Natural death or murder? 3 years on, mystery still shrouds Finnish man's demise

Felix Dahl; his mother Minna at his grave in Finland

Minna Pirohnen, 60, the mother of Felix Dahl, a Finnish national who was found dead in Agonda, Goa, in 2015, is furious with the Goa police. In an email to mid-day, Pirohnen said, "I am so angry with the Goa police for not admitting that Felix's death was a homicide and for not investigating it."

Pirohnen was reacting to the closure report submitted by the Canacona police station, stating that they have no evidence to establish that Felix was murdered. The matter is coming up for hearing in the local magistrate court in Goa on April 27. Pirohnen believes that there is a deliberate attempt by the police to protect a local man who is allegedly involved in the drug trade, and she strongly suspects his role in Felix's death.

Pirohnen had moved a petition in the judicial magistrate court, which not only found merit in her plea, but also found serious lapses on the part of the Canacona police, who had almost closed the file labelling the death 'accidental'. The court directed the police to register a FIR for murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

The incident
According to the family's lawyers, Felix Dahl, 22, a student, wanted a break before continuing his higher studies and came on a vacation to Goa in October 2014. He was staying in Agonda and had liked the place so much that he wanted to settle down there permanently.

On January 26, 2015, while he was visiting Patnem he had a fight with a local and was taken to Agonda by the police. But, the next day, strangely, he was found dead in Patnem, with head injuries. The local police claimed that he fell on the street and hurt himself, yet the results of a second autopsy in Finland suggest that his head injuries were most likely not the result of an accident and he was, in fact, murdered.

The postmortem findings by the local doctor were 'death due to head injury'. American criminal pathologist Edward N Willey, to whom the family had sent the autopsy reports, had listed a few points hinting at the possibility of homicide. The police have seemingly not considered crucial statements of witnesses and circumstances that might have turned the probe angle.

Aunt speaks
The family at the time had even announced a reward of 1,400 Euros (R1 lakh) for anyone with information about the killer. Sanna Cutter, Felix's aunt, told mid-day, "Ever since Felix's death, we have been fighting the police and the authorities in Goa to have his case properly investigated. My sister deserves to know the truth and the person who killed Felix should be held accountable."

She added, "The police have conducted themselves in a very unprofessional way. Especially the fact that Felix's death was first filed as 'natural' and later changed to 'accidental'. We had to challenge the police in court before a proper investigation took place and we had to provide all the evidence that we had gathered ourselves."

She added, "This system where tourist deaths are systematically covered up as natural/accidental deaths has been used in Goa for years. It is the police who will be blamed for the bad image Goa is getting worldwide as a dangerous holiday destination, even if they are just following orders."

Lawyer speak
"The main aim for everyone concerned in Goa is to close our case and save the image of Goa," Sanna said, adding, "The police are sticking to their version that Felix fell on the gravel road and hit his head five times, hard enough to crack his skull, which caused his death. Medical reports prove otherwise."

Advocate Rajdeep Lahiri, who represented Felix's mother, along with his colleague Advocate Shika Bhurva, said, "We have to wait for Friday when the matter comes up before the court and only then can we comment about our future course of action."

Police speak
Attempts made to contact investigating police officer Filomeno Costa of Cancona police were unfruitful.

Points ignored by the cops

• Felix was beaten up the night before his death and had been very afraid.
• Five people had said that Felix had asked them if they were going to kill him, or if the main suspect was going to kill him.
• At the time of his death, Felix was under the influence of Pheniramine, a medication used to incapacitate a person before a crime.
• Felix had five wounds in his head, which is impossible to get by simply falling down, according to medical experts. It is likely that he was hit on the head.
• Felix was taken away from his friends by a man, the main suspect, who has attacked local people before but was acquitted because he paid off people.
• The main suspect admits he is violent when he has been drinking.
• The main suspect attacked a police driver who attended a call for help from the suspect's girlfriend.
• The main suspect obtained Felix's computer worth 1,800 euros and was using it as his own. He had even bought a new case for it.
• The main suspect had contacts with the locals who run the restaurant where Felix was with the main suspect and from where Felix ran away followed by the main suspect in a car.
• The main suspect has admitted to have been at the place where Felix was later found dead.
• Felix was seen just 100 metres from the place where he was later found dead, and this was about the same time when the main suspect was looking for him there.
• The photos taken from Felix's body by the police support the conclusion that Felix died right after being seen close to the place where the main suspect looked for him.

Also Read: Trial In Case Of British Woman Raped, Killed In Goa Begins

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