In the afternoon of June 4th, 1960, Maila Björklund, a 15-year-old girl, dismounted from the rear of her boyfriend’s motorcycle. Her boyfriend, an 18-year-old named Nils Gustaffson, had driven them both 18 miles from their residence in a city in southern Finland to reach a picturesque forest and lake. Accompanied by another couple, they were embarking on a camping trip.
Nils’s closest friends, Seppo and his girlfriend Anja, were trailing a few minutes behind them. As Nils parked his motorcycle, Maila gazed out at the stunning scenery of the lake. The forest encircled the water completely, while numerous individuals enjoyed various activities such as boating, swimming, and simply having a wonderful time.
However, amidst the crowd, Maila found the atmosphere surprisingly serene and tranquil. The place didn’t exude the typical touristy vibe; rather, it seemed as though they were immersed in the wilderness. For Maila, a lover of nature, this location felt perfect for celebrating her 16th birthday, coinciding with the camping trip the couples had embarked upon.
Maila would soon celebrate her 16th birthday, marking it with her own party. In that moment, she noticed the sound of another motorcycle drawing near. Turning to look, she recognized the approaching couple: Seppo at the helm with Anja riding pillion.
Seppo glanced upwards to find Maila’s gaze fixed on him. He flashed a grin and swiftly applied the brakes on his motorcycle, executing a maneuver reminiscent of an action movie scene, causing the back wheel to swerve outwards. Maila found it highly amusing, breaking into laughter. It was at this moment that Nils pivoted around and caught sight of his girlfriend chuckling wholeheartedly at Seppo’s antics.
Shortly thereafter, the quartet exchanged hugs and greetings. Subsequently, following a brief catch-up, they strolled towards the diminutive shack situated near the water’s edge — serving as a snack kiosk. Their intention was to stock up on provisions before swiftly venturing into the forest where their camping site awaited.
They were planning to unwind, savor the evening, and retire for the night. However, while strolling towards the snack kiosk, Seppo cracked a joke about his motorcycle being superior to Nils’s, prompting laughter from Maila, who was Nils’s girlfriend. She found the joke amusing. Yet, amidst her laughter, she glanced at Nils, her boyfriend, and sensed his displeasure. His expression seemed to convey irritation, directed both at her and Seppo.
Right away, Maila experienced intense discomfort as she pondered whether Nils might perceive her laughter at Seppo’s jokes as flirtatious behavior. She earnestly wished to dispel any notion of romantic involvement between herself and Seppo, as there truly wasn’t any. Yet, upon glancing at Nils once more to gauge his reaction, she found that he didn’t appear angry after all.
Once more, he sported a smile and chuckled. Maila reasoned with herself that perhaps she had merely conjured up Nils’s supposed distress in her mind. With this realization, Maila reached out and clasped Nils’s hand, and the two pairs strolled together towards the kiosk.
The snack kiosk was merely a small shack situated close to the beach, with a tiny house behind it where the owners resided. Upon reaching the kiosk, Maila noticed the attendant had her back turned and appeared disinterested in assisting them. Consequently, Maila politely interjected, “Excuse me, we’d like to make a purchase.”
At that moment, the woman swiftly turned her head towards Maila with a furious expression and bluntly demanded, “What do you want?” Maila, caught off guard by her reaction, mumbled an apology, uncertain if she had inadvertently offended the woman. She then requested if they could simply purchase a few beers and sodas and leave. Meanwhile, Seppo and Anja, standing close behind Maila, couldn’t contain their laughter at the woman’s peculiar and unexpected behavior.
As the teenagers chuckled, the woman stooped to retrieve sodas and beer, her expression clouded with irritation as if she considered it a major inconvenience. With a forceful motion, she slammed the drinks onto the counter. Meanwhile, as she punched in the total on the cash register, Maila glanced toward the house adjacent to the shack, presumably the woman’s residence. There, Maila observed a row of empty beer bottles lining the front railing, prompting the thought that perhaps this explained the woman’s hostile demeanor.
