Porvoo stabbing suspect admits manslaughter

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The trial of a Finnish man charged with stabbing a Dutch pensioner to death in Porvoo last June came to a somewhat surprising end on Monday when the accused unexpectedly admitted manslaughter.
      On Monday morning, the 35-year-old had pleaded guilty only to the lesser charges of aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter, while at the end of the trial he admitted having killed the elderly Dutch tourist.
      Apart from manslaughter, the accused is being charged with several other offences at the Porvoo District Court.
     
The 75-year-old Dutch tourist was killed outside a supermarket in downtown Porvoo, some 50 kilometres east of Helsinki, last June. The stabbing occurred in mid-afternoon, in front of numerous witnesses.
      The victim and his wife were visitig Finland, celebrating their wedding anniversary. According to police, the victim and the perpetrator did not apparently know each other.
      The widow of the stabbed man is claiming compensation of EUR 35,000 from the defendant.
     
Prior to the stabbing, the accused had run wild inside the supermarket. When two bystanders snatched the knife away from the man, he went inside the store to get a new one.
      When the police arrived on the scene, the assailant was still holding the knife in his hand, and an officer had to shoot him in the leg with rubber bullets before he would drop the weapon.
      The defendant was ordered to be sent for a psychiatric examination, and the court will pronounce its sentence based on the results of the examination.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Summer news about Finnish men at work (7.8.2007)

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