Michael Mariia Penttilä

Michael Maria Penttilä (born Jukka Torsten Lindholm, July 1965) is a Finnish serial killer. According to Finnish crime magazine Alibi, he is the only Finn that fits FBI's description of a serial killer.

Despite his danger, Lindholm was repeatedly released and committed further murders after his releases. In a 2009 mental health survey, Penttilä said that he had wanted to be a woman since he was young. In prison, he tried to wear women's clothes and wanted to look like a woman.

Adolescent crimes In November 1981, 16-year-old Penttilä, at the time known as Jukka Lindholm, kidnapped a 15-year-old girl. He forced the girl into a basement, where he beat, choked with scarves, and threatened to rape her. He wore black leather gloves during the attack. The girl managed to escape, and Penttilä was given a suspended sentence and fined.

In 1984, he was given a prison sentence for further attacks and thefts. He was released in 1985.

The next murder Penttilä committed was on 26 July 1986. He met two 12-year-old girls in downtown Oulu and persuaded them to "come to his apartment, so he could lend them a few marks for alcohol".

The Oulu District Court considered Penttilä to be completely sane and sentenced him to 9.5 years imprisonment on 13 December 1993.

Following the judgment by the District Court, Penttilä contacted the investigators. He admitted to having killed the woman, but claimed that it was an accident.

Later legal troubles Penttilä was released on parole in November 2008. Before his release, he was evaluated, and it was concluded that he was not yet ready for civilian life.

In August 2009, Penttilä bought an Oulu apartment in Toppila via a professional jury magazine announcement. He began to choke a woman who was setting up a massage table in the apartment's living room.

On 11 June 2010, the Oulu District Court sentenced Penttilä to six years imprisonment for three counts of attempted manslaughter and numerous assaults. Authorities ordered him to serve his whole sentence because, based on a psychological evaluation, he was deemed to be a dangerous offender.

On 2 March 2012, the Oulu District Court condemned Penttilä to 4 years and 4 months for aggravated rape, gross ill-treatment, and false imprisonment. The rape and false imprisonment had taken place on 21–22 August 2009 at a hotel in Oulu, and the assault at a business in May 2009 in his apartment in Myllyoja. The authorities ordered Penttilä to serve his full sentence in jail.

On Tuesday, 13 October 2015, the now renamed Michael Penttilä escaped from Laukaa's open prison during a prisoner shopping trip, but was caught the following day. He was granted parole in the spring of 2016. Penttilä's jail sentence was prolonged due to attempt and the entire term of his sentence was changed to imprisonment in a closed prison.

Penttilä was released on Christmas 2016. In April 2017, the police ordered for him to be arrested again for an alleged aggravated crime and the preparation of a criminal offense, but the Helsinki District Court released him after the investigation. In May 2017, the Helsinki Appellate Court annulled the decision and Penttilä was rearrested. On 7 July 2017, the Helsinki District Court dismissed the charge of aggravated criminal offense and ordered him to be released. In May 2018, the Appellate Court reversed the decision, sentencing Penttilä was to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment and to pay the victim compensation of 4,000 euros.

On 13 April 2018, Penttilä killed a sex worker in a Helsinki apartment. The victim was found on 4 May and Penttilä was arrested two days later in Helsinki, suspected of murder. On 17 May 2018, the police announced that Penttilä had admitted during interrogations that he had committed the homicide. In July, the Helsinki District Court sentenced him to life imprisonment for murder. During the murder, he had used several tools such as leather belts, tights, and his bare hands. Penttilä later announced that he would be appealing the court's decision. Helsinki Appellate Court upheld his sentence, but dropped the premeditation from the offence.