1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: Hello, it's Richard mccleinsmith here with a quick update before 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: we dive into today's episode. Unexplained is very excited to 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: be a part of Crime Wave at Sea this November, 4 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: joining forces with some of the eeriest voices in the 5 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: world of true crime and the paranormal four Nights in 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: the Caribbean, with amazing podcasts like Last Podcast on the Left, 7 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: Scared to Death and many more live shows, meet and greets, 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: creepy Stories under the Stars and you can be there too, 9 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: but don't wait. Rooms are nearly sold out. Head to 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: Crimewavetsea dot com forward slash Unexplained to grab your fan 11 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: coat and lock in your cabin. We'd love to see 12 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: you on board. Early in the morning of July twenty eighth, 13 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven, a rescue helicopter flew fast and low 14 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: over the Baltic Sea. At this latitude of almost sixty 15 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: degrees north, the sun had already risen and there was 16 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: excellent visibility as the pilot and flight crew searched the 17 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: rippled sea below for their target. Shortly before five a m. 18 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: They saw it, passenger ferry m S Viking Sally, heading 19 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: steadily towards the port of Toriku, on the southwest coast 20 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: of Finland. The pilot steered expertly toward the ship's small 21 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: helicopter deck, located directly behind one of the Viking Sally's funnels. 22 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: It would have been a tricky landing site in bad weather, 23 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: but the sea was calm and the ship barely rocked. 24 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: The flight mechanic opened the side door and guided the 25 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: pilot down over his helmet headset. In the back seat, 26 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: twenty seven year old nurse Hiki Masculine was readying himself 27 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: to respond to whatever the situation presented. Roused from sleep 28 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: barely an hour earlier. Neither he nor the flight crew 29 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: had been given any details of the emergency medical transport mission. 30 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: Typically such distress calls from ferries sailing this route were 31 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: for an elderly patient who suffered a heart attack or 32 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: an intoxicated passenger who'd fallen down the stairs. But as 33 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: Masculine stepped onto the deck, he realized immediately that this 34 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:27,519 Speaker 1: emergency was very much out of the ordinary. You're listening 35 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: to unexplained and I'm Richard McLean Smith. Thomas Schmidt can't 36 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: remember what prompted him and his friend Klaus Schlk to 37 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: go interrailing to Finland, a form of travel whereby one 38 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 1: train ticket grants you unlimited rail travel across thirty three 39 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: countries in Europe. Schmidt and Schlker, who had both just 40 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: turned twenty, had met at a local football club in Stuttgart, 41 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: where they'd become friends. Both were studying to beat mechanics. 42 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 1: Joining them on the trip was Bettina Taxis, who had 43 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: met Shelker in a night club the previous year and 44 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: the pair had quickly become an item. The trio planned 45 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: to use inter rail passes to tour the Nordic countries, 46 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: traveling by train from what was then still West Germany 47 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: to Sweden's capital city of Stockholm. Next, they were traveled 48 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: by ferry up the Baltic Sea to Torku in Finland, 49 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,959 Speaker 1: where they planned to attend the music festival Ruis Rock. 50 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: After that, they would continue north to finish lapland then 51 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: head to Bergen in Norway, before taking a boat south 52 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: along the coast to Oslo, the nation's capital. The trio 53 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: arrived in Stockholm and boarded the ferry shortly before ten 54 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: p m. On July twenty seventh. The Viking Sally provided 55 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: a daily service between Sweden, Finland and Orland, a chain 56 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: of islands at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia. 57 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: With a crew of around two hundred, it could take 58 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: up to four hundred vehicles and two thousand passengers. It 59 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: was only seven years old and came equipped with three restaurants, 60 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: several bars, a movie theater and a swimming pool. It 61 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: must have seemed luxurious to the three twenty somethings who 62 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: had everything to look forward to as they leant on 63 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: the rail to watch the late summer sunset as the 64 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: ship sailed off into the freezing waters of the Baltic Sea. 65 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: Finding their way to the bar, Thomas sat quietly drinking 66 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,039 