Turku brothers sentenced for decades-long burial-ground violations
A Turku court fined two brothers for illegally storing their parents' bodies in outdoor freezers, imposing daily fines that total roughly €2,000 for the elder and €640 for the younger.
In Turku, the Varsinais-Suomi District Court handed down daily-fine sentences to two brothers for violating burial-ground regulations. The older brother, an 81-year-old former physician, was ordered to pay a fine of 110 euros per day, reduced by eight days for time already spent in custody, amounting to just under €2,000. His 70-year-old brother received a 40-euro daily fine, totaling €640 based on his income.
The siblings had hidden their deceased parents' bodies in two outdoor freezer units attached to a private house for many years, later digging into a family grave at Turku cemetery. While the elder admitted the conduct, he contested the criminal charge, claiming the offense was time-barred because it occurred before 1995. Both men also faced a separate charge for disturbing the family grave, which the court addressed during the September hearing.
Why it matters
The case highlights legal limits on burial-ground violations and raises questions about statute-of-limitations rules for historic crimes.
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