Juha Valjakkala
Encyclopedia
Nikita Joakim Fouganthine (born Juha Veikko Valjakkala; June 13, 1965 in Pori
, Finland
)
is a Finnish
murderer convicted of the triple murder
of a family in the northern Swedish community of Åmsele
.
on May 1, 1988, after which he started wandering through Sweden and Finland with his 21-year-old then-girlfriend Marita Routalammi.
On July 3 they arrived in Åmsele. After nightfall Valjakkala stole a bicycle
. He was pursued by the owners, Sten Nilsson and his 15-year-old son Fredrik. The chase ended at a cemetery
where Sten and Fredrik Nilsson were both shot by Valjakkala with a shotgun
. Later Sten's wife and Fredrik's mother, Ewa Nilsson, went looking for the two, was chased into the woods and had her throat slit by Valjakkala outside the cemetery. Valjakkala and Routalammi were caught in Odense
, Denmark
just over a week later.
At the trial
the two defendants blamed each other for the murders, but the court believed Routalammi's story. A psychiatric evaluation found both to be mentally competent for trial. However, the statement by a forensic psychiatrist found that Valjakkala suffered from a psychopath
ic personality and was very aggressive. Conviction for the murders was his 12th criminal conviction.
on three counts of murder, while Routalammi received two years for complicity in assault and battery. Routalammi was released after serving half of her time, and Valjakkala was transferred to Finland to serve out the rest of his sentence.
Valjakkala tried to escape from prison in 1991.
In April 1994 Valjakkala fled the Riihimäki
prison in Finland where he was being held. He took a teacher as a hostage, but he was apprehended nearby and the hostage escaped the situation unscathed.
In 2002 he escaped from Pyhäselkä prison and traveled to Sweden with his wife, and was captured after a large police operation in Långträsk. Upon returning to prison after the 2002 escape he tried to commit suicide by hanging himself in his cell.
His next escape in 2004 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, this 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 which was suspected to be Valjakkala's hideout. Valjakkala was captured without resistance. After the incident Valjakkala went back to closed prison.
Valjakkala changed his name to Nikita Joakim Fouganthine.
on July 1, 2008.
Fouganthine was released on February 25, 2008. He was arrested again on April 12, 2008, for breaking his release terms. He is likely to face charges for, among other things, endangering the traffic, stealing a vehicle and driving a vehicle without a licence and driving an unlicenced taxi. Valjakkala has admitted to the above.
Fouganthine and his wife Alexandra married in May 2008.
In December 2008 the Supreme Court of Finland
decided that he would be released with a suspended sentence on February 2009. Fouganthine was paroled again on February 2. In a recent interview he revealed that he is currently writing an autobiography
.
On November 23rd 2011, he escaped from Kerava's parole prison. The Finnish police says that he might be somewhere else than Finland. On December 1st, Nikita Fouganthine was found in Vallila
, Helsinki. It is not believed that Fouganthine committed any crimes during his escape.
, starring Antti Reini
.
Pori
Pori is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäenjoki river, which is the largest in Finland. Pori is the most important town in the Satakunta region....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
)
is a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
murderer convicted of the triple murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of a family in the northern Swedish community of Åmsele
Åmsele
Åmsele is a locality situated in Vindeln Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 201 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
.
Åmsele murders
The series of events that led to the murders began when the 22-year-old Valjakkala was released from a prison in TurkuTurku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
on May 1, 1988, after which he started wandering through Sweden and Finland with his 21-year-old then-girlfriend Marita Routalammi.
On July 3 they arrived in Åmsele. After nightfall Valjakkala stole a bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
. He was pursued by the owners, Sten Nilsson and his 15-year-old son Fredrik. The chase ended at a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
where Sten and Fredrik Nilsson were both shot by Valjakkala with a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
. Later Sten's wife and Fredrik's mother, Ewa Nilsson, went looking for the two, was chased into the woods and had her throat slit by Valjakkala outside the cemetery. Valjakkala and Routalammi were caught in Odense
Odense
The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
just over a week later.
