Lake Bodom murders

The Lake Bodom murders were an infamous 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. 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 and will probably remain a mystery.

Victims

• Maila Irmeli Björklund, 15 years old at time of death. Stabbed and bludgeoned
• Anja Tuulikki Mäki, 15 years old at time of death. Stabbed and bludgeoned
• Seppo Antero Boisman, 18 years old at time of death. Stabbed and bludgeoned
• Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson, 18 years old at the time. 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 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

A number of property and violent crimes sentenced to the maintenance man, Pentti Soininen recognized the late 1960s, the age of 24 while in the county of Kuopio in prison had made the Lake Bodom blood acts. 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.

Karl Gyllström

One of the prime suspects of the murders was Karl Gyllström, a kiosk keeper from Oittaa. He was known to have hated campers and behaved aggressively. "Kiosk-Man," the famous Gyllström drowned, or drowned Bodom Lake in 1969, and while being drunk he confessed the murders to his neighbor before his death, saying: "I killed them." Gyllström filled the well a few days after the murders and therefore Gyllström`s house and the courtyard was studied in depth. Nothing incriminating does not, however, were found. On the other hand it is possible that all of the articles looted destroyed. For example, Gyllström`s relative have been told that the murder weapon is in the filled well. According to the police Gyllström had an alibi for the night of the murders, which was given by Gyllström`s wife. His wife had told the control throughout the night and the man had not been away from home. Alibi, however, has told his wife before his death that a man had threatened to kill him, if he is telling 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. It was surprising to the patient's disheveled appearance, such as black fingernails and full of red stains on the clothes. Assmann lied to hospital staff housing data, and the cause of shabbiness very being. He also pretended unconscious and was aggressive and nervous. Assmann reminded clothing down to the description of the Lake Bodom murderer. When the news was told wanted hallmarks, Assmann cut off his short blond hair. Assmann lived within five kilometers away from Bodom, which was only a short distance from the shore of Lake Bodom. His guilt had to be present at the time, especially Surgical Hospital Curator, later professor of medicine, Jorma Palo, who took care of Assmann that time in the hospital. Assmann was convinced of the guilty as well as other hospital staff. The police had only brief meeting with Assmann. The police did not want to cross-examine doctors, and did not take Assmann`s redstained clothes for examination. The doctors suspected that the red stains in Assmann`s clothes were blood. Later Palo wrote three books about the murders and Assmann. 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 Tulilahti murders in Heinävesi.

Arrest of Nils Gustafsson

In late March 2004, almost 45 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 (Finnish: Keskusrikospoliisi, KRP, Swedish: Centralkriminalpolisen, CKP) 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.

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.

See also

• List of unsolved murders and deaths
• Kyllikki Saari - another unsolved Finnish murder

Jorma Palo and Matti Paloaro wrote three books about the murders.

• Jorma Palo: Bodomin arvoitus WSOY, 2003 (The mystery of Bodom)

• Jorma Palo, Matti Paloaro: Luottamus tai kuolema! Hans Assmannin arvoitus Tammi, 2004 (Assurance or death! The mystery of Hans Assmann)

• Jorma Palo: Nils Gustafsson ja Bodomin varjo WSOY, 2006 (Nils Gustafsson and the shadow of Bodom)

References

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