Butchery at Lake Bodom
It was a spring day on June 4, 1960, when two young couples went camping at Lake Bodom close to the Finnish city of Espoo. Little did they know that a bloody death awaited all but one of them.
Maila Irmeli Björklund and Anja Tuulikki Mäki who were both fifteen years old, were accompanied by their eighteen year old boyfriends Seppo Antero Boisman and Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson on a camping trip.
It was a beautiful setting for a horrendous crime, and it was not long before it was discovered. Risto Siren, a jogger came across the bodies and alerted police. All of them had been viciously stabbed, and only one was alive. In an alternate story, a carpenter named Esko Oiva Johansson, was the one who found the bodies.
Later, a group of young birdwatchers who were in the area, recalled seeing a blonde man walking away from the site. Was he a passerby who decided not to get involved, or the killer himself?
The murderer stole wallets and articles of clothing. The keys to their motorcycles were taken, but the motorcycles were still there. About 500 yards away, Gustaffson’s shoes and clothing were found. The murder weapon and other personal items have never been found.
The victims were attacked from outside the tent with a knife. Maila, Gustaffson’s girlfriend was found stripped to the waist and lying on top of the tent. She was the worst victim of all, and was stabbed even after she was dead.
Gustaffson described the killer as a tall, blonde man with long hair, red eyes, and dark clothing.
Police allowed the crime scene to be compromised by soldiers who came to help with the search for the murder weapon, and the curious public.
There were several suspects, but initially Karl Valdemar Gyllström known as “kioskman” was high on the list. He was a difficult person who ran a kiosk in the area. He hated campers and would throw rocks at passing children.
He supposedly confessed to a neighbor when he was drunk that he committed the murders at Bodom Lake. However his wife gave him an alibi, by telling police he had been at home asleep next to her when the crime was committed. Suspicions were raised when Gyllström was seen filling in a well in his yard days after the murder. Was he hiding evidence associated with the crime? The police searched his property but didn’t find anything incriminating.
On August 2, 1969, Gyllström drowned himself in Lake Bodom. His wife Helmi who died less than 2 months after him, recanted her alibi. She said he threatened her into lying about his whereabouts on that night. He was not home, but she was afraid of saying the truth.
In a strange twist, Pentti Soininen a criminal who had been convicted of several violent crimes was considered a suspect by police. While imprisoned he confessed to the crime, even though it was considered more of a stunt than a true confession, since he was 14 years old at the time of the murders. If true, he took the details to the grave when he hanged himself at a prisoner transport station in 1969, the same year Gyllström ended his own life.
However years before Gyllström’s suicide, based on his wife’s alibi, the police then look to another man named Hans Assmann. He was an alleged KGB spy and former Nazi, and lived a few kilometers from the shores of Lake Bodom.
The day after the murder Assmann arrived at the Helsinki Surgical Hospital with blood-stained clothing and fingernails caked with dirt. The staff described his nervousness and aggressive behavior. He even tried to feign unconsciousness. He was questioned, but police stated he had an alibi as well. His clothing was never taken for examination, even though the doctor insisted it was full of dry blood.
When the news media published the report of the birdwatchers describing a man leave the crime scene, he cut his long blonde hair.
Dr. Jorma Palo, who examined Assmann went on to write 3 books about his patient’s connection to the murders. Dr. Palo who was also a professor emeritus died in 2006, just days before his last book was published, which dealt with the Lake Bodom murders.
Matti Paloaro, a former detective connected Assmann to five other unsolved murders. Some suspect that Assman’s political connections as the reason why the leads were not pursued further.
In 2004, the case was reopened, and Assmann who had always been viewed as a viable suspect, found himself displaced from that position by Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson, who was then 63 years old. This was based on new DNA analysis of blood evidence found on his shoes, and a woman who claimed to have been camping nearby to the murder scene.
The dead teenagers’ shoes, all had blood from the three of them, however Gustaffson’s shoes had theirs but none of his blood. How could he have been attacked, and none of his own blood spilled on the shoes?
