Teacher Timo Hekki Pasanen acquitted of 1991 cold case murder of Yasmin Sinodinos
UPDATED: A NORTHERN suburbs schoolteacher has been found not guilty of the 1991 cold case murder of Yasmin Sinodinos.
A NORTHERN suburbs schoolteacher has been acquitted of the 1991 cold case murder of Yasmin Sinodinos.
After 4 ½ hours of deliberation today, a Supreme Court jury of eight men and four women found Timo Hekki Pasanen not guilty of beating Ms Sinodinos to death more than two decades ago.
Mr Pasanen showed little emotion at the verdict, smiling only slightly as he stood in the dock with his hands folded in front of him.
The public gallery, filled with Ms Sinodinos’ friends and family, erupted in tears and her son Phillip Stevens put his head in his hands.
Justice Anne Bampton formally released Mr Pasanen from custody and he was escorted from court by six sheriff’s officers.
Mr Pasanen, 43, was working as a computing teacher at Fremont-Elizabeth City High School when, in 2012, he was arrested and charged with the long-unsolved murder.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and, during his two-week trial, prosecutors alleged he beat Ms Sinodinos, 25, to death and dumped her body at Tea Tree Gully.
They alleged Ms Sinodinos, a mother of three struggling with a heroin addiction, had little in common with Mr Pasanen.
They said he was, at that time, a “night owl” university student with a limited social circle, an interest in computers and a love of role-playing games.
Prosecutors said Pasanen had changed his name from “Henry Timo Penninkilampi” and had conducted internet searches for that name, Ms Sinodinos’ name and CrimeStoppers.
In their evidence, Ms Sinodinos’ friends refuted suggestions she had been murdered over a drug debt, while forensic experts said she had potentially lethal levels of drugs in her system.
They also said Ms Sinodinos had been so badly beaten that her body contained just 20mL of blood at post-mortem, and said the killer likely washed and re-dressed her after the murder.
Pasanen took the stand in his own defence, describing Ms Sinodinos as “someone I hooked up with” at university and claiming he could no longer remember details of their encounter.
“It has been nearly a quarter of a century ... I can speculate, if you would like me to ... maybe if you had asked this question 22 years ago, I would be able to help you,” he said.
“But I don’t have a photographic memory, I don’t keep a diary and I don’t discuss my sex life with anyone.
“As a result, now, a quarter of a century later, I cannot unfortunately help you with such a specific question.”
In their closing address, Mr Pasanen’s lawyers urged jurors to take note of DNA evidence suggesting Ms Sinodinos had been with up to two other men prior to her death.
They claimed prosecutors had only proven Pasanen and Ms Sinodinos had sex — something their client freely admitted had occurred.
Just before 6pm on Friday, the jury found Pasanen not guilty of murder by a majority verdict.
Mr Stevens and his sister, Stacey Sinodinos, did not comment as they left court accompanied by family and Major Crime detectives.
Mr Pasanen left court with his legal team, and also declined to comment.