Story highlights 68-year-old Tamara Samsonova is suspected in the deaths of at least 11 people

"I'm haunted by a maniac upstairs who forced me to kill," she tells reporters

St. Petersburg, Russia (CNN) Police in the Russian city of St. Petersburg say they are investigating cannibalism and occult sacrifice as motives in the suspected slayings of at least 11 people by a pensioner dubbed the "Granny Ripper."

The suspect, 68-year-old Tamara Samsonova, a former hotel worker, was arrested July 28 after security video footage emerged of her taking several large plastic bags out of the apartment block in the middle of the night.

Police said the bags contained the body parts of another pensioner, Valentina Ulanova, 79, with whom the suspect temporarily lived as a carer.

After her arrest, Samsonova was pictured blowing kisses to reporters in court, and she was videoed celebrating when the judge informed her she would be held in custody.

"I'm haunted by a maniac upstairs who forced me to kill," she told reporters through the bars of her courtroom cage.

Read More