A household accumulating such a large number of empty beer cans probably didn’t foster a very cheerful atmosphere. Consequently, when the woman at the kiosk tallied up their purchases, Nils took the initiative and paid instead of Maila. As they gathered their items and prepared to depart, the woman at the kiosk discreetly inquired, “Are you planning to camp by the lake?”
Maila perceived that the woman’s demeanor had shifted towards being unusually pleasant, possibly in an attempt to compensate for her earlier rudeness when they first approached. Consequently, Maila responded with a smile, expressing gratitude for the woman’s inquiry about their accommodation by the lake, stating, “Yes, we’re staying by the lake and we’re genuinely looking forward to it. Thank you for asking.”
However, the woman’s response was not one of happiness. Instead, she frowned and advised them to pitch their tent as far away from her as they could. Perplexed, none of the teenagers knew how to react, leaving them standing in an intense, awkward silence for a moment.
Subsequently, the attendant at the kiosk abruptly started ushering the teenagers away, instructing them to leave the area. Eventually, the teenagers complied and began walking away. However, as they had distanced themselves considerably from the kiosk, they heard the attendant shouting at them once again.
She vocally expressed to them that she and her family had previously encountered numerous issues with unruly teenagers camping around the lake, which led to her and her husband feeling completely fed up with the situation. As the kiosk lady made this final remark, Seppo, Nils, and Anja burst into laughter at the absurdity of the woman’s disrespectful and unpleasant behavior, finding it almost comical. However, Maila didn’t share the same amusement.
She appeared hostile and extremely furious, which completely unnerved Maila. However, within a few minutes, the teenagers returned to their motorcycles. Nils and Mea mounted one, while Seo and Anja climbed onto the other. They then set off down a forested trail leading to their campsite.
The journey to their campsite was brief, and their location sat upon a protruding piece of land extending into the lake. Surrounded by dense forest, it provided a stunning vista of the water, yet remained deeply secluded within the trees. Immediately, Nils and Seo leaned their motorcycles against the trunks.
They erected a basic canvas tent, securing it between two birch trees. Once their campsite was arranged, they fetched some beers, and the group commenced drinking. Soon enough, Mea had completely disregarded the unpleasant encounter with the kiosk attendant.
In the end, Mea had eagerly anticipated this journey, and now she found herself at the campsite, unwinding with her friends. It was truly delightful! Additionally, Mea couldn’t contain her excitement about her relationship with Nils.
It was a fairly recent relationship, and it was clear that, for once, her boyfriend reciprocated her feelings just as strongly as she did. Moreover, Nils was exceedingly attractive and well-liked. His dark brown hair was styled in a straight-up manner, and he consistently sported a leather jacket, which Mea found immensely appealing.
He exuded a sense of coolness that made her feel mature. After lounging around for roughly 30 minutes to an hour, sipping drinks and exchanging tales, they gradually transitioned into the evening. Eventually, the friends headed down to the waterfront. They swam for a bit and lingered by the dock, continuing to enjoy their drinks.
After indulging in swimming until they grew weary, the teenagers reclined on the dock, relishing the view of the sunset. However, in Finland during this season, it’s not technically a sunset as the sun never fully sets. Instead, these phenomena are referred to as white nights, renowned for their exquisite beauty.
I suppose it’s akin to a soft, diffused illumination in the sky as the sun lingers on the horizon. Thus, as the teenagers gather on the dock that evening, they are greeted by this stunning, ethereal twilight to gaze upon. For Mea, it feels like the ideal way to celebrate her birthday.
Indeed, later that night, she would make a note in her diary about how wonderfully everything was progressing and how enjoyable her time with Nils and their friends had been. Eventually, the teenagers concluded their time by the dock, collected their belongings, returned to the campsite, dried off, changed clothes, and then all four of them squeezed into their small tent to sleep. Eventually, they all drifted off into slumber, but at some point during the night, Mea awoke.
She detected rustling noises outside the tent, leading her to ponder whether one of her companions had stirred. Sitting upright, she peered outside the tent, but the view revealed nothing discernible. All she could make out was the blurred night sky illuminated by the pale glow, leaving her uncertain about the whereabouts of everyone inside the tent.
