17-year-old convicted over Turku stabbing as bystander doctor saved victim’s life

A 17-year-old has been sentenced to unconditional imprisonment for a stabbing in the Mäntymäki area of Turku, Finland, the District Court of Southwest Finland ruled on Tuesday, according to Yle.

The court found the defendant guilty of attempted manslaughter and aggravated robbery, as well as several drug and robbery offences committed during the same weekend in Turku. He was sentenced to a total of three years and eight months in prison.

The case stemmed from an incident in February in which three 17-year-olds had arranged to meet a peer on Kunnallissairaalantie in Turku under the pretence of a drug deal. According to the prosecutor, the trio’s actual intention was to rob the victim.

A physical altercation followed at the meeting point, during which the victim sustained stab wounds to the lower back and a cut to the face. The attack was interrupted when two bystanders arrived by car. One called the emergency services while the other, a doctor by profession, administered first aid and stopped the victim’s bleeding.

Charges of attempted manslaughter were also brought against the two other 17-year-olds present. Both were acquitted on that charge. One was nonetheless found guilty of aggravated robbery and sentenced to two years and seven months in prison.

All three defendants denied the charge of attempted manslaughter. The court determined that only the convicted defendant had used a knife, and that he must have understood that the stab wounds were likely to result in the victim’s death. The act was classified as an attempt because the bystanders intervened before the victim was killed.

The court justified the unconditional prison sentences on the grounds that both convicted individuals had committed multiple serious offences, and that child welfare measures had had no effect on their behaviour. The detention of minors is rare in Finland, and the law requires compelling grounds for it.