A woman texted her mother four chilling words after she brutally stabbed her ‘caring’ husband in the neck and killed him – Christine Kekkonen was jailed this week
A woman who killed her husband texted her mother four chilling words after she carried out her horrific crime. Christine Kekkonen, 37, stabbed her husband Henri Kekkonen, 41, in the neck on May 9 last year.
Mr Kekkonen is believed to have been murdered at some point between 4pm and 4:20pm in the home the couple shared. At 4:21PM, Christine texted her mother saying: “I’ve done something awful.” She also said: “Mum, please get the police here now.” Christine’s father then called for an ambulance and police, and paramedics arrived on the scene within 15 minutes. Henri did not survive the attack despite the efforts of emergency services.
A knife was discovered after a search of the couple’s home. Christine was later arrested and charged with murder
Christine, who said she did not intend to injure her husband, was found guilty of murder on November 29 last year. She was sentenced today to life in prison with a minimum term of 15 years.
Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Lorett Spierenburg said Christine’s denial that she murdered her husband “forced his family to have to relive the awful events of May 2024 and showed them complete disregard”. He said: “Henri’s life was callously cut short that day through the actions of someone he deeply trusted and cared for.”
Henri’s father and half-sister, both from Finland, revealed their torment in impact statements read out in court. Olavi Kekkonen, Henri’s father, said: “My whole life has been totally messed up, and it’s not anything that you can expect to happen to you. The ninth of May was the day that Henri was killed, but I didn’t know it yet. For some reason, I was up all night that night and I couldn’t sleep, and then in the morning at 9am there was a knock at the door, and it was the police telling me that Henri had died.”
Olavi added his “whole world collapsed”, but that he did not harbour “vengeful feelings” towards Christine because “these feelings are stupid and not worth it”. He added that he does “not understand how Christine is now saying that she is innocent” as his son had never been violent.
Helmiina Suuronen, Henri’s half-sister, said Christine Kekkonen had taken away her chance to meet Henri and have a relationship with him. “I would go and see my father and see all of Henri’s things that were still in the house, such as his games, and always thought of him as my cool older brother even though I never met him,” she said.
“The day Henri died, my father, Olavi Kekkonen, called me and told me that Henri was dead. It was the hardest phone call of my life. I felt disbelief. My mum explained that Christine had killed him. I felt numb when I heard that and I cried a lot.
“I felt robbed of a relationship with him. I always hoped that I would have a relationship with him one day and now I have a lot of questions I want to ask him and I will never know the answers. I feel like he was stolen from me before I even got to know him.”
Henri was described as “kind and caring” by His Honour Judge Lambert. The judge said Christine’s decision to hide the knife at the side of their bed “provides evidence of a degree of deliberation”. He added that her mental health difficulties did not “provide a satisfactory answer as to why you did what you did”, adding: “It may well be you do not know yourself.”
He said: “Evidence from friends, neighbours and healthcare professionals demonstrated that Henri was kind and caring throughout and did all he could for you. In your deluded mind you felt he was coercive and controlling and should have done more for you. That was simply not correct. Henri promoted your welfare above his own ambitions and you always came first.”
Detective Superintendent Lorett Spierenburg added: “Henri’s family have been able to see justice delivered through the courts, however nothing can bring him back to them, and that is a tragedy.”