Some people say that it was death itself that came for the kids that died on that night in June 1960. To this day, nobody knows for sure what happened and we believe nobody will know. But, this is the story from the Lake Bodom Murders.
The Lake Bodom Murders
On June 4, 1960, four teenagers decided to camp of the shore of the beautiful lake near Espoo known as Lake Bodom. Maila Irmeli Björklund and Anja Tuulikki Mäki were fifteen back them and Seppo Antero Boisman and Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson, their boyfriends, were eighteen. Sometime before dawn, three of them were brutally stabbed and bludgeoned to death.
Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson, the only survivor, sustained a concussion, fractures to the jaw and facial bones, and bruises to the face but he lived. And, in state of shock after everything that happened, he claimed to have seen a vision if black and bright red eyes coming for them.
Nothing was found on the murder site. No weapons or anything and some of the victims belongings were missing but nothing was ever found. Finland was in shock but, despite intense search by the police, the case remains unsolved to this day. Nobody knows for sure what happened and the memory of the murders never faded away.




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A few years after, in 1972, some unexpected news come to public attention and they came through a suicide note. Karl Gyllström was dead and, on his suicide note he said that he was the one who killed the teenagers. He used to work on the nearby kiosk and was known for hating campers. But the police discarded this confession since his wife told them he was asleep with her during the time of the murders.
Another lead came in 2003 when Dr. Jorma Palo, who used to work in the local hospital, claimed to have treated a suspicious man shortly after the murders happened. Hans Assmann was the name of this allegedly KGB agent. But he had a solid alibi and nothing went further than that. But, his story is really weird since he has also been linked another unsolved murder case in Finland: Kyllikki Saari murder in 1953.



The new trial started in August 2005 and the prosecution called for life sentence against Gustafsson. But nothing was proved in the three months of trial and Gustafsson was acquitted of all charges and awarded €44.000 in damages for his time in prison and the mental anguish he suffered in being accused of the Lake Bodom Murders so many years after it happened.
Until today, nobody knows what really happened at that night in June 1960 and we believe nobody will ever know for sure. What we can say is that visiting the place where everything happened was a weird experience. It is not every day that you can walk around a place where something as infamous at the Lake Bodom Murders happened. Luckily we had an axe with us and we even took some pictures there. This is what metal heads do.


Oittaa is a beautiful recreation center close to the lake where you can try your lucky with winter sports during the cold days and enjoy the lake during the summer. There is even an Angry Birds playground area and we know you are going to love it.

Lake Bodom
Fotostrasse visited Lake Bodom and Oittaa in Espoo after NBE Finland and together with us there were the amazing people from Viagem Criativa and our beloved host Katrin.
Lake Bodom Murders
60°14′30″N 24°40′30″E
Espoo – Finland
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