Finland Times

 

Anneli Auer arrived at Pori the District Court on August 21 2013. File Photo – Lehtikuva.

Anneli Auer was portrayed guilty in many newspapers as soon as she was arrested on suspicion of the murder of her husband in 2009.

 

The observation came to light following the publication on Monday afternoon of a research report which examined the news coverage of the Ulvila murder.

 

In the study, Auer's confession revealed by the police turned out to be the unquestioned own version of truth in journalism.

 

The news coverage reflected the positions of the prosecutor and the underlying principles of gender stereotyping in which guilt impressions painted Auer as a bad mother and a cold-calm persona.

 

The study report examined the coverage of the Ulvila murder by Helsingin Sanomat, Iltalehti and Satakunnan Kansa in 2009-2010.

 

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. 

 

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.

 

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 February 18 this year that the accused was being acquitted on the grounds of insufficient investigation.