Lake Bodom murders | |
---|---|
Location | Espoo, Uusimaa, Finland |
Date | Sunday, 5 June 1960 |
Attack type | Murder by stabbing, child murder |
Weapons | Knife, blunt instrument |
Deaths | 3 |
Injured | 1 |
Perpetrators | Unknown |
Accused | Nils Gustafsson |
Verdict | Not guilty |
Charges | Murder |
Litigation | Lawsuit by Gustafsson against Finnish government for infliction of mental suffering settled for €44,900 |
60°14′30″N 24°40′30″E / 60.24167°N 24.67500°E
The Lake Bodom murders is one of the most infamous unsolved homicide cases in Finnish criminal history.[1] Sometime between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. (EET) on 5 June 1960, at Lake Bodom in Espoo, Uusimaa, Maila Irmeli Björklund and Anja Tuulikki Mäki (both 15) and Seppo Boisman (18) were killed by stabbing and blunt-force trauma to their heads while sleeping inside a tent. The fourth youth, Nils Gustafsson, then aged 18, was found outside the tent with broken facial bones and stab wounds. Despite extensive investigations, the perpetrator was never identified and various theories on the killer's identity have been presented over the years. Gustafsson was unexpectedly arrested on suspicion of committing the murders in 2004, but he was found not guilty the following year.[2]