The kidnapping of Minna Nurminen took place in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

on 27 May 2009.

Kidnapping

Minna Nurminen, a 26-year-old member of the wealthy Herlin family, owners of KONE Corporation, disappeared from her home in Etu-Töölö,

, on 27 May 2009. She was reported missing on 30 May, and later found on 13 June, in a forest in

Rusko Rusko () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Population densi ...

. The kidnapper was identified as Juha Turunen (born 22 September 1964 in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

, now known as Juha Louhi), a former SDP city council candidate living in

. Police arrested Juha Turunen and he confessed to the kidnapping.Corporate lawyer arrested for kidnapping of heiress
National Post He is said to have asked for a

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

of 8 million

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

for Nurminen, which her family paid him. Part of this ransom, in the form of 100 euro

banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...

s, was found by chance in a parking hall in Turku on 12 June. He hid millions of euros around Turku. The police said they probably recovered all of it. Several authorities provided assistance to police, including

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

, Border Guard and Customs.All of the ransom money has probably been recovered
. Finnish Police Turunen is said to have planned the crime for several months, and to even have bought an apartment in the centre of Turku specifically for the purpose of keeping Nurminen prisoner there. During the whole time, Turunen also lived a perfectly normal family life with his wife and three underage children, all of whom were oblivious to the crime. The only apparent motive Turunen has had for the crime is simple lust for money. He has had nothing against Nurminen or her family.

Course of events

Turunen originally approached his victim in her home in Etu-Töölö by posing as a

mailman A mail carrier, also referred to as a mailman, mailwoman, mailperson, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, postperson, person of post, letter carrier (in American English), or colloquially postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Unite ...

having a package to deliver to her. When Nurminen opened the door, Turunen knocked her down to the floor, tied her up, and placed her inside a large

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

en box he had brought with him. Turunen then brought this box with him all the way to the apartment in central Turku, where he released Nurminen from the box and left her in the apartment's specifically modified bedroom. For two weeks, Nurminen's only contact with the outside world was a

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

set and Turunen feeding her once per day. After the ransom was paid, Turunen brought Nurminen to a forest in Rusko, where she had to remain alone for several hours, until the police were able to locate and safely retrieve her.

References

External links

Kidnapper of Finnish heiress given 9 year sentence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nurminen, Minna 2000s missing person cases 2009 crimes in Finland Formerly missing people Nurminen, Minna Missing person cases in Finland

Kidnapping

Course of events

See also

References

External links