An alleged murder case saga ends with second acquittal in Finland

An unusual murder case wherein the alleged murderer purportedly confessed to the crime but was acquitted has ended up in a second acquittal after two rounds in the Finnish court system, local media reported on Thursday.

Finnish Anneli Auer has been cleared of murder charges in the death of her husband in the western town of Ulvila in 2006 after a second trial and a second appeal to a higher court.

The court of appeals in Vaasa stated on Thursday that the accused was being acquitted on the grounds of insufficient investigation.

The previous confession made by Auer at a police hearing did not convince the court, as it believed she had not been able to describe the event at the time. The court regarded the confession as "personal reasoning" in a situation where the police had told her that there was no outsider involved in the killing.

The confession also didn't match with results of the technical investigation or other evidence.

Auer will receive a sizable sum as compensation for having been arrested as a suspect in the case, which lasted around 600 days. The rate for unjustified suffering is 100 euros (about 114 U.S. dollars) per day in Finland, but experts said the demand would be much higher due to the major publicity surrounding the case.

Auer was first convicted of killing her husband at a lower court in 2010 and received a life sentence. However, a higher court dismissed the charges in 2011 for lack of evidence. The Finnish supreme court then sent the case back to the lower court, as the prosecution said it had found new evidence.

The lower court sentenced her to life imprisonment a second time in 2013. As in the previous process, the higher court of appeal acquitted her again. After this case, the prosecution can still ask for permission to submit the case to the supreme court.

Auer is currently in prison for case involving the sexual exploitation of children. However, that case is not related to the murder charges. Endit