Matti Haapoja Finnish criminal, murderer Date of Birth: 16.09.1845 Country: Finland

Biography of Matti Haapoya

Matti Haapoya was a Finnish criminal and serial killer, although the exact number of his victims is not known. He was born in 1845 in the Finnish city of Turku, Finland. His criminal career began with horse theft, and his first victim, his friend and accomplice Heikki Impponen, died at his hands in December 1867 during a drunken fight. For this crime, Matti was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

During his ten years in prison, Haapoya managed to escape four times, each time spending a month on the run and gaining a reputation as a dangerous and notorious repeat offender, robber, and villain. In August 1876, he shot Esa Nyrhinen, a man who, as it later turned out, had been harboring Haapoya in his home. It was discovered that the two had a serious falling out. In 1874, Haapoya's sentence was changed to life imprisonment due to his escape attempts, during which he continued to commit robberies and attacks.

After his last escape, the criminal requested to have his life sentence replaced with exile to Siberia, and his request was granted. In 1880, Matti Haapoya was sent to the Omsk region. However, he did not cease his criminal activities and in 1886, he killed another person, leading to his transfer to East Siberia. The mysterious persona of Matti Haapoya became surrounded by rumors and speculations, and it remains uncertain how much truth or fiction was present in those tales. However, it is known that he was truly cruel and did not value human life, considering it disposable. It was believed that during that period, he also killed two Finnish prisoners, Anssin Jukka and Kaappo Sutki, who were well-known among criminal circles.

In the late 1880s, Matti planned to escape from Siberia in an attempt to return to Finland. He later claimed that his intention was to emigrate to America. However, his plan required a considerable amount of money, which he acquired through robberies. During this period, Haapoya was suspected of three murders and being an accomplice in a fourth, but there was no evidence to support these accusations. Similarly, there was not enough evidence to charge him with the murder of a Russian man whose passport he subsequently used, and the man was simply considered missing.

He returned to Finland in September 1890, and within a month, he committed another murder. Matti robbed and killed a prostitute named Jemina Salo. He was arrested in Porvoo a few days later, and his identity as a criminal was confirmed. During his trial, Haapoya behaved boldly and provocatively, easily and cynically confessing to the murder and claiming responsibility for another 'Siberian' murder. He hoped that he would be sent back to Siberia, but instead, the court sentenced him to another life imprisonment. On October 10, 1894, Haapoya attempted to escape, killing one guard and injuring two others. Realizing that his escape was futile, he attempted suicide but failed. The self-inflicted knife wound he sustained did not threaten his life. However, he eventually managed to end his own life by hanging himself in his prison cell on January 8, 1895.

For a long time, the criminal's skeleton was exhibited in the Crime Museum in Vantaa until his remains were laid to rest in 1995. The life of the criminal served as the basis for the book "Murhamiehen muotokuva - Matti Haapoja 1845-1895" ("Portrait of a murderer - Matti Haapoja 1845-1895") by Finnish writer Kaijus Ervasti.