Suddenly, a murky silhouette shifted before the tent entrance, obstructing all incoming light from the bright night. Its piercing red eyes peered into the tent as it loomed ominously. Before Mea or anyone else could react, a snapping noise echoed through the air, and the tent collapsed upon them.
The following morning, at 6:00 a.m., two unrelated boys were at the lake. They were situated off to the side, engaged in fishing and occasionally glancing towards the area where the group of fourteen teenagers had camped overnight. Unlike the previous day, the lake was notably less crowded.
Essentially, the area resembled a deserted town. Then, out of the forest, near the spot where the teenagers had set up camp, a young man with blond hair suddenly appeared, sprinting away from the campsite. The boys observed this stranger momentarily before losing interest and returning to their fishing. As the morning progressed, additional individuals arrived at the lake, yet none ventured towards the teenagers’ former campsite.
However, everything changed when a father and his two sons opted to venture towards the dock for a swim. Thus, they embarked on the same wooded trail previously traversed by Nils and Seppo on their motorcycles to reach the camping site. After a while, they arrived at the clearing in the forest where the campsite lay.
Immediately, he notices what appears to be a crumpled mass of canvas nestled amidst two trees. Unable to discern its exact nature from a distance, the father ventures nearer to inspect it further.
In due time, he comprehended the true nature of their surroundings, prompting him to raise a hand to halt his sons from advancing further. He pivoted and urgently instructed his children, “We must depart immediately.” Consequently, the father and his sons hastily retraced their steps along the trail, located a phone, and contacted the authorities.
Upon the police’s arrival at the lake shortly before midday, they proceeded to the campsite where they encountered a collapsed canvas structure. Within and around this tangle of fabric lay the lifeless bodies of the four teenagers who had occupied it the previous night. Tragically, Anja and SEO had not managed to exit the tent.
They were subjected to beatings and stabbings that penetrated the canvas material, resulting in their deaths. Mea did succeed in exiting the tent, but unfortunately, she was unable to evade harm. She was found lying atop the tent, with fractures evident.
It transpired that she had been stabbed a total of 15 times, with some of the wounds inflicted while she was alive and others after her death. Beside her lay the body of her boyfriend, Nils, whose appearance was drastically altered – his head had been brutally beaten.
As the officers arrived at the scene and commenced searching through the teenagers’ backpacks and personal items, one officer crouched down close to the victims to examine their injuries more thoroughly. While they were inspecting each victim, they suddenly detected a gasping noise. It was barely audible, but unmistakable.
Much to their surprise, Nils, Mea’s partner, abruptly awakened and gazed at the officer before him. He remained alive. The officer, previously convinced of Nils’ demise like everyone else, initially struggled to comprehend what actions to take.
However, moments later, the officer rose to his feet and urgently called for medical assistance. Following Nils’ departure in an ambulance, various investigative teams present at the scene commenced examining the evidence and items discovered. Soon thereafter, a prevailing sentiment among all investigators emerged: this crime scene defies rational explanation.
Some items absent from the crime scene suggested a possible robbery, such as the absence of wallets and watches. However, the absence of certain other items seemed inexplicable. For instance, while the two motorcycles the boys had driven remained parked against the tree, their keys were nowhere to be found.
Why would someone opt to steal the keys instead of the motorcycles? Additionally, Nils’s cherished leather jacket and shoes were gone as well. While not notably valuable in a monetary sense, they likely held sentimental significance for Nils. However, their worth certainly didn’t justify a robber resorting to violence to obtain them.
In due course, the police enlisted the assistance of the military to aid in the search within the forest. Upon the military’s arrival and subsequent deployment across the vast expanse of the forest, a significant discovery was made. They stumbled upon Nils’s shoes, which were noticeably stained with blood.
It was evident from the bloodstained trail in close proximity that the perpetrator had presumably donned these shoes at the campsite before departing while still wearing them. Subsequently, they were discarded some 500 meters away beneath a heap of leaves. In the aftermath of the homicides, law enforcement pursued numerous leads across Finland, yet none yielded significant results.