Speaker 1: as Klaus and Bettina, the more sociable of the group, 67 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: got chatting with several of their fellow passengers. Among them 68 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,359 Speaker 1: was a young British man named Patrick Haley, who was 69 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: on his way to visit his Finnish girlfriend, and a 70 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: man named Tawno, who the couple described to Thomas as 71 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: a German speaking fun Finn, a car parts dealer returning 72 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: from a business trip to Germany. Around one a m 73 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,679 Speaker 1: on July twenty eighth, Klaus and Bettina pulled their sleeping 74 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: bags from their back packs and told Thomas that they 75 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: were off to get some sleep. With limited funds for 76 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: their trip, the youngsters hadn't booked cabins, opting to sleep 77 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 1: on deck to save money. The pair told Thomas that 78 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,720 Speaker 1: they'd found a sheltered spot out on deck nine at 79 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 1: the rear of the ship, next to the helicopter pat 80 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: where a plexiglass barrier would provide shelter from the wind. 81 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: It was a quiet location with the added benefit of 82 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 1: being dimly lit since the nearest deck lamp was broken. 83 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,359 Speaker 1: Not wanting to intrude on the young couple's privacy, Thomas 84 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: opted to bed down indoors on one of the lower 85 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: decks and agreed to look after every one's back packs, 86 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: which were left with him. Exactly what happened next remains 87 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: unclear to this day. Also on board the Viking Sally 88 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: that night was a boisterous group of Danish boy Scouts 89 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: heading to an International Nordic Scout camp in Salvo, southwest Finland. 90 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: According to passengers, some of the scouts had been causing trouble. 91 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: A small group perhaps three or so, had been noisily 92 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,559 Speaker 1: roaming the ship or night, causing havoc. One of them, 93 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 1: eighteen year old Thomas Nielsen, later told police that around 94 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: three forty five a m. While mooching about the helicopter deck, 95 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: he saw two people, a man and a woman, who 96 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: at first appeared to be heavily intoxicated and struggling to 97 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: stand up. He claimed that when he moved closer to 98 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,720 Speaker 1: get a better look, he realized that the pair were 99 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 1: not drunk, but bleeding profusely from head wounds, apparently in 100 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: a panic. He then went to get help. Shortly after 101 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: three forty five, the attack was reported to ship's crew, 102 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: and the OnCore nurse, along with the security operative, hurried 103 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: to the scene, soon to be joined by the Viking 104 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: Sally's captain. Recognizing the seriousness of the injuries, the captain 105 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: requested immediate medical assistance from the mainland. This was the 106 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: situation that nurse Hike Masculine stepped into as he alighted 107 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: from the rescue helicopter in the cold morning air. A 108 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: small group of people were clustered around two prone figures 109 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: on the adjacent deck. When he got there, the unmistakable 110 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: metallic smell of fresh blood filled the air. It covered 111 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: so much of the deck area that masculine had to 112 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: be careful not to slip in it. As he approached 113 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: the two limph forms, he was shocked by the severity 114 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: of their injuries. With the help of the ship's crew, 115 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: the blood drenched patients were quickly loaded onto stretchers and 116 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: into the helicopter. As they lifted off from the ship, 117 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: Maskalin made a quick assessment. Just one glance told him 118 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: that the injuries were life threatening. The damage to the 119 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: back of the young man's head was especially bad. Maskelin 120 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: did what he could, staunching the patients bleeding with the towels. 121 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 1: At some point, Klaus's heart stopped, while Bettina passed in 122 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: and out of consciousness. She tried to say something in German, 123 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: but the nurse couldn't make out the words clearly enough 124 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: to understand her. The patients were received by the Torkou 125 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:49,199 Speaker 1: University Hospital at five forty eight. Klaus Schelker was pronounced 126 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: dead on arrival. Bettina Taxis was still alive and placed 127 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: in intensive care in a critical condition. Meanwhile, back on 128 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: board the boat, the police investigation was getting underway. At 129 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: six thirty am, three police tactical investigators and one crime 130 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: scene technician alighted onto the Viking Sally's