A man who spent years in prison for murder is participating in Immu Ilmén’s free match. Now he is suspected of assault.
Toni Hakala, convicted of murder, is free and competing in a freestyle match, Iltalehti reported in 2019. IL ARCHIVE
According to information from Iltalehti, a martial arts activist serving a sentence for murder Toni Hakalaa49, is suspected of assault.
The suspected assault took place on Wednesday of last week in Vantaa at the Tikkurila train station a little before nine o’clock in the evening.
According to the police, a man born in the late 1960s was assaulted by a man in his fifties. The perpetrator left the scene before the police arrived, but the authorities caught up with him later.
According to Iltalehti’s information, the man in question is Toni Hakala.
The police initially investigated the case as aggravated assault, but the title was reduced to basic assault. The police are also investigating whether there is reason to suspect the victim of violence as well.
– Due to some kind of miscommunication, we have gotten into this situation. We will find out how much violence there has been on both sides, says the head of the investigation Jukka Kalliomäki from the East Uusimaa police.
According to the police, the suspect does not deny the fight, but he and the victim have a different view of the duo’s involvement in the events.
The match is coming
In recent months, Hakala has been featured in, among other things Mika “Immu” Ilménin in channels. Ilmén, who founded his own fight promotion, engaged Hakala in a professional free fight match at the Immun Fight Club (IFC) night.
The match night will take place at the Helsinki Ice Hall on March 21, and according to IL’s information, it can also be viewed on the Ruutu service. On Thursday, IFC revealed that Hakala will face in the match Jussi Pirttikanka.
In IFC’s Instagram video, Hakala said she took 50 freestyle matches while serving a prison sentence in Brazil. Hakala has a black belt in Brazilian jujutsu.
At the IFC press conference, Ilmén emphasized that integrity is required in the contestants’ contracts.
– There must not be any sex crimes or anything like that. People can have judgments, but the cakes must be frosted, judgments taken care of for society, debts paid… That’s how I am myself. Then there is a clean table, then you can come, Ilmén said in November.
In prison in Brazil
Toni Hakala’s criminal suspicion and sentence in Brazil were widely reported in Finland at one time. IL ARCHIVE
Born in Finland, Hakala became interested in martial arts as a schoolboy. As an adult, he worked as an orderly in bars in Helsinki. Finally, the road led to Brazil, where Hakala found a dancer as her partner.
A year-long relationship ended in the woman’s death.
The man hid the body at the end of the bloody night in March 2008. The woman’s body was found 40 days later.
In 2008, Hakala was sentenced to years in prison in Brazil for the murder of his girlfriend.
The man served about half of his nearly 20-year sentence. Hakala told about her release on social media in 2019.
– The crazy year 2018 is behind me. I got my freedom, I found love, passion and faith in my life. I achieved things and fought myself back after struggling, Hakala wrote.
Since then, the man has returned to Finland and continued to work on his martial arts hobby. The man has also openly talked about his criminal background. He is about to publish a book related to the theme in the spring of this year.
Iltalehti tried to reach Hakala to comment on the criminal suspicions and his participation in the IFC evening. The man responded to the delivery contact with a message and said he would get back to it. However, before the publication of this story, Hakala did not contact or respond to follow-up messages from the editorial office.