1987 Viking Sally murder

Murder aboard a ferry in 1987 1986 Viking Sally murder1986 Viking Sally murder December 2022 March 2025 1987 Viking Sally murder Viking Sally 002.jpg Viking Sally pictured in Stockholm harbour in the 1980s MS Viking Sally, pictured in Stockholm harbour in the 1980s Unknown, likely shortly before 03:45 EEST 1987 07 28 y Aboard cruiseferry MS Viking Sally Åland archipelago, Finnish territorial waters 1 (Klaus Schelkle) 1 (Bettina Taxis) 1 (Herman Himle)Dansker frifundet i finsk drabssag: Jeg har provokeret politiet https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/dansker-frifundet-i-finsk-drabssag-jeg-har-provokeret-politiet 15 August 2023 Kristeligt Dagblad 30 June 2021 da 15 August 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230815205442/https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/dansker-frifundet-i-finsk-drabssag-jeg-har-provokeret-politiet live Sørensen Sola Kruchov Opsigtsvækkende oplysninger i finsk drabssag mod frifundet dansk mand https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/opsigtsvaekkende-oplysninger-i-finsk-drabssag-mod-frifundet-dansk-mand 15 August 2023 DR 3 April 2022 da-DK 13 July 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240713151257/https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/opsigtsvaekkende-oplysninger-i-finsk-drabssag-mod-frifundet-dansk-mand live Murder and attempted murder May–June 2021 Acquitted The 1987 Viking Sally murder was a homicide which took place on 28 July 1987 aboard the cruiseferry MS Viking Sally, en route from Stockholm, Sweden, to Turku, Finland. An assailant attacked two West German tourists, Klaus Schelkle (aged 20) and Bettina Taxis (aged 22), killing Schelkle and seriously injuring Taxis. In September 2020, Finnish police announced charges against a suspect and passed the case on to prosecutors. In June 2021, the suspect was acquitted. The crime remains unsolved. Background Klaus Schelkle (born 1967) and Bettina Taxis (born 1965) were students from West Germany who were romantically involved. Together with Schelkle's friend, Thomas Schmid, they had decided to tour the Nordic countries on an Interrail rail pass, with the aim of travelling from West Germany to Stockholm, crossing over on a ferry to Turku, continuing up through Finland to Lapland, and returning south along the coast of Norway.Tanskalaismies saa syytteet saksalaisturistin 30 vuoden takaisesta murhasta Viking Sallylla Danish man charged with the murder of German tourist on Viking Sally thirty years ago https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000007666478.html 28 January 2021 Helsingin Sanomat 7 December 2020 fi 2 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210202052242/https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000007666478.html live The trio sailed from Stockholm in the late evening of 27 July. They became acquainted with a number of their fellow passengers that night, including a young British man on his way to meet a Finnish woman he had met earlier, and a Finnish car parts dealer returning from a business trip in Germany. Schelkle and Taxis were social and outgoing; Schmid was more reserved. The three had limited funds, which explains why on the night of the incident they did not have cabins, instead sleeping in a public area. Viking Sally was part of the Viking Line ferry fleet, which provides daily cruiseferry services between Sweden, Finland and Åland. It had capacity for 2,000 passengers and 400 vehicles, and a crew of approximately 200. The previous year, a passenger had been murdered on the same ship. In 1990, Viking Sally was sold to Silja Line and renamed Silja Star, before being sold to Wasa Line and renamed Wasa King. In 1993, she was sold to Estline and renamed Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea on September 28 1994, with the loss of 852 lives. Night of the incident Around 01:00 on 28 July, Schelkle and Taxis fetched their sleeping bags from inside the ship, while Schmid was asleep in a public area with the backpacks and other belongings of all three. The couple headed for the open-air 9th deck at the rear of the ship, where they had earlier identified a sheltered spot next to the ship's helipad. Their chosen location was dimly lit due to a broken lamp. At approximately 03:45, a group of three Danish boy scouts, on their way to a jamboree in Finland, were wandering around the ship's decks and chanced upon the victims' sleeping area. According to their witness statements, they saw two people, who they first thought were heavily intoxicated, as they seemed to struggle to stand up. The boy scouts soon realised that both had serious head injuries and were barely conscious, and that the whole area surrounding them was covered in blood. One of the boy scouts approached them, intending to provide first aid, but soon realised that their injuries were far too serious. The boy scouts alerted the ship's front desk, which ordered the ship's on-call nurse and security operative to the site of the incident. The nurse immediately recognised the severity of the injuries and asked the ship's captain, also in attendance,Viking