Messed up lives of parents and despair down the road

Photo: Reporter.ee

Sigrit, murdered in Tartu this Saturday, and her alleged killer Eleri had been aquatinted for about a decade. For the latter, mental instability sprang from recent suicide by her brother.

On November 13^th, Ever took his life by hanging while only 29 years of age. Less than a month later, his sister Eleri allegedly murdered Sigrid who used to share her apartment, proceeding to set herself and her three-years-old son afire. Eleri’s background has its share of loneliness and despair.

Eduard, father of the family with five children, was jailed for a long term at the beginning of 1990ies already; after failure to be pardoned, in 1996, no written tracks of him remain. Mother Maie, who recently turned 70, currently dwells in a single room, at a social apartment, at Rämsi village, Puhja Commune, with her eldest son.

The Mother apologises about them being in the process of moving, and sets me on a stool, in the kitchen. Turns out, I’m the messenger: «On November 18^th, Eleri turned 33. The son must have been two or three... Holy Mary!»

As far as Maie can remember, Eleri may have paid a visit the last year but one. «Back then, she didn’t say anything. All was supposed to be well,» says Mother. «Said she had bought new furniture in Annelinn. The kid was still small.» I describe to Maie what happened Saturday night. «What was she thinking!? She said she had two bedrooms, a kitchen, and space enough!»

For a long time, I searched Postimees, Eesti Päevaleht and Õhtuleht for funeral notices after the death of Ever. Not a single line on the young man. Over the Internet, Ever had tried to look into his family tree a bit, posted his parents, brothers and sisters into the Geni portal. In addition to that, notary announces succession matters of Ever, died on November 13^th, in Ametlikud Teadaanded [the portal]. And, broadly speaking, that’s all.

Mother says the kids basically grew up on their own. «Eleri went not to children’s home, for a while she moved to another daughter in Finland,» says Mother. For a fact, for a while Ever did spend some time at a children’s home.

Eduard, her husband, went behind the bars, but Maie does not remember what for. «Eduard had a hundred issues ... he was drinking and rumbling around,» says the lady. Maie admits that her life went much amiss. «As soon as we got married, things started to go wrong,» she sighs. «Wrong man! But I guess it was supposed to that way, perhaps...»

Contradicting the social worker, Maie claims she has had no problem with drinking; rather, her problem was unemployment wherefore she was not able to take care of the children.

In addition to Ever and Eleri, Maie has two more daughters and a son. The son dwells with her, the two daughters have families of their own. Will the Mother go see her daughter and grandkid in the hospital? «Oh no, I could not take that!»

Milvi Sepp, social adviser at Puhja Commune, says she used to deal with the youngest child Ever, as the boy was taken from children’s home to a foster family. «These kids, Mother has not raised them,» says the social worker. «By that time, the other children had grown up or found a home someplace else.»

As confirmed by the social worker, the Mother used to have a serious problem with alcohol, which has given way now that she’s older.

Maie is paying all her utility bills and all the Rämsi food store staff say she and her son are people modest and prudent.

On Eleri also, little is found over the web. One does find traces, from years back, of interest towards working in Finland and learning to play poker. From various sources, Postimees has received hints the lady might have been addicted to gambling.

Not only friends, Eleri and Sigrit had been dwelling together since ten years ago, as told to 7 o’clock news of TV 3 by sister of Sigrit.

«Somehow they got acquainted and just started to live together. Somehow they seemed to fit, but I do not know why live together for such a long time like this, whatever the reason was ...» said Sigrit’s sister.

According to her, the ladies used to quarrel as Sigrit desired that Eleri move out of the apartment. «I was my sister’s apartment, by looks like Eleri did not want to go. My sister already had to spend nights elsewhere, as she couldn’t take the terror that she faced at home, probably. Often, she did not even come home after work.» According to TV 3, suicide of brother was a reason for mental instability of Eleri.

On Saturday night, the dead body of Sigrit (30) was found under a burning car at Lääne St, Tartu. Eleri (33), suspected in her murder, had meanwhile set herself and her three years old son aflame in the apartment nearby.

Police and rescue workers succeeded in saving the child and the woman from the fire. According to the initial version, Eleri had strangled Sigrit, wrapped the dead body in blankets, backed the car over her and set the vehicle on fire.

According to press representative of Tartu University Hospital, the little boy was in a serious condition as at last night. There were no definite data on the condition of Eleri.

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Policemen save two lives

Jaan Mürk, field director of Tartu Police patrols, still hears the cries of the 3-year old boy, screaming for his life.

After discovering the dead body underneath a vehicle, at Lääne St, Jaan Mürk went with investigators to the door of the apartment nearby. The door proved to be locked. Through an aperture, they saw flames, at the same instant the small boy burst out screaming for his life. Mr Mürk, standing at the door with the investigators, realised they now had to run. 

According to Mr Mürk it is rare for police to find themselves in situations where people’s lives are a matter of seconds. «Adrenaline bursts like this come seldom,» said he. «From time to time, we do happen upon suicidal people, however, standing on roof edges of bridges.»

By that time, said Mr Mürk, rescue workers had finished putting out flames in the car. «But I had not let them go yet, just in case,» said he. «I wanted them to help me get the body from under the car, in one piece. So there they sat, on the steps of the fire engine, waiting till they can get to business. I came out and said in a voice, more urgent than usual, that we need help and real fast.» They got the door open in a few seconds.

Rushing inside, Mr Mürk and police investigator run towards the mother and child; the investigator succeeded in grabbing the boy by his feet, dragging him out from the grasp of his mother.

According to Mr Mürk, the episode in the nigh seemed to last for an eternity. «I think it was a matter of seconds, the more so that in carbon monoxide, death may happen fast – the room was filled with smoke and one of the policemen also felt bad, afterwards.»

For a moment, Mr Mürk was slightly in shock over what happened, but he quickly got over it. «By the time we went to the apartment door, all had quieted down you see,» said he. «Then the information came that there may be a person in the apartment; at the beginning, we knew nothing at all of a child.»

According to Mr Mürk, his shift at work proceeded as normal and, therefore, he did not have too much time to think what had happened. The thoughts came as the work was over. «Many people had their questions, you see; so I had to talk about it and relive it, in a way. I recalled everything. It starts to haunt you. You get to thinking how close we were to having two dead bodies more. The screams of the child, in panic, it still rings in the ears of us who were there,» said Mr Mürk.

According to Mr Mürk, policemen do have the options to have help by psychologists. But, as far as he can tell, one would have to go to Tallinn for that. «But then we have a great chaplain here who knows how to deal with things like that,» said Mr Mürk. Still, he claims to need no help with his soul. «Maybe I’d have gone to see him... had we failed to save the kid.»