At the trial
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
the two defendants blamed each other for the murders, but the court believed Routalammi's story. A psychiatric evaluation found both to be mentally competent for trial. However, the statement by a forensic psychiatrist found that Valjakkala suffered from a psychopath
Psychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
ic personality and was very aggressive. Conviction for the murders was his 12th criminal conviction.
Imprisonment and escape attempts
Valjakkala was given a life sentenceLife imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
on three counts of murder, while Routalammi received two years for complicity in assault and battery. Routalammi was released after serving half of her time, and Valjakkala was transferred to Finland to serve out the rest of his sentence.
Valjakkala tried to escape from prison in 1991.
In April 1994 Valjakkala fled the Riihimäki
Riihimäki
Riihimäki is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. It is somewhat of a railway junction, since the railway tracks going from different parts of the nation to Helsinki merge there. Sako, Ltd...
prison in Finland where he was being held. He took a teacher as a hostage, but he was apprehended nearby and the hostage escaped the situation unscathed.
In 2002 he escaped from Pyhäselkä prison and traveled to Sweden with his wife, and was captured after a large police operation in Långträsk. Upon returning to prison after the 2002 escape he tried to commit suicide by hanging himself in his cell.
His next escape in 2004 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, this time from the labor prison in Hamina
Hamina
Hamina is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The town has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is...
. He was captured on the evening of November 30, 2006, by police Readiness Unit Karhuryhmä
Karhuryhmä
The Karhu Team , officially known as Helsingin poliisilaitoksen erityistoimintayksikkö is a special operations and counter-terrorism unit of the Finnish police, equivalent to SWAT teams in the United States...
in Maunula
Maunula
Maunula , Månsas is a northwestern neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland.For the 1952 Summer Olympics, it hosted part of the road cycling events.-Reference:* p. 554....
, Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. Police assaulted the apartment which was suspected to be Valjakkala's hideout. Valjakkala was captured without resistance. After the incident Valjakkala went back to closed prison.
Valjakkala changed his name to Nikita Joakim Fouganthine.
Parole
Having served 19 years in prison, Fouganthine was due to be released on paroleParole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
on July 1, 2008.
Fouganthine was released on February 25, 2008. He was arrested again on April 12, 2008, for breaking his release terms. He is likely to face charges for, among other things, endangering the traffic, stealing a vehicle and driving a vehicle without a licence and driving an unlicenced taxi. Valjakkala has admitted to the above.
Fouganthine and his wife Alexandra married in May 2008.
In December 2008 the Supreme Court of Finland
Supreme Court of Finland
The Supreme Court of Finland , located in Helsinki, consists of a President and at minimum 15, currently 18 other Justices, usually working in five-judge panels...
decided that he would be released with a suspended sentence on February 2009. Fouganthine was paroled again on February 2. In a recent interview he revealed that he is currently writing an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
.
On November 23rd 2011, he escaped from Kerava's parole prison. The Finnish police says that he might be somewhere else than Finland. On December 1st, Nikita Fouganthine was found in Vallila
Vallila
Vallila is a neighbourhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.Vallila is a central-northern district, bordered by Pasila to the west and Kallio to the south. Like Kallio, Vallila is mostly residential and has a reputation of a working-class district...
, Helsinki. It is not believed that Fouganthine committed any crimes during his escape.
Media
In 1991 Swedish director Jan Troell directed a film based on the Åmsele murders, Il CapitanoIl Capitano: A Swedish Requiem
Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem is a 1991 Swedish-Finnish biographical drama film directed by Jan Troell, about the 1988 Åmsele murders where a family of three was murdered by Juha Valjakkala over a stolen bicycle. Antti Reini stars as Valjakkala, renamed Jari in the film, and Maria Heiskanen as...
, starring Antti Reini
Antti Reini
- Cinema :* Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem * As White as in Snow * The Man Without a Past * Helmiä ja sikoja * Solstorm * Everlasting Moments * Stone's War * Angel - TV :...
.