Sallyn 32 vuotta vanha murhamysteeri nousi uudestaan tapetille, poliisi uskoo ratkaisuun 32-year-old murder mystery on Viking Sally back on the agenda, police confident of solution https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/1917eba1-397f-40af-8cae-8e437d42bd36 11 September 2020 Iltalehti 3 August 2019 fi 7 December 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201207075205/https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/1917eba1-397f-40af-8cae-8e437d42bd36 live to request a Finnish Coast Guard rescue helicopter to be dispatched to carry the victims to Turku University Hospital ahead of the ship's arrival in port later that morning. At 05:48, the victims reached the hospital, where Schelkle was pronounced dead on arrival despite attempts by the ship's nurse to resuscitate him during the flight. Taxis was in critical condition with similar injuries, apparently resulting from heavy blows to the head.Murder on the Upper Deck. An Unsolved Crime. https://forenseek.app/murder-on-the-upper-deck-an-unsolved-crime/ Forenseek 7 September 2018 11 September 2020 21 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201021203611/https://forenseek.app/murder-on-the-upper-deck-an-unsolved-crime/ live A chief investigator later described the attack as "especially ferocious". Investigation The crime almost certainly took place within the jurisdiction of Åland, but the Finnish Ministry of Interior decided that due to the significant investigative resources required, the Turku regional police force would investigate the matter instead, assisted by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The first police investigators and crime scene technicians arrived on the ship at 06:30, while still at sea, on the same helicopter that had transported the victims to hospital. When the ship docked in Turku at 08:10, the police had it surrounded, aiming to seal in the perpetrator who was still thought to be on board. Police initially planned to interview and video-record all passengers as they disembarked, but soon realised this was not possible due to the sheer numbers involved, with 1,400 passengers on board that day, and decided to exclude families with children and the elderly. They had also detained certain persons of interest, including Schmid. The young British man they had associated with was also detained, as he was found in the morning with his clothes stained in blood, though he claimed this was the result of a nose-bleed. Schmid was soon ruled out, but the British man was interviewed repeatedly until forensic studies confirmed that the blood in his clothing was indeed almost certainly his, although due to the 1980s forensic technology this was not wholly conclusive. Finland Åland Islands 200 right Lilla Björnholm on map Lilla Björnholm, Korpo right Green pog.svg 60.207964 21.591190 In August 1987, shortly after the incident, local fishermen discovered a plastic bag full of clothes on the uninhabited skerry of Lilla Björnholm, outside Korpo in the Turku archipelago, only some 200 m from the sea lane used by ferries to and from Turku. The fishermen left it there, but upon finding it again when they returned a year later, they passed it on to the police. Investigators published the bag's contents, including the fact that a glove found in the bag was monogrammed with initials 'H.K.', and stated that some forensic evidence suggested that the clothes originated from Viking Sally, but this did not lead to a break in the case. Over the next several years, investigators traced and interviewed as many of the video-recorded passengers as possible; some could never be identified. Investigators sailed on the same ship several times, hoping to find clues, to no avail. As forensic technology advanced, the evidence gathered provided some clues but ultimately not enough to solve the mystery. There were no eyewitnesses to the incident, no useful CCTV footage, and no apparent motive, and Taxis has no recollection of the incident, all of which made solving the crime particularly difficult. Despite the unprecedented scale of the police effort, the investigation was discontinued in the 1990s. Murder trial and aftermath In 2019, the police revealed that they had a prime suspect in the case, but would not reveal the suspect's age, sex or nationality, confirming only that the person was alive and thought to have acted alone.Poliisi vahvistaa: Viking Sallyn murhasta epäilty on elossa Police confirms: Viking Sally murder suspect is alive https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/074cfec3-603a-4fcc-8727-9aec6a4529c2 11 September 2020 Iltalehti 22 November 2019 fi 13 January 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210113034826/https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/074cfec3-603a-4fcc-8727-9aec6a4529c2 live They later added that the perpetrator is thought not to have known the victims.32 vuoden takainen Viking Sallyn murhamysteeri etenee syyttäjälle – poliisi kuullut epäiltyä useita kertoja, mutta häntä ei ole vangittu Viking Sally murder mystery from 32 years ago going to prosecutors - the suspect has been interviewed several times but