He must have been a captive of his mother for almost 30 years:

Bare trees stand and freeze among the beige-beige apartment blocks in the Haninge suburb on the outskirts of the Swedish capital. No human is looking down the hallways, but there are poinsettias and Advent candles on the windows from most apartments, with the exception of one second-floor window.

Where others have light, long dresses hang down and block perception. It is this apartment that now has the police barricade at the intersection above the front door.

The case that has rocked far beyond the borders of Sweden is so cruel that one can hardly believe it happened.

The woman in her 70s who lives in the apartment was arrested, suspected of having kept her son in prison since he was little. She is suspected of violence, bodily injury and deprivation of liberty of the child since she was 12 years old.

On Tuesday night she was questioned by the police. On Wednesday afternoon she was released, but the investigation continues and there are still suspicions against her mother.

– But he is weakened and I judge that the woman cannot negatively affect the investigation. We will now investigate circumstances that go back further in time, says Swedish prosecutor’s representative Emma Olsson in a press release.

The neighbors didn’t know anything

Lars Österdahl (46) has lived in the apartment opposite the older woman for six months. At the time, not once did she think that anyone other than her lived there.

– A single “aunt”, we think. We knew she had grown children, but I have never seen or heard anyone other than her enter or leave the apartment. She never had a visitor and I never saw the door open, she tells VG.

It was on Sunday that doctors at Karolinska Hospital informed the police that they had admitted a patient who could barely speak and was very involved.

Tonight, Lars Österdahl and his family had an Advent celebration with friends and Christmas cakes, and did not realize what was happening upstairs: the included sister, 41, entered the apartment and asked medical help for sick brother.

The sister said in an interview that there was urine, dirt and dust all over the apartment, and that it “smelled rotten,” according to Expressen. Police suspect the mother has kept the man in prison for 28 years.

VG has contacted the lawyer who, according to the prosecution, has been appointed as a defense lawyer for women. He does not want to comment on the case before Thursday, when the defender in the case is announced.

– Inhumant

On Monday, the police knocked on Österdahl’s door with many questions about the neighbor. As for that, they wouldn’t say. “You can read it in the newspapers,” were the researchers’ responses. And they succeeded.

– You are completely surprised that something like this could happen. Of course, I have pondered a bit as to whether this is something we should have seen or noticed. To think that something so inhuman was happening just a couple of feet from our front door. Then you realize that you can’t really look at people what is really going on inside their houses, the 46-year-old tells VG.

“She with the hair”

VG talks to Österdahl in the hallway between the two apartments. One is cordoned off and the subject of world attention. The other is Christmas, warm and with a little baby as a natural centerpiece. Österdahl and his wife have just received a new grant for the family. In her arms she holds four-month-old Charlie. The baby became a topic of conversation the last time they met the now-arrested older woman.

– He often asked about the baby and said that he also had children who were born prematurely, says Österdahl.

He describes her as a nice old woman, who always said “hello” and smiled when they met her in the hall. His demeanor was nothing out of the ordinary, while his style was somewhat different, he says.

– She wore long skirts with prints and colors from a completely different era. Above all, her hairstyle stands out. When the neighbors around here have asked who she is, just say “her with her hair”, then everyone understands, the man tells VG.

I was always hungry when I was a kid

The 41-year-old’s sister has said in interviews that they are three brothers. They also had an older brother, who died when he was only three years old. According to the sister, the mother must have told the man who was held captive by his mother that he was the older brother who had returned. The 41-year-old was even given the same name as the deceased boy.

The sister tried many times to warn that they were not well cared for at home, she says in interviews with Expressen and SVT. The woman describes it as a relief that the secret is finally known and that the brother can get help.

– Since we were kids, people have known about it. And nobody has done anything. I have told the school how it is, how we have had it. But no one has ever believed in me, says the woman.

A former teacher of the included man says that he was always very hungry on homework lessons. When the teacher asked when was the last time he ate, the boy replied “yesterday for breakfast.”

Neighbor Lars Österdahl thinks it strange that the woman could take her son out of school at a young age, without anyone reacting.

– This happens from time to time, that cases fall between agencies and agencies, but I am equally dismayed each time it happens. I think this is a reminder that one should search too much once, than once too little, says the father of four to VG.

Few remember the boy

The man who is now in hospital will be questioned on Wednesday, Swedish prosecutors say. So far, the police have only spoken to him to get an idea of ​​his mental state.

– He’s sane, but he hasn’t said anything about the incident. I have seen that there is information from the media that according to the police they have said that this happened against their will, but it is not something they have told investigators, and we do not know where the information comes from, says Emma Olsson of prosecution to Expressen.

Swedish newspapers are full of interviews with teachers, principals and child welfare workers, who do not remember how and why the boy suddenly disappeared from school when he was 12 years old. Almost 30 years have passed.

In the suburb of Haninge, neighbor Lars Österdahl is saddened by what he hears about what has happened next to him.

– For the older woman and her son, I hope they both get the help they need. And for us neighbors, I hope we open up a little more, get to know each other and take care of ourselves a little more. I hope we can dare to ask those of us who live nearby how they really feel.