Police arrest three men suspected of killing elderly woman in Viljandi

Police found the body of a 77-year-old woman with signs of violence in a car boot in Viljandi on Thursday evening and arrested three men suspected of killing her, ERR reported. The men are aged 48, 75 and 75.

Viljandi police chief Margus Sass said officers began searching for the woman after receiving a missing-person report. Signs of a possible crime near her home led police to search the area with a service dog and a drone. Water rescue personnel and specialist divers also checked a pond near the home.

Officers spoke with the woman’s relatives and acquaintances, reviewed camera footage from nearby areas and institutions, and gathered information about her activities and movements the day before she went missing.

Police asked the media and local residents to help locate the woman and her vehicle. On Thursday evening, a member of the public spotted a car matching the description in the city. Officers found the vehicle outside an apartment building and discovered the woman’s body in its boot.

The Southern Prefecture is conducting the investigation under the direction of the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor Andraš Tšitškan said the crime was brutal and would inevitably affect local residents’ sense of security. He said investigators needed to establish what happened as quickly as possible.

Initial information suggests the woman may have had previous contact with at least one of the suspects. The motive and the men’s respective roles have not yet been established.

Prosecutors are seeking the arrest of the 48-year-old man, whom they currently consider the main suspect. He has previously been punished several times for fraud and money laundering. Investigators will use the evidence to determine the other men’s roles and whether to seek their arrest as well.