Lake Bodom murders

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Lake Bodom murders
Lake Bodom in 2004
Location	Espoo, Finland
Date	Sunday, June 5, 1960
Attack type	Mass murder
Weapon(s)	Knife, blunt instrument
Deaths	3
Injured (non-fatal)	1
Perpetrators	Unknown

Coordinates: 60°14′30″N 24°40′30″E / 60.24167°N 24.67500°E / 60.24167; 24.67500 The Lake Bodom murders were a multiple homicide that took place in Finland in 1960. Lake Bodom is a lake by the city of Espoo, about 22 kilometres west of the country's capital, Helsinki. In the early hours of June 5, 1960, four teenagers were camping on the shores of Lake Bodom.^[1] Between 4AM and 6AM, an unknown person or people murdered three of them with a knife and blunt instrument wounding the fourth. The sole survivor, Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson, led a normal life until 2004, when he became a suspect and was subsequently charged. In October 2005, a district court found Gustafsson not guilty of all charges against him.

The murders have proven to be a popular subject in the Finnish media and commonly return to the headlines whenever new information or theories surface, but the case is still unsolved.

Victims

Maili Irmeli Björklun, 15. Stabbed and bludgeoned.
Anja Tuulikki Mäki, 15. Stabbed and bludgeoned.
Seppo Antero Boisman, 18. Stabbed and bludgeoned.
Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson, 18. Survived, having sustained concussion, fractures to the jaw and facial bones and bruises to the face.

Suspects

There have been numerous suspects during the investigation of Lake Bodom murders, but these suspects are the most notable.

Pauli Luoma

Luoma was a runaway from a nearby work department. Police caught him soon after the murders and questioned him. They found out that he had a valid alibi. He reportedly was in Otaniemi at the time of the murders.

Pentti Soininen

Pentti Soininen, a maintenance man, was convicted of number of property and violent crimes in the late 1960s. At the age of 24, while in in prison in the county of Kuopio, he confessed that he had committed the Lake Bodom blood murders. On the fateful night, Soininen, aged 15, resided near the site of the Lake Bodom murders. The police interrogated him, however his confession was not given much weight. Soininen was a psychopathic character who could be incredibly cryptic, especially while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Soininen's long criminal record included theft, assaults, and robberies. In 1969, Soininen hanged himself at Toijala, a prisoner transport station.

Valdemar Gyllström

One of the prime suspects of the murders was Karl Valdemar Gyllström, a kiosk keeper from Oittaa. He was known to have hated campers and behaved aggressively. In Oittaa Gyllström was known as "Kiosk Man". He drowned in Lake Bodom in 1969, and while drunk he confessed the murders to his neighbor before his death, saying: "I killed them." Gyllström filled the well in his courtyard a few days after the murders and therefore Gyllström's house and the courtyard were studied in depth. Nothing incriminating, however, was found. On the other hand, it is possible that all of the articles were hidden or destroyed. For example, Gyllström's relatives have said that the murder weapon is in the filled-in well. According to the police, Gyllström had an alibi for the night of the murders, which was given by his wife. Gyllström's wife said that she was awake the whole night and that her husband had not been away from home. However, the wife had said before her death that her husband had threatened to kill her if she told the truth.

Hans Assmann

Most suspicion has focused on the alleged KGB spy, Hans Assmann. On 6 June 1960 he came to the Helsinki Surgical Hospital. Assmann`s behaviour in the hospital was particularly odd. The patient appeared dishevelled, with black fingernails and his clothes covered in red stains. Assmann may have lied to hospital staff about the cause of his appearance. He also pretended to be unconscious and was aggressive and nervous. Assmann's clothing matched the description of the Lake Bodom murderer. Assmann cut off his longish blond hair after details regarding the appearance of the murderer were revealed on the news. Assmann lived within five kilometres of Bodom, which was only a short distance from the shore of Lake Bodom. His behaviour could have suggested guilt at the time, especially as was noted by Surgical Hospital Curator Jorma Palo, as well as other hospital staff. The police had only a brief meeting with Turkham, but found little since they did not want to cross-examine doctors and did not take Assmann`s stained clothing for examination; in spite of the fact that the doctors in attendance were certain that the stains were composed of blood. Later Palo wrote three books about Assmann and the murders. Former Detective Chief Inspector Matti Paloaro also suspected that Assmann was responsible for five other murders. Assmann has been linked to unsolved Finnish homicides such as Kyllikki Saari's murder in Isojoki and the Tulilahti double murder in Heinävesi.

Arrest of Nils Gustafsson

In late March 2004, almost 44 years after the event, Nils Gustafsson was arrested by the police on suspicion of having murdered his three friends. In early 2005, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation declared the case was solved based on some new analysis on the blood stains. According to the official statement, Gustafsson erupted in jealous anger over his feelings for Björklund, his new girlfriend. She was stabbed multiple times after the fatal blow, while the two other teenagers were killed less savagely. Gustafsson's own injuries, while notable, were less severe.

The trial started on August 4, 2005. The prosecution called for life imprisonment for Gustafsson. It argued that the re-examination of the old evidence using modern techniques such as DNA profiling raises suspicion towards Gustafsson. The defense argued that the murders were the work of one or more outsiders and that Gustafsson would have been incapable of killing three people given the extent of his injuries. On October 7, 2005 Gustafsson was acquitted of all charges.^[2]

On his acquittal, the State of Finland paid him €44,900 for mental suffering caused by the long remand time.

Cultural impact

The Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom, who are also from Espoo, derive their name from the lake. All the band members looked for good names in their local phone book after the record label said they needed to change their name (as they had previously signed to another label as Inearthed). When they stumbled upon Lake Bodom, they felt it was a name with impact and one behind which was a story they found interesting.

Notes

↑ Palo, Jorma. Bodomin arvoitus. Helsinki: WSOY, 2003. - p.8. - ISBN 978-951-0-27893-2.
↑ Court finds Gustafsson not guilty of 1960 Bodom Lake triple murder

References

Man remanded on suspicion of infamous unsolved triple murder from 1960 (English)

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