23-year-old sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of his father in North Savo
The North Savo District Court handed down a life sentence to a man from Kiuruvesi who shot his 71-year-old father.
23-year-old sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of his father in North Savo
A 23-year-old man from Kiuruvesi received a life sentence when the North Savo District Court convicted him of the murder of his father. The victim was a 71-year-old man.
The crime occurred on 19 March. The convicted man went to his father's property and initially attempted to start a fire. He had previously searched online for information about deaths by fire. However, the fire did not ignite. He then considered whether it would be possible to kill a person with electricity. Finally, he shot his parent in the back of the neck with an air rifle fitted with a specially hardened steel pellet.
According to the prosecution's account, the act resembled an execution. The shooter's father's sister found her brother dead in a tractor shed. She called the emergency services and then her nephew, who arrived at the scene shortly afterwards. According to the police, the convicted man cried hysterically, but suddenly became brisk when asked about the deceased's affairs manager. According to an experienced senior constable's assessment, the crying was not genuine but rather an act.
Initially, the convicted man claimed that his last visit had been the previous day and that he had been at work on the morning of the incident. In reality, he had been without paid employment for months. Two days after his father's death, he published a social media image in which he said he had missed his father greatly.
Later, the man admitted to causing the death, but denied intentional murder. He claimed that his father had been in conflict with the rifle and the weapon had fired accidentally when being placed against a rubbish bin.
The court did not find the explanation credible. The crime had been premeditated. Underlying the act were the perpetrator's financial difficulties and debts. He hoped that through inheritance he would be able to free himself from his debts. The court ordered him to pay his father's three sisters a total of €20,000 in damages for pain and suffering. The decision, handed down in early July, is not yet final.
Source: Iltalehti