The prosecution argued that a drunk and jealous Gustafsson killed his girlfriend Maila Björklundin during an argument. This would explain why her injuries were more severe than the other two victims, and she was found outside the tent. It’s suspected he had gotten in a fight with the other boy, which is how Gustafsson got his facial injuries, and that he had caused the other injuries on himself to throw off suspicion. He killed the other teens in order to silence any witnesses.
This new witness only came forward in 2003, and said that both boys had come into her tent, and Gustafsson behaved aggressively, and that she had witnessed both teenagers arguing. Her testimony was questioned by the defense team, based on the fact she had waited 45 years to come forward with the information.
Gustafsson’s defense said he didn’t have a motive, and the injuries he sustained would have been impossible for him to inflict on himself. He would go on to be convicted, but served only one year of the life sentence imposed on him, after an appeal was granted.
When he was discovered on that spring day in 1960, he was unconscious, stabbed 10 times, and suffered from a crushed jaw and a concussion. During the trial he said, "My last memory is of when we went to bed and wished each other a good night. After that, I don't remember if it was Wednesday or Thursday when I woke up.”
Though cleared in the legal system, many see him as guilty. During the trial a reporter asked how he knew he hadn’t committed the crime since he claimed he didn’t remember anything. He replied, “I’m innocent, and that’s that.”
By the time Gustafsson was cleared both Assmann and Gyllström were dead, leaving the case technically unsolved.
The Finnish death metal band Children of Bodom took their name from the crime. The 2016 slasher film, Lake Bodom was based on the case as well.
The Death of Kyllikki Saari
Auli Kyllikki Saari (1935-1953) was a Finnish 17-year-old girl who was last seen alive on May 17, 1953. She was riding her bicycle back home in Isojoki (Finland) from a prayer meeting. Her body was not found until October 11, 1953, in a bog. Her bicycle was found later in the year. The authorities suspected a sexual motive to the crime, however they produced no evidence to base this on .
Father Kauko Kanervo, a parish priest was an initial suspect. He had moved from the area 3 weeks prior to the last sighting of Auli, but was seen in the area the day of her disappearance. Eventually he was excluded as a suspect since he could account for most of his time.
Another suspect was Hans Assmann, who 7 years later would become a suspect in the murder of the teenagers at Lake Bodom. Assmann's wife reported that her husband and his driver were near Isojoki at the time of Saari's disappearance. He owned a light-brown Opel, which was the type of car reported by witnesses near the murder scene.
Mrs. Assmann's said her husband's socks were missing and his shoes were wet when he returned home that evening. There were also unexplained dents on the car. A few days later Assmann and his driver left, but this time with a shovel in hand. Later it was determined that whoever killed Saari was left-handed, which Assmann was.
Assmann supposedly confessed in 1997, while on his deathbed to the crime to Matti Paloaro a former policeman. He said Saari was killed accidentally when his chauffer hit her with the car. The incident was staged as a murder in order to conceal the driver’s involvement. He said, "One thing however, I can tell you right away ... because it is the oldest one, and in a way it was an accident, that had to be covered up. Otherwise, our trip would have been revealed. Even though my friend was a good driver, the accident was unavoidable. I assume you know what I mean."
Another suspect was Vihoti Lehmusviita. He was hospitalized for mental illness several times, and died in 1967. He lived in a 1-2 km radius of the murder scene and in the 1940s had been convicted of a sexual offense. The police believed he helped his brother-in-law, who had a criminal background cover up the crime. Both were familiar with the area, and worked about 50 meters from where Saari's body was discovered.
Lehmusviita's mother and sister provided an alibi saying he had been in bed by 7p.m. after drinking. When questioned by police, prior to the discovery of the body he said Saari was dead, and her body would never be found. Eventually he said he had misspoken and withdrew the statement. His brother-in-law moved away shortly after being questioned by police, eventually leaving the country and relocating to Sweden. Lehmusviita was questioned again while he was in a mental hospital but a doctor stopped the interview when he became strange and confused.
Auli Saari's parents and siblings have all died, the last in 2018. Her case remains unsolved.