Finland: Man accused of killing German tourist – 33 years after...

The man is said to have killed a German on board a ferry and injured his girlfriend. “The acts were aimed at defenseless victims and were characterized by a particular brutality and cruelty,” said the prosecutor.

Killing on the »Viking Sally«

The two victims were on a trip through the Nordic countries in 1987 when they were found with severe head injuries in the sleeping area of ​​the ferry “Viking Sally”.

The students from West Germany were flown to a hospital, where the 20-year-old man was pronounced dead. His 22-year-old girlfriend survived with serious injuries.

Despite police investigations, the case could not be resolved at the time. This was due, among other things, to a lack of DNA traces and missing recordings from surveillance cameras.

The examination of the 500 people on board at the time did not yield any information either, the case was discontinued according to the Swedish newspaper »Svenska Dagbladet«. In 2016, the investigators resumed the search for the perpetrator.

Suspect may have been a previous witness

According to the Finnish broadcaster yle, the defendant may have pretended to be a witness in the past. In 1987, the boy scout at the time is said to have given several interviews in which he described how he found the two victims. According to yle, it now has a different name than it used to and is said to have become conspicuous in the meantime through other acts.

The suspect, now identified after more than three decades, denies the allegations; he was not taken into custody. The public prosecutor’s office did not want to comment on whether the Dane was in Finland at all.

According to media reports, the case in Finland could set a record. If the man is found guilty, it would be the longest time between crime and judgment in any criminal case in the country.
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