helipad. One thing 131 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: that was clear was that the injuries sustained by the 132 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: young couple were in no way accidental. They had resulted 133 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 1: from heavy blows in what the chief investigator would later 134 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: describe as an especially ferocious attack. Perhaps most shockingly to 135 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: several police officers, the assault was eerily reminiscent of a 136 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: previous incident the year before on the exact same ship. 137 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: On July ninth, nineteen eighty six, just over a year 138 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: before the German trio's ill fated voyage, during a passage 139 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: in the opposite direction from Torku to Stockholm, the Viking 140 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:07,199 Speaker 1: Sally had been the scene of a violent murder. It 141 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: wasn't until the ship docked that the body of forty 142 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: four year old business men Anti Eliyala was found in 143 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,440 Speaker 1: his cabin. It later emerged that a fellow passenger named 144 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: Ray Yohama, said to be an associate of the murdered man, 145 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: entered Eliyala's cabin and attempted to steal some money. When 146 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: Eliyala told the intruder that he was going to report 147 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: the theft to the police, the thirty three year old 148 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: Hammer stabbed him five times in the throat with a 149 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: dinner knife, then strangled him to death with a strip 150 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: of fabric torn from the cabin's bed sheet. It was 151 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 1: an open and shut case. Ammar was captured, tried, found 152 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:54,839 Speaker 1: guilty of murder, and given a life sentence. It seemed 153 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: a strange coincidence, indeed, that a violent attack would happen 154 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: on the same ship, almost a year to the day 155 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: since the previous murder, when the Viking Sally docked in 156 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,440 Speaker 1: Torkou at ten past eight on that July twenty eighth 157 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: morning in nineteen eighty seven. Unless the perpetrator of the 158 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: attack on the two young Germans had jumped overboard, they 159 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:22,319 Speaker 1: had to still be on the ship. In theory, all 160 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: the police had to do was surround the vessel and 161 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: find the culprit. And so, as the Viking Sally arrived 162 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 1: in Torkou harbor, the police were ready and waiting in 163 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:38,079 Speaker 1: the docking area. They planned to video record every passenger 164 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: as they disembarked, asking a brief series of questions and 165 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:46,959 Speaker 1: taking down names and contact information, but with around fourteen 166 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: hundred passengers on board that day, they soon realized that 167 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: this would take far too long. Making a compromise, they 168 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: excluded the passengers least likely to be the assailant, families 169 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: with children and the elderly, and targeted others for close attention, 170 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: including the dead victim's friend, Thomas, and the young British 171 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 1: man who the German couple had spent time with in 172 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 1: the bar the previous evening. At first, Thomas Schmidt appeared 173 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: to be in shock. He said he'd heard a helicopter 174 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: during the night, but thought nothing of it so went 175 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 1: back to sleep. The police questioned him for some time 176 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: before he demanded to know what had happened. It was 177 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 1: only then that he was told of the terrible events 178 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: that had befallen his traveling companions. In the end, Thomas, 179 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: who appeared genuinely distraught to hear the news, was deemed 180 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 1: to be telling the truth. He'd slept all night in 181 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 1: a public space, and there were witnesses that he was 182 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 1: in another part of the ship at the time of 183 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:57,200 Speaker 1: the murder. Attention then turned to Patrick Hailey, the young 184 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: british Man who'd spoken with the couple in the When 185 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 1: the ship docked, police found him in his sleeping back 186 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: covered in blood. Hailey insisted it was the result of 187 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: a nosebleed. The man was interviewed repeatedly until forensic tests 188 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,200 Speaker 1: eventually appeared to confirm that the blood in his clothing 189 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: probably was his own, and he too was released. None 190 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: of the twenty initial suspects who were interviewed by police 191 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:39,199 Speaker 1: in detail gave any reason to suspect them. The police 192 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,600 Speaker 1: had only two things to go on. A violent assault 193 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 1: and murder seemed to have been committed with no conceivable motive, 194 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:52,319 Speaker 1: an extremely exceptional occurrence in Finland, and whoever the perpetrator 195 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:57,199 Speaker 1: was had just walked off the Viking Sally. The police 196 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,079 Speaker 1: soon ruled out robbery or a sexual attack as the motive. 