Murder of Auli "Kyllikki" Saari

 

Auli Kyllikki Sarri(back right) with her sisters

On May 17, 1953, 17-year-old Auli Kyllikki Saari was cycling to her home in Isojoki, Finland from a prayer meeting in Merikarvia. On this particular day, she stated that she was tired, and others found this unusual. She stated that she was going to attend another prayer meeting at Kortteenkylä village schoolhouse. At 6pm she left on her bike and rode 40 minutes to the prayer meeting.

Maiju, a friend of Kyllikki, also attended this meeting. The two would ride home together at 10 p.m. and at 10:30 the two would separate at an intersection. Maiju noted that her friend seemed apprehensive and depressed. When they had gotten to where they needed to separate she seemed nervous to go on alone stating, "Probably it goes now as it has before. Bye then, Maiju." 

A man named Tie-Jaska saw her a mile further from where she and her friend separated. After this, no one saw Kyllikki alive again. She did not arrive home and her family assumed that she stayed the night with Maiju. When she didn't arrive home two days later they assumed she was staying with someone in Isojoki to be closer to work. They would find out she didn't show up to work and didn't see her. She would be reported missing two days after she disappeared.

In the weeks after her disappearance witnesses stated that there was a suspicious cream-hues car with a bike in a nearby storage compartment. Others state that they have heard cries and sobs for help neat the lake in Karrankaja. No one knew what had happened to Kyllikki until October 11, 1953. Her body would be pulled from a bog. 

The bog was close by to where Kyllikki was last seen and it was obvious she had been killed. She had been pushed down with a pine branch into the bog. She was nude from the waist down and her jacket was wrapped around her head.  She had either been suffocated or died from blunt force trauma to her head. It's unknown if she had been sexually assaulted or not.

The pine branch used to push her and keep her in the bog was freshly cut. It had been sharpened by someone who was left-handed. Her shoe, scarf, and a man's sock were also found there. Items of hers were missing though, her wristwatch, red cloth purse, and hymn book were never found.

Kyllikki wasn't one to go out to dances or entertainments. It's believed that she did not have a boyfriend as she didn't tell anyone about having one. She had told an older female friend she had no interest in men and didn't want to get married.

The person who killed Kyllikki had to of been strong. Alli, her older sister, said that Kyllikki was strong and had good arm strength. Not only that, but the person must have carried the girl a distance to the bog, dig, and then refill the grave. Which would have taken some strength to do.

There were several suspects in the crime, but no ones been convicted in the girls murder.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia

Mysteries Unsolved

History of Yesterday