Valdek Laas

Valdek Laas (1949 – 1999) was an Estonian serial killer and serial rapist who committed a series of sexually motivated attacks in southern Estonia between May and October 1996, killing three elderly women in the process. He was charged with the murders and pleaded guilty, but was never sentenced because he died in hospital from tuberculosis complications.

Early crimes Little is known about Laas' early life. Born in 1949, he was first convicted of a violent crime in 1975, when he raped a young girl in the village of Nõgiaru. At the time, he worked at a sovkhoz, and managed to lure the underage victim to a nearby forest.

After his imprisonment and later release, Laas committed a series of rapes in Valga County between 1988 and 1989, with the victims being two women – 79-year-old Linda and 94-year-old Liidia.

Murders

On 31 May 1996, Laas broke into a small house in the village of Rõngu, where he raped and killed an 84-year-old woman named Maie, stabbing her multiple times in the chest with a bayonet. Her body was discovered approximately five days later by a social worker who had gone to check on her. However, they were unable to identify a suspect at the time due to a lack of evidence.

Around mid-May 1997, authorities in Viljandi and Valga Counties started receiving reports about a suspicious middle-aged man going around rural villages and asking for alcohol, but also inquired if there were any lonely elderly people around.

At some point during 1999, Laas' condition rapidly worsened and he eventually died. As a result, trial proceedings were terminated and the murder cases were officially closed.