The Helsinki District Court has ordered a psychiatric evaluation of three teenage defendants accused of murdering a 16-year-old boy.
The judgment in the case is pending until the assessments have been completed. The court then decides whether the accused are innocent, guilty, or whether they are criminally suspected of murder.
Three suspects are charged with the murder of a 16-year-old in Helsinki’s Koskela district last December. They are also charged with other charges, including nine acts of violence and one charge of robbery.
Psychiatric assessments last at least two months and determine whether each of the accused understood the consequences of their actions.
If they are found to have acted with reduced responsibility, the subsequent custodial sentence in the event that the accused is found guilty can be reduced by up to a quarter.
The court ordered the three defendants to remain in prison, where they have been held in pre-trial detention since 10 December. The final results of the evaluations are not expected to be ready in at least three to four months.
Prosecutors are demanding long prison sentences
According to prosecutors, the three defendants lured the victim to Koskela Hospital on Friday, December 4, with the intention of exposing him to a violent attack. During the pre-trial investigation, police revealed evidence that the victim had been beaten in the same location each previous Friday night.
On December 4, the victim suffered a brutal, cruel and humiliating ordeal for up to four hours, prosecutors said. The three defendants eventually left the victim on the ground. The builders found his body on Monday morning, December 7th.
Prosecutors are demanding 12, 11, and 9.5 years in prison for each of the three counts of murder, as well as previous assaults and related charges.
Court: Defendants committed violence
The court’s interlocutory added that it has been possible for the court to prove that the accused committed violence against the victim on Friday evening, December 4th.
According to the court, the youngest and oldest defendants were primarily responsible for hitting and kicking the victim several times, including attacks while he was on the ground.
In addition, one of the two defendants also struck the victim with a metal pipe and dropped it twice on the victimโs upper body. This defendant is the eldest of three defendants, of whom prosecutors are demanding 12 years in prison.
Prosecutors have demanded 11 years in prison for the youngest accused.
The court further found that the third accused also punched the victim twice in the face and helped transport him from one crime to another. This accused left the scene during the evening but returned later.
The defense denies its intention to kill
All three deny the charge of murder. Two defendants have admitted to being guilty of assault and unintentional unintentional killing, while a third admit only to assault.
According to the Opponents Defense Group, the real punishment for aggravated assault and unintentional killing is about four years in prison, while assault should be given a conditional sentence of less than two years.
The defense added that the defendants did not intend to kill the victim.
The court will later make a decision on the involvement of each of the accused and how the severity of the violence will affect their conviction.
The police are investigating the role of the authorities
The case has sparked a debate about school bullying and the Finnish child protection system, as the victim had been bullied throughout primary school, according to Yle’s research.
The victim had also been a client of child welfare services when he moved out of his home last fall at the request of his parents.
Despite three previous attacks on the victim before the events of December 4, authorities did not notice his plight.
The Helsinki police have thus launched a preliminary investigation into the actions of the authorities, although no crime is suspected at this stage.
Source: The Nordic Page