Antti Taskinen

Antti Olavi Taskinen (born 1976) is a Finnish serial killer, who is responsible for the deaths of three men in Tampere and Heinola. He was sentenced to life in prison on May 31 2006. [cite web | title=Sarjasurmaajalle elinkautistuomio | work=Turun Sanomat | url=http://www.turunsanomat.fi/kotimaa/?ts=1,3:1002:0:0,4:2:0:1:2006-06-01,104:2:382511,1:0:0:0:0:0: | accessdate=2007-05-09]

Taskinen killed his first victim, a 20-year-old student from Tampere, in August 1996. Taskinen had given the victim a Dolcontin (morphine) overdose. This was an "aggravated involuntary manslaughter" (in Finnish: "kuolemantuottamus") according to the Local Court.

On February 1997 Taskinen was spending time in Tampere with a 30-year-old man. The man died, and a massive Abalgin (dextropropoxyphene) overdose was found from his blood. Before his death the victim had made a testament in favour of Taskinen. This was considered a manslaughter (in Finnish: "tappo") in the Local Court.

On November 2005 Taskinen murdered his third and final victim, Markku Heimo Juhani Franssila. He was a rich 54-year-old business manager, who had a villa in Heinola, where the murder took place. The men had lived in a registered partnership for the last four months. Franssila had died of an Abalgin overdose. The motive for that murder was the inheritance Taskinen would have been given.

Taskinen was arrested on January 2006. He was suspected for the murder of Franssila. The police soon started to suspect him of two earlier homicides too. He was found guilty, and May 31 2006 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for aggravated involuntary manslaughter, a manslaughter and a murder. Taskinen appealed the decision, and the hearing in the Court of Appeal started in February 2007.

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