Russian police have detained a suspect in the murders of more than two dozen elderly women at various locations around the country, the country’s top investigative agency said on Tuesday.

The suspect, a 38-year-old man, who has been working as a locksmith in the central Russian city of Kazan, was linked to the 26 murders through genetic evidence, the Investigative Committee said in a statement.

The suspect is believed to have killed the women to steal their property.

The incidents occurred in 2011 and 2012, the statement read. “The suspect is currently confessing,” it added. (dpa/NAN)