Karl Emil Malmelin
Born(1872-01-16)16 January 1872
Lahnus, Espoo, Finland
Died26 February 1944(1944-02-26) (aged 72)
OccupationFarmworker
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment
Details
Date10 May 1899
Location(s)Klaukkala, Nurmijärvi, Finland
Killed7
WeaponAxe

Karl Emil Malmelin (16 January 1872 – 26 February 1944[1]) was a Finnish farmworker and mass murderer.

Malmelin was born 1872 in Espoo as the illegitimate child of Helena Gustava Malmelin, a maid at a Lahnus croft.[2][3] As an adult, Malmelin became a farmworker at the Simola croft in Klaukkala, a village in the southern part of the Nurmijärvi municipality.[4] The tenant there was Johan Ezekiel Aspelin. Malmelin began dating Edla, the crofter's daughter,[4] but when she would not become his wife, he killed everyone on the croft with an axe on 10 May 1899.[5] Three of the victims were women and two were children. Malmelin was arrested a couple of weeks later.[6]

Malmelin was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Turku Court of Appeal. The case was the subject of a broadside ballad, and Nurmijärvi parish became popularly known as Murhajärvi (which literally means "murder lake"). Malmelin served 13 years of his sentence before being pardoned by Nicholas II in 1912.[7] The later events of Malmelin's life remain unknown.[8]

Malmelin remains one of the worst axe murderers in Finnish history, along with Toivo Koljonen.

Sources

  • Keskisarja, Teemu (2015). Kirves: Toivo Harald Koljosen rikos ja rangaistus. Siltala. ISBN 978-952-234-324-6.

References

  1. Geni.com
  2. "Espoo > syntyneet, 1860–1890 > 128: 12 1871/ 01 1872" (in Finnish). Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen yhdistys (SSHY). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. "Espoo > rippikirja, 1868–1877 > 318: Kurtby, Smeds Frälse hemman" (in Finnish). Suomen Sukuhistoriallinen yhdistys (SSHY). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Simolan torpan kaamea surmatyö" (in Finnish). Nurmijärvi-Seura ry. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  5. Russie Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine, Journal de Gèneve (May 13, 1899)
    Ett oerhördt brott, Hufvudstadsbladet (May 11, 1899)
    Seitseman hengen murhasta Nurmijarvella, Päivälehti (May 13, 1899)
    Massmördaren gripen, Västra Finland (May 27, 1899)
    Faststälda domar, Borgåbladet (September 9, 1899)
  6. "Nurmijärwen murhamies renki Karl Emil Malmelin wangittu". Digikansalliskirjasto (in Finnish). Uusi Suometar. 25 May 1899. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  7. "Kirvessurmien kakkosmies" (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  8. Leitzinger, Antero (9 February 2015). "Kakola – myyttejä ja karua todellisuutta" (in Finnish). Agricola. Retrieved 13 August 2019.

See also

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