Summertime murder destined to remain a mystery

Photo: Küllike Rooväli

Never will we know if the man, for no obvious reason shooting a youth at a Lasnamäe, Tallinn bus stop, thought to defend his own honour – or that of the girl accompanying victim.

«You picked the wrong guy!» was what the shooter seemed to convey, in Russian – the final public utterance by a 33 years old Estonian committing the crime so hard to understand, on eve of June 3^rd, at Vana-Kuuli bus stop in Lasnamäe.

By evening, half the nation knew: seemingly for nothing, a Maritime Academy cadet called Nikita (21) had been shot dead in Tallinn, in a public place. The news featured a crazed shooter running wild.

By now we know there was no need to overall panic. And: that the crime came about by circumstances totally random to an observer.

What happened, then? The first nuance in the movie-like string of events was that Nikita was not really supposed to be standing at the bust stop at all. True, he lived nearby; but re routinely drove his own car. 

Alas, somebody bumped into his car in heavy city traffic, so the lad had to take it to a body shop. Therefore, the lively youth was waiting for a bus to take him to the Russalka Statue, where friends and his fiancée were waiting.

Next to him, in the bus stop, stood a girl who also used to court him; minutes ago, the young people had spent time in the wasteland nearby. It was a warm summer day. Having sipped some cider, they walked over to the bus stop, where they were supposed to part ways.

In the bust stop, a lone figure was sitting. Peaceful, on the surface. All of a sudden, the man stood to his feet, spoke the above words, shot Nikita in the head with a sawed-off hunting gun, and hasted off.

For starters, this was all the investigators knew. The young lady, as immediate witness of the crime, described the shooter as a darker type man, bearded, in his 50ies.

The description by the girl, still in shock, was not much help. In reality, the killer was much younger, had no beard, and was of a rather lighter complexion. «Probably, her inadequate description was caused by fear,» says Leho Laur, heading department for serious crimes against persons at Northern Prefecture.  

For the initial 24 hours after the crime, the investigators were after a man as described by the young lady. Was it a night guard, working or dwelling nearby? Was there really a maniac loose in the city?

Luckily, another witness appeared – a person who saw the presumed killer leaving the scene. «Thus we got the direction he was headed,» says Mr Laur.

Two days later, the police experts took a closer look at the said direction. The reason being simple: with the time of murder known, still people were talking about shots fired at different times.

The deserted area searched for some 40 minutes, the body of the supposed murderer was found in the bush nearby by their trained search dog. Having used the other cartridge, in his gun, to take his own life.

The body discovered, townsfolk were relieved to know there was no maniac around. The investigators, however, had to work on. Who was he? Why did he do it?

On the surface, a totally decent young Estonian man. His only offence: violation of traffic rules, years ago. An above average paid specialist, in no need financially, having a stable job. «At work, he was appreciated, employed for a longer period of time. Lived quite an ordinary life, as if: communicated with friends and relatives,» says Mr Laur.

Sharing the same neighbourhood, was there some old feud between the men? «This option we soon discarded. They absolutely did not know one another,» says Mr Laur.

The search crew was drawn to an event in the killer’s past. Namely, while much younger, the man had for at least five years served in the famous French Foreign Legion. Which explained his prompt use of the weapon – a soldier grabs a gun to kill.

Even so, the man’s military background was a thing of the past. The past five years, he had peaceably done his job.

As proven by expert analysis of the body, at the moment of the suicide, the man was intoxicated, to two pro mille, of alcohol. A couple of days ago, he had had his birthday, celebrations thereof spreading over many days. Was he aware at all, after binge-drinking, of his surroundings? the investigators started to wonder.

In his home, a confused letter was found, containing thoughts perhaps indicating slight suicidal tendencies. Not clear, though, where he was going to go, that night, by bus. And why the illegal gun in his bag.

«We cannot exclude that what happened at the bus stop might have happened with somebody else, and in some more crowded place,» says Leho Laur.

Still, this is just one of the questions left hanging in the air. For instance, the investigators deem it probable that the murderer thought he was protecting the girl in Nikita’s company. This they came to think, after finding cider bottles, half empty, laid peacefully on the ground at the crime scene.

Could it have been that, while at the bus stop, the young people developed a quarrel for some reason? And the man, sitting near them, up and decided to interfere and put a stop to it, in this most abrupt manner? This we do not know, as the only firsthand witness claims that, at the moment of the killing, all was at its best between her and Nikita.

The killer’s friends say that the man, who lived alone, was characterised by a heightened sense of justice and that he never let anyone do women wrong. «We know of a case where he intervened in a quarrel where his friends were offending a woman, and in this quarrel he took to defending the woman saying this is no way to behave,» says Mr Laur.

This is just another version, unanswered. Like this one: after days of drinking and in depression, the killer headed downtown to find himself a reason for suicide.

«For us, the question what happened and why will never be answered. For that, the last known sentence by the killer is too ambiguous,» says Leho Laur.

Police investigation into the circumstances of the suicide was halted a month ago. Investigations into the murder of the youth can me wound up as final expert analysis results come in. 

Vana-Kuuli Street killing

•    On eve of June 3^rd, a man sitting at Vana-Kuuli bus stop, Lasnamäe, Tallinn, killed by shot in the head a man of 21, waiting for the bust in the same stop, for no obvious reason. The killer walked into bush nearby. The police dog brought onto the scene proved of no help. To police knowledge, the killer was bearded, a man of 50-60 years of age.

•    On evening of June 4^th, the investigators spotted the slight difference in testimonies regarding the timing of the shots heard.

•    On June 5^th, the investigators returned, with dog, to more thoroughly search the area. The body of the killer who had committed suicide was found some 400 metres from the bus stop, in the bush, near a pathway in the grass commonly used. Turned out, the man was only 33, intoxicated at death at over 2 pro mille.

•    At the end of October, the alleged suicide was confirmed to have been the case. The criminal case of the murder at the bus stop will proceed until the last expert analyses are collected.