Steen Viktor Christensen (born 1964) is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

criminal, who was sentenced in Denmark in 1992 to twelve years in prison for numerous

bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

hostage taking A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refra ...

, and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

. In autumn 1997 Christensen was allowed to go on an unguarded

prison furlough A prison furlough is an authorized temporary release granted to a prison inmate. Prisoners on furlough may be allowed to leave unescorted, but, if accompanied by guards, often they must pay for the expense. Furloughs are sometimes granted for medi ...

, during which he escaped to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. On 22 October 1997 Christensen robbed the Hotel Palace in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, and during his escape from the hotel, he shot and killed two

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

officers, sergeant Eero Holsti and senior constable Antero Palo, on Tehtaankatu. The incident caused an unprecedented manhunt in Finland. Christensen was caught in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

, when he was leaving the Hotel Vaakuna. He had been living in the hotel under the name Kim Anderssen. On trial at the Helsinki district court, Christensen was assisted by the lawyer Aarno Arvela. Christensen immediately admitted guilt for the two murders and announced that he did not want to appeal his sentence. Despite his protests, Christensen was sent to

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

examination in the

Niuvanniemi Niuvanniemi hospital is a state mental hospital in the Niuva district of Kuopio, Finland. Along with the other state mental hospital, Vanha Vaasa hospital, it provides Forensic psychiatry, forensic psychiatric services for the entire country. Niuv ...

mental hospital. He spent 21 days in the hospital, after which the examination was cancelled. The reason for this was Christensen's refusal to undergo any kind of psychological tests or examinations. Despite the cancellation of the examination, the Finnish judicial centre of health care (TEO) made a statement about Christensen's mental health. According to the statement, Christensen acted out of full reason and was a dangerous repeat offender. Christensen was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

, and is serving it at the Herstedvester prison in Denmark. He was also sentenced to pay the families of the police officers he killed, the state treasury, and the watchman at the Hotel Palace a total of almost 275,000

Finnish mark The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...

(about 46,300

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

) and to pay a life support of 3873 Finnish mark (about 651.40 euro) per month to one underaged child. The sum consists mainly of family pensions and compensation for mental suffering. As well as the costs for the biggest criminal chase ever in Finland, the state had to pay the trial costs of over 62,500 Finnish mark (about 10 500 euro). The reporter

Matts Dumell Matts Dumell (born 1952) is a Swedish-speaking Finn journalist with a long career in TV-production and documentary film making in public service. He has been employed by ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' over several periods of time and he was one of the foun ...

interviewed Christensen in the

prison four days before he was transferred to Denmark. The interview was shown in the '' Rikosraportti'' program on

Nelonen Nelonen () is a Finnish commercial television channel. It started out as Helsinki's local television channel PTV in 1990 on the HTV cable network (now part of DNA Welho), and changed its name first to PTV4. On June 1, 1997, the channel expand ...

. The incident led to a great deal of discussion in Denmark about what kind of prisoners, and under what conditions, should be allowed to go on vacation from prison. In prison, Christensen married a Finnish woman in 2000 who gave birth to their child. Some sources claim that his wife is a former cross-country skier named Miia. The Herstedvester prison, which houses some of Denmark's most dangerous criminals, has special arrangements specifically to prevent Christensen from escaping. Because of this, the Danish Ministry of Justice gave a separate fund of four million Danish kroner (about 500,000 euro) to prepare the prison before Christensen was transferred to Herstedvester. The Finnish rap musician Seppo Lampela originally chose Steen Christensen as his artist name, but changed it to

Steen1 Seppo Kalervo Lampela (born 1976 in Helsinki, Finland), professionally known as Steen1, is a Finnish rap musician. He originally chose the name Steen Christensen, after the Danish criminal who shot two Finnish policemen in 1997, as his moniker, ...

after getting his first record deal, because of too much controversy.

References

External links

MTV3 Uutiset 22 October 1997: Helsingin poliisisurman tekijää etsitään yhä

* ttp://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/arkisto/9710/971025/9710250133.html MTV3 Uutiset 25 October 1997: Tanskalaisviranomaiset eivät uskoneet Christensenin vaarallisuuteen
MTV3 Uutiset 26 October 1997: Christensen kertoi surmayön tapahtimista

* ttp://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/arkisto/9805/980507/9805070142.html MTV3 Uutiset 7 May 1998: Christensenille elinkautinen
YLE/Elävä arkisto: Steen Christensen - poliisisurmat 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Steen 1964 births Living people 20th-century Danish criminals Danish male criminals Danish prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Finland Danish escapees Escapees from Danish detention Danish people convicted of murdering police officers People convicted of murder by Finland Danish people imprisoned abroad Danish expatriates in Finland