The sleepy tenor of the waiting room was abruptly shattered by a voice over the loudspeaker: “The court calls prosecution versus Korpi and Nyberg.”
Martin and the other lawyer grabbed their thick briefcases, and the reporters let them go in first.
* * *
Mari Lehtonen and Joutsamo were sitting alone in the witness room when a middle-aged, spectacled bailiff cracked the door open and informed them that court was now in session and that he would come for Lehtonen when it was time. There were no loudspeakers in the witness room.
“Thank you,” said Joutsamo with a strained smile.
Lehtonen sat in silence with a pensive expression on her face.
“We won’t…that is…I won’t be coming in. It’ll just be you,” said Joutsamo.
Lehtonen looked hard at her. “Uhh…”
“What is it?”
“Well, I don’t really know about this. I mean…I’ll go, of course. Just got a bad feeling about it.”
“I know,” said Joutsamo, not really sure how to respond. Should she break out the pep talk or just sympathize? Neither option seemed very sensible, nor did quoting legal clauses about mandatory testimony and potential prison terms for perjury.
Lehtonen waited for a response.
“What do you want me to say?” said Joutsamo.
“I guess there’s not much to say. If Korpi gets acquitted, he’ll be out on the street.”
“True, but we probably won’t have a verdict today. Usually takes a couple weeks. Besides that, we’re in good hands with Muuri. I’m very confident in the case we’ve built.”
Joutsamo too had begun having doubts after their talk with Muuri. It was clear that Nyberg would try to shoulder the blame-he’d do everything he could to whitewash Korpi. By now, the defense knew exactly what evidence the prosecution would present, and they could simply tailor their testimony to that.
* * *
District Prosecutor Muuri clicked onto the final slide of her presentation. The heading read “Summary.” All eyes in the courtroom, some twenty or so people, were on the screen projected over the judge’s bench. Each of the judge and three jurors had their own private screens in front of them. Judge Tuomela, presiding, was seated in the middle.
At least almost all eyes were on the screen, for the two guards next to Korpi’s table kept their eyes firmly on him, as did the two assigned to Nyberg.
Muuri had read the charges, which Korpi and Nyberg had denied. Muuri then took about half an
hour to make her opening statements, which were just now coming to a close.
The high-security courtroom was about seventy-five feet long and forty-five wide, exceptionally large for a courtroom at the Helsinki district court. The wainscotted walls and wooden floors were stained light brown, and the room was bounded by four crested columns. All in all, there were forty seats arranged around six tables, in two rows of three, for defendants, plaintiffs and lawyers.
For security, or at least supposedly so, the room had no windows to the outside. A four-foot-tall iron railing stood between the defendants’ table and the bench, as did an identical one between the defendants and the spectators. Behind the bench also stood a door through which the judge and jurors could make a quick exit if needed. On the other wall, to the judge’s left, were two blackened windows. From behind one of them, security personnel could survey the crowd without drawing attention to themselves. The other was reserved for witnesses who chose to remain anonymous.
Muuri’s opening statement was quite brief. Forensic evidence indicated that Nyberg had been in the apartment and shot Tomi Salmela. She contended that a turf battle between competing drug dealers had been the motive, and mentioned that a narcotics officer would be testifying more on that later.
She also emphasized that the murder was carried out in collaboration with Korpi.
“As we later found from file fragments on his computer, Korpi has been running a drug-dealing operation. A narcotics officer will be testifying as to the victim’s role in a competing drug ring. As we all know, competition in the illicit drug trade is fierce, and gangs will stop at nothing to curtail competition, case in point,” said Muuri, gesturing toward the screen. “For committing the murder, Nyberg would certainly gain status in Korpi’s organization. Moreover, we know that Korpi is Nyberg’s godfather, also indicating a close relationship between the two men. Clearly, the two are co-conspirators.”
“Taking all of the evidence into account, I intend to show before this court, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Korpi planned Salmela’s murder, and that Nyberg carried it out. Despite the fact that Korpi was in the car at the moment of the murder, he is every bit as culpable for Salmela’s violent death as Nyberg is.”
Muuri shut off the projector.
“All right,” said Judge Tuomela, a stern-faced, fifty-something man in a gray suit. “Nyberg’s defense, please.”
Counsel Hanna Aaltonen was wearing a black pantsuit. When trying a homicide, an unspoken code among lawyers demanded a certain reverence be reflected in their dress. The brunette’s black pantsuit made her seem much older than her thirty-five years, though this impression was partly due to the tightly wound bun she wore her hair in.
Nyberg sat quietly next to Aaltonen in a dark green T-shirt and camouflage pants. A fucking military tribunal, he thought.
“My client pleads not guilty to the charge of murder, but admits to aggravated assault and manslaughter in excess of justifiable self defense. My client did in fact go to the apartment that Sunday, not with the intention of murdering Salmela, but to collect four hundred euros for a television that Salmela had purchased. My client will comment more about this later on the witness stand. Salmela did not wish to pay the sum and threatened my client with a gun, leaving my client no other alternative than to draw his own weapon and attempt to frighten Salmela by shooting him in the foot. Unfortunately, in the confusion, the shot didn’t hit him in the leg, but elsewhere. This was an accidental shooting, which regrettably resulted in Salmela’s death. There was no motive related to drugs, and Risto Korpi was not involved in any way. That is our opening statement-we will provide further details when my client takes the stand.”
Muuri asked for permission to speak, which Judge Tuomela granted.
“Your client hasn’t said a word in any police interview. If it happened as you claim, then why is that?”
“He has his reasons.”
“And what are those?” Muuri persisted, pleased that the defense had taken the bait.
“He doesn’t trust the police to conduct an objective investigation.”
“And why not?”
Judge Tuomela interjected. “Prosecution, do you have anything else?”
Muuri kept her gaze fixed on Nyberg and Aaltonen.
“Just one small thing for now. Counsel Aaltonen neglected to mention whether, according to her client, Korpi was in the vehicle or not. Was he?”
Aaltonen turned to Nyberg, who shook his head. They whispered briefly. “We’ll touch on this when my client takes the stand, but for now I can say that according to my client, Korpi was not in the vehicle.”
“Who was, then?” asked Muuri. The value of Lehtonen’s testimony was going up by the second. But Korpi’s defense would try to derail it by any means necessary.
“My client does not wish to answer that.”
No surprise there, thought Muuri, but she kept her thoughts to herself. The modern courts appreciated more temperate prosecutors-the days of aggressive, unrestrained badgering were over. Judge Tuomela turned to Korpi’s counsel. “Defense, go ahead.”