Kai-Pekka Savolainen murder: two men charged – intercepted conversation revealed "We killed him"
Two men aged 55 and 35 are charged in connection with the murder of Kai-Pekka Savolainen, 40, whose dismembered remains were found in the basement of an apartment building in Seinäjoki in 2021. Two other suspects avoided prosecution due to insufficient evidence.
Man missing in Seinäjoki found dismembered – two suspects face murder charges
Ilta-Sanomat reported that two men are charged with the murder of Kai-Pekka Savolainen, 40, in South Ostrobothnia District Court in October. Savolainen disappeared in 2020, and his remains were found in June 2021 in the basement of an apartment building at Kasperinviita 3 in Seinäjoki. According to the prosecution, Savolainen was killed on 29 November 2020.
The dismembered remains had been stuffed into the building's crawl spaces, which are accessible through a hatch in the wall. Savolainen was captured on R-kiosk surveillance camera footage in winter 2020; after that, no certain sightings of him were recorded.
Defendants' extensive criminal histories
Two men aged 55 and 35 are charged with the murder. Both have extensive criminal histories involving violent offences. The 55-year-old man has previously been charged with numerous assaults.
The 35-year-old is suspected, in addition to the Savolainen murder, of the murder of Kasper in Seinäjoki in May. He is also charged with several other violent offences. According to IS information, he was already charged in 2013 together with his brother in connection with a manslaughter committed in Seinäjoki, in which a 30-year-old man died. The older brother was convicted of manslaughter, the younger brother of aggravated assault.
Two suspects avoided prosecution
Two other initially suspected men – aged 46 and 62 – avoided murder charges. According to the prosecution, there were no probable grounds to suspect their guilt.
The police suspected the 46-year-old of murder because the victim's spectacles were found in his flat and the men had been in the same company before Savolainen's death. The man also had a key to the basement spaces where the remains were found. According to the prosecution's documents, he had become aware of the homicide from another suspect and lent his keys for concealing the remains.
However, the prosecution found that fibres from the 46-year-old's clothing were not found at the burial site or on the remains – only from two other suspects. On the basis of the preliminary investigation, no evidence also emerged that he had participated in the violence directed at Savolainen.
Intercepted telephone conversation insufficient for prosecution
The 62-year-old was suspected particularly because police had covertly recorded a private conversation in which another suspect charged with the crime said: "We [the 62-year-old] killed him."
According to the prosecution, the suspect in question reported in the same conversation about violence he himself had committed, but did not clarify in what manner the 62-year-old had participated in the act. The 62-year-old has denied any involvement.
The prosecution stated in its decision that in light of the statements of persons heard in the preliminary investigation and other evidence, it remained unclear whether the 62-year-old was even present at the time of the act. A private statement from another suspect alone is insufficient for bringing charges, and no other evidence of participation in the violence emerged.
The matter will be heard in South Ostrobothnia District Court in October.
Source: Ilta-Sanomat