Nils managed to endure the assault, yet his facial injuries were severe, with numerous fractures in his skull, leaving him unable to speak for an extended period. Upon regaining his ability to communicate and being interviewed by the police, it became evident that Nils had little recollection of the attack. In fact, his memory of the entire day, including the assault, was largely absent.
Yet, Nils would recall one crucial detail: amid the chaos of the assault, he vividly recollected encountering a mysterious, shadowy figure adorned with piercing red, luminous eyes. However, law enforcement couldn’t simply embark on a search for a shadowy figure with crimson eyes.
Therefore, rather than taking immediate action, they simply took note of the information and proceeded with their inquiry. The primary information the police received came from two boys who were fishing on the lake the day after the murders occurred. They reported seeing a man with blonde hair fleeing from the area where the teenagers had been camping. Initially unaware of the importance of their observation, the boys were later contacted by authorities following the news of the murders.
Observing that individual in the vicinity where authorities had confirmed the murders occurred, prompted the police to generate a composite sketch based on the description provided by witnesses—a blond man seen fleeing the scene. This sketch was disseminated throughout Finland with appeals for anyone who might have encountered the individual to come forward.
Many individuals quickly stepped forward, affirming, “Yes, I’ve spotted him.” However, it became apparent that the police were inundated with numerous false reports due to the sketch resembling many men in Finland. Thus, the sketch lacked the necessary uniqueness.
Nevertheless, one particular tip caught the attention of the police. Following the occurrence of the murders, a man named Hans Assmann admitted himself to a hospital approximately 13 miles distant from the lake where the murders took place. Upon his arrival, Hans began to complain about experiencing severe stomach pains.
However, the doctors are skeptical of his claims as Hans seems to be heavily intoxicated and displaying aggressive behavior. Firstly, he bears a striking resemblance to the police composite sketch of the blonde suspect on the run, almost as if he were the individual depicted. Additionally, Hans appears unkempt and dirty.
He appeared dirtied and smeared with mud, with dirt visibly ingrained beneath his fingernails as if he’d been digging manually. Additionally, his attire was marked with mysterious red stains that he chose not to elaborate on.
Ultimately, a doctor reached out to the police, leading to an interview with Hans, during which they uncovered his violent past. Hans admitted to affiliations with the Nazi party and the Russian secret police, though these claims appeared dubious. Overall, he presented as an unpredictable and mentally unstable individual.
However, Hans possessed an airtight alibi for the night of the murder. He was situated in a city approximately 15 miles distant from the crime scene, specifically at his girlfriend’s residence along with her sister and brother-in-law. Despite their desire to implicate Hans, the police unequivocally discovered that he was not involved.
This essentially summarizes the course of the entire investigation. Law enforcement conducted interviews with more than 4,000 individuals, yet even with extensive efforts, they remained unable to identify the perpetrator. Consequently, the case gradually grew dormant, remaining unsolved for a span of 44 years.
Numerous hypotheses circulated, yet there wasn’t a single suspect. However, in 2004, prosecutors shocked many with their announcement: Nils Gustaffson, the 18-year-old boyfriend of Mea, the sole survivor of the attack, was declared as the killer.
The prosecutors cited two pieces of evidence to substantiate their hypothesis. Firstly, a woman staying near the lake on the night of the murders recalled overhearing a heated altercation between two men near the teenagers’ campsite prior to the fatal events. The prosecutors theorized that this altercation might have involved Nils and Seppo in conflict with each other.
Nils was angered by Seppo regarding an issue concerning Nils’s girlfriend, Mea. It appeared that Mea’s interactions with Seppo might have crossed into flirtatious territory, which deeply troubled Nils, leading him to feel betrayed.
However, there was a situation unfolding where two young men were engaged in a dispute over a girl. From the prosecutor’s perspective, this could clarify the reason for Mea being stabbed multiple times. Essentially, it suggests that Nils became overwhelmed with anger regarding the situation between Mea and Seppo, leading his fury to manifest in violent actions against his girlfriend.
The second piece of evidence employed by the prosecutors to bolster the assertion that Nils was the perpetrator was the discovery of his shoes beneath a pile of leaves approximately 500 meters from their campsite. According to the prosecution, blood was detected on the shoes, though not inside them, and none of the blood matched Nils’s DNA. Consequently, the prosecution argues that this indicates Nils committed the murders while wearing his shoes, subsequently fleeing the campsite and discarding the shoes beneath the leaves in an attempt to conceal them.
