Suspect: Suspected serial killer Tamara Samsonova, 67, beheaded and dismembered her targets, it is believed

A pensioner dubbed the 'Granny Ripper' wrote a diary confession to to at least ten murders, hacking apart her victims in a reign of terror that may have lasted two decades.

Suspected serial killer Tamara Samsonova, 68, beheaded and dismembered her targets in Russia's second city, St Petersburg, it is believed.

The former hotel worker entered details of her macabre secret life in diaries which she kept in Russian, English and German, alongside black magic and astrological books.

She was detained this week after CCTV footage showed her carrying body parts of an elderly woman in a black plastic bag.

Police are now comparing her elaborate diary entries with known cases of unsolved murder cases where victims were dismembered, and body parts packed in bags strewn around the city.

A police source said: 'A diary was found where the woman described murders which took place more than ten years ago. Now police are going through all old unsolved cases for the last 20 years.'

Samsonova was detained after the headless body of 79 year old Valentina Ulanova - for whom she was a carer - was found near a pond on Dimitrova Street in St Petersburg.

A headless, armless and legless man's body was found on the same street 12 years ago, and evidence found in her flat, including a business card for the victim, links her to the crime.

There are also diary entries mentioning the man's tattoos, say police sources.

'The woman is incriminated in the murder of her tenant, a 44 year old native of Norilsk, who was renting a room in her apartment on September 6 2003 during a sudden argument,' said a police statement.

Caught: She was detained this week after CCTV footage showed her carrying body parts of an elderly woman in a black plastic bag

Police found diaries and are now comparing her elaborate diary entries with known cases of unsolved murder cases

'After that she dismembered his body and took it outside.'

She has admitted at least one more murder to police, another tenant whose dismembered body was dumped in plastic bags around Frunzensky district of the city.

Another victim is feared to be her husband, who she reported missing in 2005.

He was never found, dead or alive.

Samsonova is now being questioned by police. She admits committing the crimes but without going into detail, say reports.

In her flat, police found a saw, a knife, and blood spots in the bathroom.

A source from the investigation said: 'She's either much more stupid, or much smarter, than she seems.'