Valjakkala was convicted in a Swedish court in 1988 of murdering a couple and their 16-year-old son, but was sent to Finland to serve his sentence.
Valjakkala was being kept in a minimum-security prisoner labour colony near Hamina, in south-eastern Finland. Prison Director Lea Lehtonen says that the colony works on the honour system; there are no walls or security keeping inmates in. Lehtonen insists that it is still rare for prisoners to simply walk out.
Valjakkala has escaped twice before. In 2002 he fled to Sweden, and police believe that may be his destination this time as well. Police believe him to be unpredictable but not necessarily dangerous.
Prison Chief Admits Mistake An international warrant has been issued for the escapee. The National Bureau of Investigation, which has taken over the search for him, believes that Valjakkala is heading for Sweden, where his current girlfriend lives. The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reports that Swedish authorities have already contacted Valjakkala’s acquaintances there. Swedish officials have been critical of the decision to transfer the convict to a low-security facility. The director of the Finnish Prison Service, Esa Vesterbacka, now admits that it was a mistake. YLE24