Historians investigate Soviet-era murder of Finnish ammunition factory director

A 1932 murder at a Finnish ammunition factory, long overlooked as potential Soviet espionage, is now under fresh scrutiny by intelligence historians, reports Finnish broadcaster Yle.

The case involves Volter Asplund, director of the Lapua cartridge factory, who was poisoned by his 21-year-old housekeeper Jenny Anttila. Anttila, recruited by a Soviet agent known as “Mr. Sten,” admitted in court to administering the poison but claimed she did not grasp the severity of her actions. She received a conviction, while “Mr. Sten” — later identified as Kustaa Adolf Kurki — fled to the Soviet Union before the crime was uncovered.

The murder is now a focal point in Yle’s Sukuni murhamysteeri (My Family’s Murder Mystery) podcast, which examines suspicious deaths among Finnish intelligence figures. Military historian Heidi Ruotsalainen and intelligence researcher Mikko Porvali, both featured in the series, say the case is part of a broader pattern.

“When we mapped out intelligence-related deaths on a timeline, we realised there were quite a lot of them,” Ruotsalainen told Yle. Unlike many other cases, Asplund’s murder left behind court records and an exhumation report confirming poisoning — evidence that remains rare for similar incidents.

Asplund, a developer of a new torpedo shell, possessed classified information that made him a target. Anttila, granted access to his home and workplace, was tasked with poisoning him just enough to steal his red-ledger documents, which contained sensitive material. His unexpected death exposed the operation’s risks.

Ruotsalainen suggests the murder was not recognised at the time as part of wider Soviet espionage in Finland. “Back then, they may not have connected it to the broader picture of what Soviet intelligence was doing here,” she said. The lack of an autopsy — unusual even for the 1930s — further obscured the case.

The podcast team is now seeking public tips on similar incidents, particularly deaths linked to intelligence, defence industry figures, or political circles. “Any suspicious cases like this are of great interest to us,” Ruotsalainen said.

Asplund’s murder remains one of the earliest tragic events in the region’s history, according to Ruut Lehto, a guide at the Lapua cartridge factory museum. While the factory’s 1976 explosion and the Lapua Movement are well-known locally, the 1932 killing is less remembered.