Heino case: four teenagers get long jail terms in double murder trial
Killings of couple carefully planned
Four teenage boys were found guilty of the murder of an Espoo couple, Martti and Elise Heino, at the conclusion of their trial at Riihimäki District Court on Tuesday. The two victims were ambushed and shot dead at a summer cottage in Loppi in August last year.
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The court found that the oldest of the group, now 19-year-old Markus Österman, had planned the killings. He was given a life sentence. Österman was the only one of the group who was over the age of 18 when the shootings occurred.
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The other three avoided life sentences because of their youth. Saku Pyry Salo, who fired the gun that killed the Heinos, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, while the two others, Sampsa Mäntylä and Jani Pesola, got 12 years each.
According to a psychiatric evaluation, all four were aware of the significance of what they were doing.
The killings took place in Loppi on August 24 2001 according to a carefully worked-out plan. The Heino couple were enticed to come to a cottage in Loppi to discuss business issues, including the sale of 100 mobile phones. When the two arrived at the cottage they were met by Pesola, who guided them to a location that was within range of Salo, who was waiting in ambush behind a rock.
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Martti Heino was killed by the first bullet, which hit him in the neck. Elise Heino made a call to emergency services on her mobile phone, but it was cut off by the second bullet. More shots were fired at close range to make sure the victims were dead.
