In 1994, Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, the "Rostov Ripper, " who raped and butchered more than 50 victims, was executed after losing an 11th-hour appeal for clemency.
Think of it this way: the hit novel Child 44 is loosely based on the Chikatilo killings but the author is quite open about the fact that pretty much everything has been moved around to contribute to the story he really wanted to tell which is really just using Chikatilo as a plot device.