Eveliina disappears in Imatra
On 14 November 2000, 14-year-old Eveliina Lappalainen disappeared in Imatra. Her body was found the following day near the Imatrankoski sports ground. Police investigated the death as a homicide and, after a lengthy inquiry, focused on teenager Otto Martikainen.
Contemporary Finnish reporting records that Martikainen was arrested in January 2002. The case then moved through three levels of Finland's court system, producing different legal classifications at different stages.
District court and appeal
In June 2002, the Imatra District Court convicted Martikainen of manslaughter committed as a minor and sentenced him to seven years in prison. Eveliina's family appealed.
In December 2002, the Kouvola Court of Appeal classified the killing as murder committed as a minor and increased the sentence to nine years. That appellate judgment was not the final outcome, because Martikainen received leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The final Supreme Court judgment
In June 2004, Finland's Supreme Court reduced the conviction from murder to manslaughter committed as a minor and restored the seven-year sentence. MTV and STT reported that the Supreme Court found the killing intentional but concluded that the legal requirements for murder were not met.
This Supreme Court ruling is the final judgment reflected in this case file. The case is therefore solved and adjudicated, while the page avoids describing the final conviction as murder.