Karl Emil Malmelin

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Karl Emil Malmelin
Born(1872-01-16)16 January 1872
Lahnus, Espoo, Finland
Died26 February 1944(1944-02-26) (aged 72)
OccupationFarmworker
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment
Details
Date10 May 1899
Location(s)Klaukkala, Nurmijärvi, Finland
Killed7
WeaponAxe

Karl Emil Malmelin (16 January 1872 – 26 February 1944[1]) was a Finnish farmworker and mass murderer.

Malmelin was born 1872 in Espoo as the illegitimate child of Helena Gustava Malmelin, a maid at a Lahnus croft.[2][3] As an adult, Malmelin became a farmworker at the Simola croft in Klaukkala, a village in the southern part of the Nurmijärvi municipality.[4] The tenant there was Johan Ezekiel Aspelin. Malmelin began dating Edla, the crofter's daughter,[4] but when she would not become his wife, he killed everyone on the croft with an axe on 10 May 1899.[5] Three of the victims were women and two were children. Malmelin was arrested a couple of weeks later.[6]

Malmelin was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Turku Court of Appeal. The case was the subject of a broadside ballad, and Nurmijärvi parish became popularly known as Murhajärvi (which literally means "murder lake"). Malmelin served 13 years of his sentence before being pardoned by Nicholas II in 1912.[7] The later events of Malmelin's life remain unknown. He died in 1944, aged 72.[8]

Malmelin remains one of the worst axe murderers in Finnish history, along with Toivo Koljonen.

Sources[edit]

  • Keskisarja, Teemu (2015). Kirves: Toivo Harald Koljosen rikos ja rangaistus. Siltala. ISBN 978-952-234-324-6.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Geni.com
  2. ^ "Espoo > syntyneet, 1860–1890 > 128: 12 1871/ 01 1872" (in Finnish). Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen yhdistys (SSHY). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Espoo > rippikirja, 1868–1877 > 318: Kurtby, Smeds Frälse hemman" (in Finnish). Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen yhdistys (SSHY). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Simolan torpan kaamea surmatyö" (in Finnish). Nurmijärvi-Seura ry. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  5. ^ Russie Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine, Journal de Gèneve (May 13, 1899)
    – Ett oerhördt brott, Hufvudstadsbladet (May 11, 1899)
    – Seitseman hengen murhasta Nurmijarvella, Päivälehti (May 13, 1899)
    – Massmördaren gripen, Västra Finland (May 27, 1899)
    – Faststälda domar, Borgåbladet (September 9, 1899)
  6. ^ "Nurmijärwen murhamies renki Karl Emil Malmelin wangittu". Digikansalliskirjasto (in Finnish). Uusi Suometar. 25 May 1899. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Kirvessurmien kakkosmies" (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  8. ^ Leitzinger, Antero (9 February 2015). "Kakola – myyttejä ja karua todellisuutta" (in Finnish). Agricola. Retrieved 13 August 2019.

See also[edit]

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