not arrested https://www.aamulehti.fi/rikos/art-2000007557543.html 13 January 2020 11 September 2020 Aamulehti fi https://web.archive.org/web/20211019182643/https://www.aamulehti.fi/rikos/art-2000007557543.html 19 October 2021 live In September 2020, Turku police finally announced that they had solved the case and were passing it on to prosecutors.Opiskelijapari nukkui makuupusseissaan ruotsinlaivan kannella, kun tappaja hyökkäsi – Turun poliisin mukaan 33 vuotta vanha murha on nyt selvinnyt Student couple slept in their sleeping bags on a ferry deck, when the killer attacked — Turku police claim to have now solved the 33-year-old case https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11415221 11 September 2020 Yle 11 September 2020 fi 13 July 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240713151245/https://yle.fi/a/3-11415221 live In December 2020 a district prosecutor announced that homicide charges have been filed against a Danish man born in 1969, one of the former boy scouts who discovered the victims. The trial started on 24 May 2021 in the district court of Southwestern Finland.2021-05-24 Dane in court over grisly murder on board a German ferry in 1987 https://todaynewspost.com/news/world/europe-news/dane-in-court-over-grisly-murder-on-board-a-german-ferry-in-1987/ 2021-05-25 Today News Post en-US 2021-05-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20210525165629/https://todaynewspost.com/news/world/europe-news/dane-in-court-over-grisly-murder-on-board-a-german-ferry-in-1987/ liveDanish man stands trial for 1987 cruise ship attack https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/danish_man_stands_trial_for_1987_cruise_ship_attack/11945608 25 May 2021 Yle 24 May 2021 13 July 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240713151226/https://yle.fi/a/3-11945608 live The case had originally been investigated as a manslaughter, which has a statutory limit of twenty years; this would have meant that the case could no longer be brought to court. Instead, the charges were murder and attempted murder, which do not expire, and can be brought even after more than thirty years. The prosecutors justified the enhanced charges by noting the exceptionally cruel nature of the act. In June 2021, the suspect was acquitted on all charges.Viking Sally: Suspect accused of 1987 Finland ferry murder is acquitted BBC News 30 June 2021 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57669846 20 June 2021 30 June 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210630182039/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57669846 live Had the charges resulted in a conviction, they would have represented the longest offence-to-conviction lead time in Finnish judicial history. In October 2021, it was reported that the accused had allegedly confessed the murder to two Finnish police investigators in 2016, providing details of the weapon used, although he subsequently recanted this under formal questioning.Julma leikki Cruel game https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12118628 Yle 11 October 2021 fi 11 October 2021 11 October 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211011090518/https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12118628 live The alleged confession was made without a defence lawyer or witnesses being present, and was therefore ruled inadmissible by the court hearing the case. The prosecutors appealed this ruling, with the case due before the court of appeal of Turku in 2022, but they later withdrew their appeal, leaving the case unresolved."Hän osoitti käsillään, miten löi kumpaakin useamman kerran päähän" – kelpaako Viking Sallyn murhan väitetty tunnustus näytöksi hovioikeudessa? "He showed with his hands how he hit both victims repeatedly on the head" — will alleged Viking Sally confession be admitted as evidence at court of appeal? https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12491939 17 June 2022 Yle 17 June 2022 fi 17 June 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220617021747/https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12491939 live Syyttäjät peruivat valituksensa Viking Sallyn murhajutussa – Herman Himle on syytön reppureissaajien kohtaamaan silmittömään väkivaltaan Prosecutors withdrew their appeal in the Viking Sally murder case - Herman Himle is not guilty of the mindless violence against the backpackers https://yle.fi/a/3-12654453 1 August 2023 Yle 10 October 2022 fi 13 July 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240713151227/https://yle.fi/a/3-12654453 live See also List of unsolved murders (1980–1999) Finland References Further reading Murder on the Upper Deck. An Unsolved Crime. English translation of a chapter from a Finnish 1992 book, written by Detective Inspector Eino Kivimäki, recounting the incident. Category:1987 murders in Finland Category:History of Åland Category:Maritime incidents in 1987 Category:July 1987 in Europe Category:Unsolved murders in Finland Category:Maritime incidents in Finland Category:Attacks on tourists in Europe Category:German people murdered abroad Category:MS Estonia Category:Finland–Germany relations