Man sentenced to over four years for attempted stabbing at Kuopio day centre

A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to four years and five months in prison for attempted manslaughter after stabbing another man in the neck at a day centre in Kuopio’s Sirkkulanpuisto district, Yle reports.

The North Savo District Court delivered the verdict on Thursday. The attack occurred in early March, when the defendant, Tatu Jesper Tapio Pakarinen, stabbed the victim with a knife. The day before, he had assaulted the same man at an emergency shelter, pushing, spitting, and kicking him.

According to witnesses, Pakarinen had threatened to kill the victim. After his release following the initial assault, he purchased a knife and went to the day centre, where he waited for an opportunity to attack. When the victim emerged from the restroom, Pakarinen grabbed him and stabbed him in the neck. Bystanders intervened.

The court ruled that Pakarinen must have been aware that a knife wound to the neck could be fatal. His deliberate actions—buying the knife and his behaviour at the centre—supported the conclusion that the act was premeditated. The victim had given no provocation.

Though the prosecution sought a conviction for attempted murder, the court determined the crime did not meet the threshold for such a charge. Pakarinen was also convicted of assault and illegal threats, while some charges were dismissed. He denied all allegations, claiming the stabbing amounted to assault at most.

The verdict is not yet final.