Teenager Guilty of Randomly Killing a Retired Nurse in Adelaide, Sentenced to 15 Years
A 63-year-old retired nurse, Pirjo Kemppainen, was found dead in her house in Sept. 2010. The 14-year-old suspect pleaded guilty and was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison.
The suspect stabbed Pirjo and beat her when he invaded the victim's house at Callington, Adelaide Hills according to the South Australian Supreme Court.
Atty. Margaret Nyland said the boy killed Ms Kemppainen because of his desire to kill a person. He randomly chooses someone to attack, which demonstrates a very disturbing criminal behavior.
Pirjo was completely a stranger to him and the boy's only reason for coming to the victim's house that evening was to beat her to death. The victim's body showed multiple stab wounds on her face, head and neck. Fractures were also discovered on her skull.
Justice Nyland considered the crime savage and so demanded a considerable sentence.
She regarded the attack as an extremely serious form of crime. She's worried about the suspect's potential for rehabilitation. She feels the community needs a good protection from future crimes.
Expert psychologists were asked to help in investigating the boy's psychological behavior. The attorney received reports that may help her understand why the boy had committed such a terrible murder.
Two of the specialists who worked on the case are Luke Broomhall, a psychologist, and Craig Raeside, a forensic psychiatrist. They have both agreed that the boy, who is not 15 years old, suffered from a behavior disorder.
Their findings showed that the boy is fixated, which means that when he wants to kill, that desire will be the only thing that he can think of.
The boy will be sent to a youth detention facility where he will stay until he turns 18. His 15 years sentence was non-parole. If the boy did not plead guilty, he would have been right away sentenced to life imprisonment.