The Southwest Finland District Court on Monday found a man who killed two people last April to be guilty on two counts of murder. The court, however, also said he was of unsound mind at the time of the shooting last Easter.
The prosecutor had sought a life sentence for the under-30-year-old defendant, who in addition to murder, faced charges of attempted murder, drug offences and drunk driving.
The court ordered the man to pay the victims' families damages exceeding 100,000 euros.
The deadly event began when the defendant arrived in Perno to meet his friend, a 27-year-old man, in the early morning hours on 3 April, 2021. The men had had a disagreement the previous day which had now developed into a full-blown argument.
Police investigators said the defendant initially shot at his 27-year-old friend in the building courtyard, causing the victim to flee upstairs to the apartment building. The noise drew other two people to the courtyard, a 25-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man. The defendant shot the woman dead by the building's front door and bludgeoned the 25-year-old man with a bladed weapon. The defendant then followed the man he had initially shot upstairs, where he shot him again.