23-year-old convicted of murdering father in Kiuruvesi – police suspicions aroused by single sentence
A 23-year-old man shot his father with an air rifle in Kiuruvesi. Police suspicions were aroused when the son expressed a desire to handle the deceased's affairs.
23-year-old convicted of murdering father in Kiuruvesi – police suspicions aroused by single sentence
The District Court of North Savo convicted a 23-year-old man of murder. He shot his father with an air rifle in Kiuruvesi in March 2024.
Police established that the act had been premeditated. The young man had conducted internet searches including "person burns themselves", "where can a person die" and "what happens when a person dies at home" weeks before the act. On the day of death, he searched for "does an air rifle kill" and "air rifle to the head", according to Iltalehti.
Events began when the man's aunt found her brother, born in the 1970s, dead on the floor of a tractor shed. She called the emergency centre and her nephew.
The son arrived at the scene and appeared shocked. He wept hysterically and hyperventilated. Then police asked who would handle the deceased's affairs. The young man's behaviour changed completely: he answered curtly "me". This aroused the suspicions of an experienced senior constable.
– Somehow in that moment and afterwards, the picture emerged that his earlier behaviour was not genuine, but rather a kind of theatre, the police officer described.
Initially the death was investigated as an accident. It later emerged that the father had been shot in the neck with an air rifle. The son had lied about being at work, although he had been unemployed for months.
During interrogation he admitted causing the death. He claimed that his father had annoyed him with an old air rifle, and he had placed the gun on top of a rubbish bin and accidentally pulled the trigger.
According to police, the son had initially attempted to burn down the house while his father was sleeping. He had searched the internet for information about fires in the area. The prosecutor demanded life imprisonment for premeditated murder. The motive was financial difficulties.
The defence argued that the matter concerned gross negligent homicide. The internet searches were, according to the defence, "pure curiosity".
Source: Iltalehti