Juha Valjakkala

Case overview

Juha Veikko Valjakkala (born June 13, 1965) was convicted of the murder of a family of three at a cemetery in the northern Swedish community of Åmsele. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Timeline

• May 1, 1988 — Valjakkala was released from a prison in Turku and started wandering through Sweden and Finland with his 21-year-old girlfriend Marita Routalammi.
• July 3, 1988 — Valjakkala and Routalammi arrived in Åmsele; Valjakkala stole a bicycle at night.
• July 3, 1988 — Valjakkala was pursued by Sten Nilsson and his 15-year-old son Fredrik; the chase ended at a cemetery where Sten and Fredrik Nilsson were shot.
• July 3, 1988 — Ewa Nilsson, Sten’s wife and Fredrik’s mother, went looking for the two and was stabbed to death outside the cemetery.
• Just over a week later (July 1988) — Valjakkala and Routalammi were caught in Odense, Denmark.
• 1991 — Swedish director Jan Troell directed a film on the Åmsele killings titled Il Capitano, starring Antti Reini.
• 1991 (April) — Valjakkala fled the Riihimäki prison where he was being held after taking a teacher hostage; he was apprehended nearby and the hostage was not hurt.
• 1991 — Valjakkala had tried to escape once in 1991.
• 2002 — Valjakkala escaped from Pyhäselkä prison and traveled to Sweden with his wife; he was captured after a large police operation in Långträsk.
• 2002 (after returning to prison) — After the 2002 escape, Valjakkala tried to commit suicide by hanging himself in his cell.
• 2004 — Valjakkala’s next escape from Sukeva prison lasted only 19 minutes and reached less than 1 km from the prison walls.
• November 28, 2006 (just after midnight) — Valjakkala escaped for the fourth time, from the labor prison in Hamina.
• November 30, 2006 (evening) — Valjakkala was captured by police Readiness Unit Karhuryhmä in Maunula, Helsinki.
• After November 30, 2006 — Police assaulted the apartment suspected to be Valjakkala’s hideout; Valjakkala was captured without resistance; after the incident, Valjakkala went back to closed prison.
• July 1, 2008 — Having served 19 years in prison, Valjakkala-Fouganthine was due to be released on parole.

The offence

Valjakkala and Routalammi arrived in Åmsele. Valjakkala stole a bicycle at night and was pursued by Sten Nilsson and his 15-year-old son Fredrik. The chase ended at a cemetery where Sten and Fredrik Nilsson were shot. Later, Sten’s wife and Fredrik’s mother, Ewa Nilsson, went looking for the two and was stabbed to death outside the cemetery.

Investigation and arrest

Valjakkala and Routalammi were caught in Odense, Denmark just over a week later.

Trial

At the trial, the two defendants blamed each other for the killings. The court believed Routalammi’s story. A psychiatric evaluation found both defendants to be mentally competent for trial. A statement by a forensic psychiatrist found that Valjakkala had a psychopathic personality and is described as “very aggressive”.

Sentencing

Valjakkala received a life sentence on three counts of murder. Routalammi received two years for complicity in assault and battery. Routalammi was released after serving half of her time. Valjakkala was transferred to Finland to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

Appeals and clemency

All of Valjakkala’s applications for pardon were denied by the president.

Prison escapes and later incidents

Valjakkala tried to escape from prison in 1991. In April 1994, he fled the Riihimäki prison in Finland where he was being held after taking a teacher hostage; he was apprehended nearby and the hostage was not hurt. In 1991, he had also tried to escape once.

In 2002, Valjakkala escaped from Pyhäselkä prison and traveled to Sweden with his wife. He was captured after a large police operation in Långträsk. After the 2002 escape, upon returning to prison, he tried to commit suicide by hanging himself in his cell. In 2004, his next escape from Sukeva prison lasted only 19 minutes and reached less than 1 km from the prison walls.

Just after midnight on November 28, 2006, Valjakkala escaped for the fourth time, from the labor prison in Hamina. He was captured on the evening of November 30, 2006, by police Readiness Unit Karhuryhmä in Maunula, Helsinki. Police assaulted the apartment suspected to be Valjakkala’s hideout; Valjakkala was captured without resistance. After the incident, Valjakkala went back to closed prison.

Identity and film depiction

Valjakkala used the name Nikita Joakim Fouganthine. In 1991, Swedish director Jan Troell directed a film on the Åmsele killings titled Il Capitano, starring Antti Reini.

Aftermath

Having served 19 years in prison, Valjakkala-Fouganthine was due to be released on parole on July 1, 2008.