Mother of Sonja murdered in Vaasa received disturbing videos from suspect on night of killing – 27-year-old remanded in custody
A 27-year-old man is suspected of murdering 28-year-old Sonja in Vaasa. The victim's mother Tiia received disturbing videos from the suspect on the same night.
Sonja's mother received videos from suspect on night of killing – "Completely sick"
Google News FI — Crime (fi) reported a shocking case in which a 27-year-old man is suspected of murdering 28-year-old Sonja in Vaasa last weekend.
Sonja's mother Tiia received a call early last Saturday morning from a man whose father told her that his son had been in a car accident. The man asked whether Tiia knew how her daughter was doing – Sonja may have been involved in the collision. Tiia began ringing hospitals in the area in distress, until she called the emergency services. A few minutes later, police knocked on her door.
– Until that point I thought Sonja was in hospital because of the crash. But the police told me that my daughter had died in a fire. It was absolutely shocking. Sonja's sister started screaming and crying loudly beside me, Tiia tells MTV News.
Man collected Sonja from Seinäjoki to Vaasa on Friday evening
During Saturday, Tiia learnt how events had unfolded. On Friday evening at ten o'clock, the 27-year-old man had collected Sonja from Seinäjoki, where she lived, to Vaasa in Palosaar, where the man himself lived.
– Sonja had a history of substance use and was in poor condition at that time. This man allegedly went to help Sonja. I don't understand why he didn't just call me instead, since I live in Seinäjoki and could have come to help my daughter immediately, the mother wonders.
According to Tiia, Sonja had only met the man this summer around Midsummer through TikTok. They had some kind of relationship at first, but not an actual dating relationship. Together they spent time for perhaps a couple of weeks.
– Sonja didn't want to be with this man; she withdrew and kept her distance. The man seemed to want more. They were just friends by then, more like acquaintances, the mother describes.
Videos with daughter's voice – "I wondered why he sent these"
In the early hours of Saturday morning, the man sent Tiia several videos. In the videos, Sonja's voice could be heard from the man's flat bathroom – the girl was shouting that she wanted to leave and get out of the flat. Sonja was not visible in the videos; the man had filmed himself and recorded Sonja's speech.
– I really wondered why the man sent me videos like this. Completely sick. They were shocking to watch, especially after I learnt what happened to my daughter that night, Tiia grieves.
The man also sent a text message in which he claimed that Sonja had tried to jump from the balcony, but he had stopped her.
– Sonja may have genuinely just wanted to get out of the flat, but the man wouldn't let her, the mother suspects.
According to Tiia, in the video the man looked smug. Tiia met the man a couple of times over the summer and describes him as shy and withdrawn, lacking in social skills and friends.
Homicide, fire and deliberate collision in Laihi
According to the mother's understanding, Sonja was murdered first, after which the flat was set on fire. There were also two dogs in the flat at the time of the killing – Sonja's own and Tiia's dog, which was in the daughter's care.
After the homicide and fire, the man took the dogs with him and drove away in a car. In Laihi, he deliberately drove into an oncoming car with three adults inside. The driver of the car died and two passengers were seriously injured. The man himself sustained minor head injuries requiring stitches. Tiia's dog died in the collision; Sonja's dog survived.
– This man didn't know any of these people whose car he drove into. It feels utterly incomprehensible, that deed too, Tiia states.
Suspicions and remand in custody
The man, born in 1999, is suspected of two murders, two attempted murders, aggravated damage to property and aggravated endangerment of traffic safety. Vaasa District Court remanded the man in custody on Monday. Police transferred him from hospital to police custody already on Saturday.
Tiia was questioned by police on Sunday for approximately four hours. She asked police not to tell her details about her daughter's death to spare herself.
The motive for the deed is a complete mystery to the mother.
– Police asked me about the motive for the deed, but I don't understand it at all. Sonja hadn't done anything wrong to this man.
"Everyone liked Sonja"
Tiia suspects the homicide involved premeditation – the man collected Sonja from Seinäjoki all the way to Vaasa, filmed the videos and probably took Sonja's phone from the flat.
– Sonja was supposedly still active on WhatsApp at four o'clock on Saturday night. By that point she was already dead, the mother explains.
Tiia remembers her daughter warmly.
– Everyone liked Sonja. She had no enemies. She was usually always a cheerful and positive person.
The mother emphasises that the man has caused suffering and grief to a wide circle of people – not only Sonja's family but also to those close to the driver who died in the other collision.
– This man has caused immense suffering and grief to a large group of people.
Source: Google News FI — Crime (fi)