Aino Nykopp-Koski

Name

Aino Nykopp-Koski

Background

Aino Nykopp-Koski was a Finnish nurse. She worked at a range of hospitals, care homes and patients' homes between 2004 and 2009. She was described as having a personality disorder, and psychiatric examinations concluded in November that she fully understood the consequences of her actions even though she suffered from a personality disorder.

While in prison, she married a man 20 years her junior, which resulted in a change of surname.

The offence

Aino Nykopp-Koski was found guilty of killing five patients and the attempted murder of five more. The victims were elderly bed-ridden patients in facilities where she was employed, and the deaths involved high doses of sedatives, including sedatives and opiates.

She was convicted of five murders and five attempted murders committed between 2004 and 2009.

The prosecution alleged a pattern in which she gave fatal medications, then when symptoms of poisoning appeared she phoned the emergency centre and often their relatives, using the calls to ensure that no one would suspect her.

Aino Nykopp-Koski consistently denied all charges brought against her. During police investigations and her first trial, she denied all charges, repeating her denial when the Appeals Court convened on Monday, asking the court to overturn her conviction and to release her. She pleaded not guilty at trial, claiming the deaths were from natural causes or because the patients had accidentally or intentionally taken an overdose.

A motive was not established for the murders.

Other offences

She was also found guilty of other offences including aggravated assault on a colleague and theft.

Investigation and arrest

Aino Nykopp-Koski was apprehended in March 2009 and was in police custody from March 2009.

Trial

Aino Nykopp-Koski was tried in Helsinki District Court in December 2010 and pleaded not-guilty, though the court convicted her.

At the trial, the court heard that the murders took place at various hospitals, care homes and patients' homes between 2004 and 2009.

The psychiatric examinations concluded in November that she fully understood the consequences of her actions even though she suffered from a personality disorder, and could thus be deemed responsible for the murders.

Sentencing

Aino Nykopp-Koski was sentenced to life in prison (minimum of 12 years before likely pardon) on December 21, 2010.

Appeals

The sentence was upheld by Helsinki Court of Appeals in March 2012.

During the appeal process, Aino Nykopp-Koski asked the Helsinki Court of Appeals to strike down her sentence on five counts of murder and five of attempted murder, and she asked the court to overturn her conviction and to release her.

At the opening of her appeal on Monday, Nykopp-Koski listened calmly as the prosecutor read out the charges she was found guilty of by the Helsinki District Court.

State Prosecutor Leena Metsäpelto read out to the court: "Nykopp-Koski gave her patients medication with the intent of killing. She had a pattern according to which she acted. First, she gave the fatal medications. When the symptoms of poisoning began to appear, she phoned the emergency centre and often their relatives. She tried to use these calls to ensure that no one would suspect her," State Prosecutor Leena Metsäpelto read out to the court.

According to Metsäpelto, for years Nykopp-Koski successfully murdered her defenceless patients, and she added that Nykopp-Koski had shown no regret for her actions.

Aino Nykopp-Koski's lawyer, Heikki Lampela, said:

"I met with my client a few days ago. She is still certain of her innocence. For this reason she wants these charges to be handled by the Appeals Court," Nykopp-Koski's lawyer, Heikki Lampela, told YLE.

Lampela said:

"My client believes that the verdict will change. My truth is my client's truth," said Lampela.

The Appeals Court was reported to hear 90 witnesses, with a decision expected after the end of the year. The accused was to seek the right of appeal to the Supreme Court.

Outcome

Aino Nykopp-Koski was convicted of five murders and five attempted murders committed between 2004 and 2009 and received a life sentence, which was upheld by the Helsinki Court of Appeals in March 2012. She was deemed culpable for her actions.

Other details

In March 2010, Katariina Pantila, another Finnish nurse, was found dead in her prison cell. She had been convicted of the murder of a patient and the attempted murder of a baby in 2007. Katariina Pantila was dubbed the "angel of death" after she was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a patient and trying to kill a baby with insulin.

The Helsinki Appeals Court confirmed a life sentence in Finland's largest-ever serial murder case in relation to Aino Nykopp-Koski, and it upheld the earlier ruling by the Helsinki District Court.