Matti Haapoja (September 16, 1845 in
Isokyrö
Isokyrö (; sv, Storkyro) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, from Vaasa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
In the name of th ...
– January 8, 1895 in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
) was a
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
who was covered extensively by the press at the time of the murders. The exact number of his victims is unknown. He was convicted of two murders and was scheduled for a trial for his third murder when he committed suicide in his cell. He can be linked to seven other identified murder cases, but most of those happened during his exile in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
and are poorly documented, so his involvement is not certain. It is claimed that he confessed to 18 murders, but there are no details about this supposed confession, and the figure should be regarded as unreliable. Some sources estimate his total number of murders as 22–25. He also non-fatally wounded at least six men in knife fights.
Early life
Matti Haapoja was born in 1845, in Isokyrö,
Grand duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...
. Haapoja started his criminal career as a brawler, graduating quickly to stealing horses. His first known murder happened on December 6, 1867, when he stabbed his drinking partner Heikki Impponen in a drunken brawl. He was sentenced to serve 12 years in prison at
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
for his murder. During the next 10 years he escaped from prison four times, spending months at large on each occasion. Around this time he gained great notoriety as a jail-breaker and a thief. His fame as a robber started to grow after the newspapers reported that he had robbed and shot at Esa Nyrhinen on August 12, 1876. Later it was found that Nyrhinen had been hiding Haapoja at his home and the men had had an argument.
Murders
As a result of his escapes and continued thievery, Haapoja was sentenced to life in prison in 1874. After his last escape, he petitioned for his sentence to be changed to an exile to
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. This was accepted and he was sent to
Omsk
Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...
oblast
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...
in 1880. During his stay there, he is reputed to have killed a man in 1886, after which he was exiled to East Siberia. Folk stories claim that during this time Haapoja killed two other famous Finnish criminals, Juha Antinpoika Leskenantti (aka ''Anssin Jukka'') and
Kaappo Sutki, but these tales are likely false as they offer no conclusive proof.
Around 1889, Haapoja decided to escape Siberia and return to Finland. He later claimed that he intended to emigrate to
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. He raised money for this escape by committing a series of robberies and murders. He probably killed at least three men and was involved in the murder of a fourth. He also obtained a
passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
that belonged to a Russian man whose fate remains unclear.
Haapoja returned to Finland in September 1890. A month later, he murdered and robbed a
prostitute
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
, Jemina Salo. He was captured at
Porvoo
Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...
a couple of days later and recognized. At his trial Haapoja behaved arrogantly, confessing to this murder as well as to one of the murders he had committed in Siberia. He hoped that he would be sent back to Siberia but instead the court gave him a second life term in prison.
On October 10, 1894, Haapoja tried to escape from prison yet again. During this attempt he killed a guard and wounded two others. When he realized that he couldn't get out, he attempted to commit suicide by stabbing himself, but the wound was not fatal. However, as soon as he had recovered from the self-inflicted stabbing wound, he hanged himself in his cell on January 8, 1895. His skeleton was kept in the Museum of Crime in
Vantaa
Vantaa (; sv, Vanda, ) is a city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Greater Helsinki, Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With a population of (), Vantaa i ...
for a long time, until he was finally buried in
Ylistaro
Ylistaro is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated, together with Nurmo to Seinäjoki on 1 January 2009.
It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a pop ...
in 1995.
Writer
Kaijus Ervasti wrote a book about Matti Haapoja called ''Murhamiehen muotokuva – Matti Haapoja 1845–1895'' ("Portrait of a murderer – Matti Haapoja 1845–1895").
Victims
Confirmed
* Farmer Heikki Antinpoika Impponen, who was stabbed to death on December 6, 1867.
* Prostitute Maria Jemina Salo, strangled on October 8, 1890.
* Prison guard Juho Rosted, stabbed on October 10, 1894.
Possible
* Farmers Matti Heikkilä and Hermanni Hautamäki who were clubbed to death by an unidentified man at
Hämeenkyrö
Hämeenkyrö (; sv, Tavastkyro) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, and is located from Tampere. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
The ne ...
on November 15, 1869. Haapoja was in the area at the time and years later he confessed an to unspecified murder "that had happened in November 1869".
* An unknown man who was killed in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
in 1886.
* A convict identified only as "Jaakko H." from
Alajärvi
Alajärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The town is unilingually Finnish; there are few ...
, Finland, who was killed in Siberia in 1888.
*
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
barkeeper Rugis was killed by Haapoja in
Tomsk
Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population:
Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...
in 1889.
* "Rich-Matti" Kuivalainen, who was killed in Tomsk in 1889.
* Estonian convict Gustaf Sepp vanished without trace in
Simonjovka,
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, in 1889, after he was last seen in the company of Haapoja.
It is possible there were more victims, but only these ten cases can be identified as certain or probable.
Attempts
* Brawler Juho Tenkku who was stabbed around
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
, 1866.
* Farmer Hermanni Hösö was stabbed on December 6, 1867.
* Farmer Esa Nyrhinen was shot three times (twice in the leg, once in the face) on August 12, 1876.
* A farmer identified as "Koivuniemi from
Vähäkyrö
Vähäkyrö ( sv, Lillkyro) is a former municipality of Finland and an exclave of the city of Vaasa since January 1, 2013.
It was located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population ...
" who was stabbed when Haapoja was apprehended after his last prison escape in January 1879.
* Prison guards Juho Jernvall and Sven Nyman were stabbed during Haapoja's last escape attempt.
During his last escape he had a chance to attack one more guard, but did not, because this guard had always been nice to the prisoners.
See also
*
List of serial killers by country
This is a list of notable serial killers, by the country where most of the killings occurred.
Convicted serial killers by country Afghanistan
*Abdullah Shah: killed at least 20 travelers on the road from Kabul to Jalalabad while serving under ...
**
Juhani Aataminpoika
Juhani Aataminpoika (; born 31 July 1826 in Vesivehmaa, Asikkala – September 1854 in Suomenlinna), alias Kerpeikkari (), was a Grand Duchy of Finland, Finnish serial killer. He killed 12 people in southern Finland between October and N ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haapoja, Matti
1845 births
1895 deaths
1890s suicides
19th-century Finnish criminals
Escapees from Finnish detention
Finnish escapees
Finnish exiles
Finnish male criminals
Finnish people convicted of murder
Finnish people who died in prison custody
Finnish prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
Finnish serial killers
Male serial killers
People convicted of murder by Finland
People from Isokyrö
People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland)
Prisoners who died in Finnish detention
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Finland
Serial killers who committed suicide in prison custody
Suicides by hanging in Finland