Finland trial over Fifer’s death

Man stands accused of murder of Burntisland woman in Lapland

The trial in the case of a man accused of murdering his girlfriend, Fifer Rebecca Johnson, is due to start in Rovaniemi, Finland, today.

Ms Johnson, 26, and her partner Radek Kovac — a Czech, who has also used the name Karl Frybil — were working as seasonal guides for Santa Safari tour company in Enontekiö District, one of Europe’s most remote wilderness areas.

The prosecutor is expected to tell a panel of three judges that Kovac, 36, carried out a frenzied knife attack on Ms Johnson, from Burntisland, on December 3, stabbing her multiple times and leaving her for dead.

Police say Kovac made a dramatic cross-country getaway attempt on a sledge pulled by a team of huskies.

They say officers on ski-mobiles pursued him, while the Finnish Border Guard gave chase by helicopter.

For a while the international border with Sweden was closed.

The accused was eventually found by police in the snow.

He was suffering from hypothermia, and taken to the regional capital Rovaniemi for medical treatment.

He has been in custody in Oulu prison ever since.

Detective Chief Inspector Jan Fordell, the officer leading the investigation into Rebecca Johnson’s death, said: “If we take a look back at 2015 there were no murders, no manslaughters in Lapland at all. “In 2016 there were three. “It’s very rare that a foreigner or someone who is not familiar to the suspect is being killed here in Lapland. It’s very rare”.

The incident shocked the sparselypopulated Finnish Lapland region, where many people are employed in the tourist industry, and where violent crime is rare.

“That was a very sad, an extremely sad single case,” said Sanna Kärkkäinen, managing director of regional tourism agency Visit Rovaniemi.

“It was a shock for everyone here, I truly feel that.

“But yet I think it’s a single case . . . Finland is renowned as one of the safest travel spots in the world, and I honestly think it still remains a safe destination.”

The trial is scheduled to last for two days.

Meanwhile a compensation claim by Ms Johnson’s family takes place at the same time, a common part of the Finnish justice process.

If convicted of murder, Kovac would be sentenced to life in prison.

In practice, that means a minimum of 12 years.

Rebecca Johnson and Radek Kovac, who is accused of her murder.