Episode 2: The Lake Bodom Murders - Finland's Most Enduring Mystery

Runtime: 50 minutes

For our proper debut into the world of forgotten crimes, we're heading to Finland in 1960, where four teenagers went camping by a picturesque lake and only one came home alive. The Lake Bodom murders have haunted Finland for over six decades, and frankly, we can see why.

Three young people were brutally killed in their collapsed tent while the fourth, Nils Gustafsson, survived with mysterious injuries and, some say, convenient memory loss. The Wife walks us through this genuinely baffling case involving a possibly homicidal kiosk owner, a supposed Nazi-turned-KGB-agent with the unfortunate surname Assman, and witness accounts that make about as much sense as Finnish tax law.

The Husband, meanwhile, struggles with the logistics of how one person could overpower four teenagers simultaneously and questions why absolutely everyone seemed to walk past a bloody crime scene at dawn without bothering to help. Fair points, really.

We discuss bungled police work that would make Inspector Clouseau weep, mysteriously placed shoes, a rather dodgy pillowcase, and the sort of confession that ends with someone drowning themselves in the very lake where it all began. Classic Finland, that.

Whether it was jealousy, random violence, or just a very bad camping trip, this case has everything: multiple suspects, destroyed evidence, hypnosis sessions, and enough red herrings to stock a Nordic fish market.

For the blog post and images, check out our Substack at: https://nowayhomepod.substack.com/p/the-lake-bodom-murders?r=6389lt

Or find us on Instagram under the handle @nowayhome_pod

Content warning: Discussion of violent crimes, murder, and the sort of police work that makes you grateful for modern forensics.

Episode Keywords: Lake Bodom murders, Finland cold case, 1960s unsolved mystery, camping murders, Nils Gustafsson, Finnish true crime, tent attack, multiple suspects, bungled investigation, Nordic crime