197 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 1: The only viable explanation they felt was that the crime 198 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: had been sparked by a seemingly insignificant reason and likely 199 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: carried out by someone who was mentally ill or possessed 200 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: of a severe personality disorder. In today's high tech world, 201 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: the investigators would have had more evidence to work with, 202 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 1: but at the time, forensic DNA testing was in its infancy, 203 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 1: and it had only been used for the first time 204 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: in a criminal case in the UK the previous year. However, 205 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: it had proved crucial exonerating an innocent suspect and resulting 206 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,360 Speaker 1: in the conviction of the Trooe perpetrator in a case 207 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: known as the Enderb murders. The outcome of the Viking 208 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: Sally investigation might have been very different if DNA testing 209 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: had been widely available to the Finnish police, but at 210 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: the time, the most the Finns could expect from their 211 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: blood sample analysis were determining the blood group and whether 212 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:07,479 Speaker 1: the sample was human or another animal. On board CCTV 213 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: footage was mostly unavailable too. The ship only had surveillance 214 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: cameras on the car deck and in the engine room, 215 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: and at that time there was no requirement for Swedish 216 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: ships to keep comprehensive passenger lists. Victim testimony didn't help either. 217 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 1: When Bettina Taxes eventually regained consciousness and Finish investigators finally 218 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,920 Speaker 1: managed to question her, it was months after the incident 219 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: and Bettina couldn't remember anything about the attack. Nevertheless, investigators 220 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 1: did what they could, even sailing on the Viking Sally 221 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: between Turku and Stockholm several times hoping to find clues, 222 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: but all to no avail. The only real evidence the 223 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 1: police were left to work with was the footage they 224 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: had shot of the disembarking passengers poring over it for 225 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: endless hours. Investigators identified several potential suspects and released footage 226 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: of them to the public. One man was especially elusive. 227 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: He'd been spotted moving around near the fifth deck cafeteria 228 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: in the early hours on the morning of the attack. 229 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 1: Aged around thirty five foot five inches tall, with dark hair, 230 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: it was reported that he spoke English and wore a 231 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: distinctive beanie hat. He was never traced. And then there 232 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: was the Danish boy scout Thomas Nielsen, who appeared to 233 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: have been the first person to find the injured couple. 234 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 1: It was late October nineteen eighty seven when the police 235 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 1: questioned Thomas Nielson again. Nielsen had only recently been in 236 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: trouble with the police in Denmark on suspicion of theft. 237 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 1: The Finnish police believed he was looking for something to 238 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: steal on the night of the murder. This second time, 239 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: when asked to described the morning he'd found the couple, 240 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: Nielsen told a slightly different story. Rather than spotting the 241 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: couple immediately, he said now that he'd gone to the 242 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: helicopter deck two or three times before he spotted them, 243 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: and it was only when he followed members of the 244 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,679 Speaker 1: crew as they rushed to the helicopter deck that he 245 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 1: saw they were injured. The police also questioned the Danish 246 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: scout leader, who said at the time that Thomas had 247 00:17:37,359 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 1: woken him on the Viking Sally in the early hours 248 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,520 Speaker 1: of the morning covered in blood, which he'd said was 249 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: from helping the victims of the attack. The scout master 250 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: had asked the ship's staff to wash the boy's bloody clothes, 251 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 1: and shortly before they arrived in Torku, items were returned 252 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,000 Speaker 1: clean and dry, and the man thought nothing more of it. 253 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,920 Speaker 1: A magazine reporter who interviewed Nielsen around a month after 254 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:09,320 Speaker 1: the attack also noticed something strange. The young man seemed 255 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: to have remarkable recall of the details of the pair's injuries, 256 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: despite the traumatic nature of the events, the time of 257 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: night and the area being dimly lit. The eighteen year 258 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 1: old described how the couple's faces had not been hit, kicked, 259 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: or slashed with a knife, but rather were like slush, 260 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: as if they'd been hit with something like a hammer. 261 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: But who would suspect a fresh faced boy scout of 262 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:43,400 Speaker 1: such a brutal attack. During the investigation, around one thousand 263 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:47,880 Speaker 1: people were interviewed in nine different countries and several hundred 264 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:52,600 Speaker 1: forensic samples were sent for analysis, but with no eyewitness 265 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 1: to the incident, no useful CCTV footage, and no apparent motive, 266 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: after four years, the investigation was discontinued. Traditions about bad 267 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: luck attaching itself to ships have been around for centuries, 268 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:13,879 Speaker 1: and often date back to ancient times. In the past, 269 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,680 Speaker 1: many ships had a cat on board to help control rodents. 270 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: If the ship's cat fell overboard, it was believed that 271 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: this would summon a terrible storm. Even if the ship 272 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,679 Speaker 1: survived the storm, it would be cursed with nine years 273 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:33,120 Speaker 1: of bad luck. Whistling on board a ship has long 274 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,120 Speaker 1: been frowned upon. Doing this is said to literally whistle 275 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: up the wind, causing a strong gale to appear. Perhaps 276 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:45,679 Speaker 1: the most well known of all maritime superstitions is that 277 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 1: it's bad luck to renamership, a tradition so ingrained in 278 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 1: seafaring culture. It's even mentioned in the classic novel Treasure Island, 279 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,080 Speaker 1: when pirate captain long John Silver chooses to keep the 280 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,840 Speaker 1: name of a captured ship to avoid any potentially negative consequences. 281 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: According to legend, When every ship is christened, its name 282 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: goes into a ledger of the deep, maintained by the 283 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,159 Speaker 1: god Neptune, who views it as devious to use a 284 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:30,959 Speaker 1: new name. To this day, many mariners still insist that 285 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,400 Speaker 1: if you must change a ship's name, you should perform 286 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: a purging and renaming ritual to demonstrate to the sea 287 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:42,760 Speaker 1: gods that you have no hidden agenda. There are numerous 288 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: cautionary tales of ships being renamed without this ritual, then 289 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 1: meeting a tragic end. On the evening of September twenty seventh, 290 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,560 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety four, the cruise ship the MS Estonia, powered 291 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:02,280 Speaker 1: westwards across the Baltic ringing through twenty foot high waves 292 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: into sixty mile per hour headwinds carrying sheets of icy rain. 293 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,879 Speaker 1: The vessel had left its home port of Talent bound 294 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:15,159 Speaker 1: for Stockholm, fifteen minutes behind the scheduled seven pm departure, 295 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: and the crew were pushing it at maximum speed to 296 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:24,440 Speaker 1: make up time. As the Estonia pitched through the heavy seas, 297 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 1: most passengers were sleeping when around one am, a gigantic, deep, 298 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 1: metallic sound reverberated throughout the entire ship. A crew member 299 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,360 Speaker 1: later said that he saw one of the loading bay doors, 300 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: taking in water. The high waves had crashed the bow 301 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,840 Speaker 1: doors to separate from the ship, allowing water to flood 302 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:51,919 Speaker 1: into the vehicle deck. Panic ensued as the Estonia began 303 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: listing heavily to its starboard side. Less than forty minutes later, 304 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:01,879 Speaker 1: the boat capsized and sank. Of the nine hundred and 305 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,719 Speaker 1: eighty nine passengers and crew on board, eight hundred and 306 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:10,200 Speaker 1: fifty two died, most of them trapped inside the sinking ship. 307 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 1: Many escaped the ship, only to freeze to death in 308 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 1: the Baltic's icy waters. Only one hundred and thirty seven 309 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: people survived in what became one of the most deadly 310 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:27,119 Speaker 1: European peace time disasters at sea, second only to the 311 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: sinking of the Titanic. But Ms Estonia hadn't always been 312 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,919 Speaker 1: called that. It was, in fact none other than the 313 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: Viking Sally, which had been sold and repurchased in the 314 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:52,240 Speaker 1: nineteen nineties. In twenty sixteen, twelve years after the former 315 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,200 Speaker 1: Viking Sally had sunk to her watery grave, and almost 316 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,080 Speaker 1: thirty years since the mysterious assault on the Young German Cup, 317 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 1: the police received information that prompted them to reopen what 318 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:09,960 Speaker 1: had been a very cold case. Initially, Torku police refused 319 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,399 Speaker 1: to reveal any details about the new evidence. Finally, in 320 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: September twenty twenty they announced that they had solved the case, 321 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: and in December that year, a district prosecutor filed homicide 322 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,199 Speaker 1: charges against a fifty two year old Danish man. It 323 00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: was none other than the former boy scout Thomas Nielsen, 324 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,119 Speaker 1: the very person who'd claimed to have discovered the victims. 325 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,120 Speaker 1: The police received a tip from a Danish jail where 326 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: Nielsen had spent half of his life for various crimes 327 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: and had confided to a fellow inmate that he'd gotten 328 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: away with the crime on the Viking Sally. They also 329 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: discovered that in twenty fifteen, the man began to threaten 330 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:57,480 Speaker 1: his ex wife, sending her numerous text messages in which 331 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: he said he committed the shipboard attack. Doroku police sent 332 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: two officers to question him, who changed his name by 333 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: then to Hermann Himmler. Danish police warned the Fins that 334 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 1: it would be a wasted trip, but to everyone's surprise, 335 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 1: Himmler more or less confessed to committing the crime. Himler's 336 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: trial started in May twenty twenty one, with the statutory 337 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: limit of twenty years on cases of manslaughter, the charges 338 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 1: had been changed to murder and attempted murder, which have 339 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 1: no expiration date in Finland. Prosecutors pointed to the accused's 340 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: apparent knowledge that the murder had been committed with a 341 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,199 Speaker 1: welding hammer, and that he had told several people that 342 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: he had killed and gotten away with murder. There was 343 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:52,600 Speaker 1: only one problem, or three to be precise. There was 344 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,320 Speaker 1: no lawyer present when Himmler made his confession, which he 345 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:00,040 Speaker 1: later retracted, the murder weapon had never been found, and 346 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 1: a key witness, the defendant's former wife, refused to give 347 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:10,479 Speaker 1: evidence at the trial, defense attorneys insisted that their client 348 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: now denied all the charges. In the end, the court 349 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:25,159 Speaker 1: sided with Hermann Himmler since there was insufficient proof that 350 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:29,120 Speaker 1: he was truly responsible, and in June twenty twenty one 351 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: he was acquitted of all charges. Today, the ill fated 352 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:38,600 Speaker 1: ship lies deep beneath the cold, dark waters of the 353 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 1: Baltic twenty two nautical miles from the Finnish island of Utah. 354 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: The precise reason for its sinking is also a somewhat 355 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: murky and contentious story, perhaps one for another episode, but 356 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 1: yet another grim warning to the perils of offending the 357 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: god Neptune by renaming a ship as for knowing who 358 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:07,719 Speaker 1: it was exactly that assaulted Bettina Taxis and killed Klaus 359 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: Shekel as they slept on deck that harrowing night in 360 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: July nineteen eighty seven that remains to this day Unexplained. 361 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:28,120 Speaker 1: This episode was written by Diane Hope and produced by 362 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:32,879 Speaker 1: Richard mclin Smith. Diane is an audio producer and sound 363 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: recordeded in her own right. You can find out more 364 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: about her work at Dianehope dot com and on Instagram 365 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:44,119 Speaker 1: at in the sound Field. Thank you as ever for listening. 366 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: Unexplained as an Avy Club Productions podcast created by Richard 367 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:52,399 Speaker 1: McLain Smith. All other elements of the podcast, including the music, 368 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: are also produced by me Richard McLain Smith. Unexplained. The 369 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:01,159 Speaker 1: book and audiobook is now available to buy worldwide. You 370 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 1: can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and other bookstores. 371 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:09,160 Speaker 1: Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get 372 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and feel free to get in touch with 373 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on 374 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 1: the show. Perhaps you have an explanation or a story 375 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:20,720 Speaker 1: of your own you'd like to share. You can find 376 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,959 Speaker 1: out more at Unexplained podcast dot com and reach us 377 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: online through X and Blue Sky at Unexplained Pod and 378 00:27:28,000 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 1: Facebook at Facebook dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast a 379 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:05,440 Speaker 1: assass