Finnish court acquits Mika Moring in Saara Arva case

The Northern Savonia District Court has acquitted Mika Moring of all charges in the death of Saara Arva, Yle reports. Moring was charged with manslaughter and aggravated deprivation of liberty.

Moring denied all the charges.

Police investigated Arva’s disappearance and suspected killing for years. Police said Moring was the only suspect.

Arva, who was from Helsinki, had been missing for nearly five years when an ice fisher found her remains on a remote peninsula in Vesanto in April 2024. She was 35 when she died.

Yle is naming Moring because he was charged with exceptionally serious offences and has been sentenced to unconditional imprisonment for several violent and sexual offences. Yle is also naming the suspected homicide victim because of the exceptional nature of the case and the significance of public tips in solving it.

Police suspect that Moring killed 28-year-old Katja Miinalainen, who disappeared in Southwest Finland in August 2022. The preliminary investigation into Miinalainen’s case is still under way, and police are searching for her remains in Muonio.