medical help.

Investigators in the initial case said that Kazakevich suffered from psychological problems, but the court ruled that he was fit for trial.