Murder charge in Malminkartano: 26-year-old accused of stabbing 79-year-old man
Trial began in Helsinki District Court: a 26-year-old man is accused of murdering a 79-year-old man in Malminkartano in March 2025.
Trial in Malminkartano stabbing case begins in Helsinki
Yle News reported that a trial began this morning at 9 a.m. in Helsinki District Court in which a 26-year-old man is accused of murdering a 79-year-old man in Malminkartano.
According to the indictment, the accused attacked the victim on Luutnantintie, near Malminkartano railway station, on Wednesday evening, 18 March. The victim was coming from a shop carrying shopping bags when an unknown man suddenly began inflicting violence upon him.
According to the prosecutor, the accused stabbed the victim three times with a knife and hit, stamped on, and kicked the victim whilst he lay helpless on the ground. The violent attack continued for approximately nine minutes — the accused followed the victim to another location and returned to continue the assault after a brief absence.
The accused filmed part of the violence on his phone and sent videos to other people. One video had the caption "this is what happens" and another "this is how we do it". On the same morning, he had published a photograph of himself with a knife on social media and displayed the knife in a restaurant near the crime scene before the homicide. The knife was seized from the scene.
The act has been captured on surveillance camera video, and there is at least one eyewitness who observed events from a balcony.
The prosecutor considers the act to be murder on account of its particular brutality, cruelty, and premeditation, and demands a life sentence for the accused. The basis for aggravation is the accused's previous criminality: he has been convicted over a ten-year period of, among other things, two cases of serious assault. The prosecutor additionally demands a dangerousness assessment and a mental state examination. No clear motive has emerged for the act.
The accused admits to committing manslaughter but denies the elements of murder. According to the defence, the act was not particularly brutal or cruel. The defence claims that the victim's facial injuries resulted from falling to the ground, and denies the strikes and kicks — the accused admits to stamping. According to the defence, the victim and the accused had a brief conversation before the act, from which the accused became strongly provoked.
The accused states that he does not remember events because he was heavily intoxicated with alcohol and several benzodiazepine medications. Police arrested him near the crime scene from a restaurant whilst he was over two per mille intoxicated. The defence stated in court that the accused regrets his act. The accused himself does not wish to be heard in court.
The victim's four adult relatives are present in court and each demands 12,000 euro in compensation for suffering as well as reimbursement of funeral costs. The prosecutor demands that the accused be held in detention throughout the trial, and the accused accepts the detention demand.
Source: Yle Uutiset