Man arrested on suspicion of Bodom Lake murders requests new remand hearing

Espoo District Court sitting set for Friday

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Nils Gustafsson, 62, who has been held in custody on suspicion of involvement in the Bodom Lake triple homicide in June 1960, wants the warrant for his remand reassessed.
      The new hearing of the case will take place at Espoo District Court on Friday morning.
      Gustafsson's lawyer Riitta Leppiniemi approached the Espoo District Court with a request for a new hearing on Tuesday.
     
No reasons were given for the request. According to Finnish law, those held in custody have the right to have their case reviewed by a law court every two weeks.
      Just like the first court hearing, the new proceedings will presumably be held behind closed doors. Leppiniemi has stated that she does not object to this.
      The outcome of the hearing, however, will be made public.
      The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Finland's central criminal police, is likely to insist that Gustafsson be kept in custody.
     
Gustafsson continues to deny having committed the 1960 Whit Sunday murders, in which two 15-year-old girls and an 18-year-old man were stabbed and bludgeoned to death while on a camping trip.
      Gustafsson, who sustained some injuries, was the sole survivor of the party of four. The preliminary investigation of the reopened case - which was a huge cause célèbre at the time - is expected to take several weeks.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Murder suspect Gustafsson denies Bodom killings (7.4.2004)
  Age cannot wither murder, nor dispel its curious charm (6.4.2004)
  Man remanded on suspicion of infamous unsolved triple murder from 1960 (5.4.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat