DNA clue emerges before Estonia triple murder probe is closed

ERR reported that a promising DNA lead emerged in Estonia’s 25-year-old unsolved triple murder case, but prosecutors later closed the investigation under unusual circumstances.

Three people were killed in Tartu in April 2001 in what appeared to be an execution-style attack: a father, his daughter and her prospective son-in-law. The case attracted widespread attention, particularly because one of the victims was the head of a higher military school.

The investigation remained unresolved for decades until an unexpected turn several years ago, when DNA evidence produced a new lead. The victims’ relatives are now asking why prosecutors ended the investigation when a breakthrough may have been close.

The tragedy continues to affect two families, whose members visit cemeteries in Rakvere and Laiuse. “What kind of people were they who killed them and left a small child without a father, and older sons and siblings without a brother? It is still very difficult,” said Valeria Aal, the mother of Urmas Aal.

“It was such a brutal murder that none of us continued living the life we had before it,” said Andra Lätt, the sister of Tiina Lätt.

The crime, which claimed the lives of three people in the prime of their lives, has also remained a source of frustration for investigators. “As prosecutors, we do not encounter criminal cases like this every day that stay with us, and this is unquestionably one of the cases in which I would have wanted to continue investigating,” said state prosecutor Mari Kartau.

“This is our small Estonia, and we have a crime like this that remains unsolved. Inevitably, we reach the question of whether there is no desire to solve it here,” said Relika Alliksaar Williams, a friend of the victims and their representative.

The years before the tragedy

Tiina Lätt and Urmas Aal were the link between the two families. Aal, the second-oldest son in a family of 10 from the small settlement of Uhtna, had been interested in military games from an early age. He chose a career in Estonia’s newly restored defence forces, was quickly promoted to officer, wrote several military manuals and became acting head of the country’s combined military educational institutions.

At Estonia’s Independence Day parade in 2000, Captain Urmas Aal led units from the combined military educational institutions as a company commander.

“It was his dream and his hobby, and he pursued that hobby. It felt very good that he could do what he loved,” his sister Ursula Aal said.

“We were proud. Not only me, but some young men in Uhtna also quickly called others over to see that Aal was there. He was the pride of his home area,” his mother Valeria Aal recalled.

Tiina Lätt, who was born in Jõgeva, was the oldest of three children. “Tiina was a wonderful person. A very cheerful, empathetic and intelligent young woman,” her sister said.

Alliksaar Williams described Lätt as her kindred spirit, sister, best friend and family member. The two girls were desk mates and roommates at Nõo Real Gymnasium, a school. They became inseparable friends and, among other things, took leading roles together at their school’s graduation celebration.

“Several people have said later that when she walked down the street, she was immediately noticed. She had a different aura and presence. People did not look at her because they were whistling; they simply noticed her,” Alliksaar Williams recalled.

The friends went on to study at the University of Tartu, where Lätt studied dentistry and Alliksaar Williams materials science. Urmas Aal entered Lätt’s life during their first year at university.