After returning to the campsite, he intentionally caused severe injuries to himself to fabricate the appearance of being attacked. Consequently, Nils, 44 years later, was apprehended for the murders. At the time of his arrest, he was 62 years old.
He held a job as a bus driver and had a family, yet during Nils’s trial, he steadfastly asserted his innocence, unwaveringly sticking to his account.
Essentially, he conveyed, “I struggle to recall the specifics of that day. The attack is a blur to me. The events leading up to it and following it are unclear. However, what stands out in my memory is encountering a dark, shadowy figure with glowing red eyes. That’s the extent of what I can recall.”
The jury fully accepted his account, resulting in his straightforward acquittal. Ultimately, Finland awarded him a substantial financial compensation for the anguish he endured.
Today, numerous narratives circulate about the infamous murders. I mean, Lake Bodom, the very site where these events unfolded, has garnered widespread recognition solely due to these killings. Visitors flock there simply to stand in the same location where those teenagers met their demise.
However, many of the narratives surrounding these killings are incredibly implausible, making them difficult to believe. For instance, the notion of a cursed campsite and the idea of the ghosts of slain campers assaulting the teenagers simply lacks credibility as a plausible theory.
Other circulating narratives are indeed captivating, yet they ultimately lack substance. For instance, there are occasional photos that surface online depicting a crowd gathered at one of the teenagers’ funerals. Among the crowd stands a man whose facial resemblance to the composite sketch of the fleeing blonde man is striking.
Indeed, individuals have openly stated that he bears a striking resemblance to the individual, Hans Assmann, who appeared at the hospital the day following the homicides, covered in dirt and what appeared to be blood. However, he did have an alibi.
As the image circulates online, excitement spreads, with people exclaiming, “There he is! The one who murdered the teens!” However, despite widespread attention, no one has succeeded in identifying the individual, leading to a dead end in the investigation.
However, a prevailing narrative surrounds these killings, widely accepted by many, suggesting that a 55-year-old man named Carl Voldemar Gillstrom resided near Lake Bodom. Carl was known to be quite unpleasant, occasionally even confronting campers in the vicinity with hostility.
Indeed, Carl frequently indulged in alcohol and would physically assault fellow campers. He would maliciously dismantle their tents during the night, hurl rocks toward their campgrounds, and on one occasion, he even attempted to shoot a passing camper on a moped. Thankfully, he missed his target, but it’s evident that Carl’s behavior is utterly appalling.
Following the occurrences of the murders, community members acquainted with Carl promptly approached the authorities, asserting, “That’s the individual highly likely responsible for this! It aligns perfectly with his character!” However, upon attempting to engage with Carl, law enforcement ended up conversing with his spouse instead – the woman managing the kiosk, known for her hostile demeanor towards the teenagers upon their initial arrival, bluntly instructing them to leave.
Indeed, the authorities interviewed her, and she consistently maintained that Carl had been in her company, along with her children, at the time of the murders. Consequently, law enforcement placed their trust in her account and did not view Carl as a significant suspect. However, within the Lake Bodom community, there was widespread concern upon learning that he wasn’t under close scrutiny, with many perceiving it as a grave error.
Nine years after the homicides, with the case long gone cold, Carl finds himself sharing a drink with his neighbor, Maria, near Lake Bodom. In a moment of relaxation, Carl unexpectedly confesses to Maria that he was the one behind the Lake Bodom murders.
He outright confessed to his neighbor, stating, “Do you not realize that I am the one who killed Bodom?” Shocked and appalled, the neighbor responded to Carl, saying, “If that’s true, then you should end your own life.” The following day, Carl’s lifeless body was discovered in the lake, close to where the teenagers had been assaulted.
The police remained unable to definitively determine whether his death was accidental, self-inflicted, or caused by someone else. Nevertheless, the prevailing narrative suggests that Carl, burdened by guilt for his actions, may have followed his neighbor’s advice.