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It was on January 15 when police broke down the door of a house in Vallentuna and found the bodies of a man in his 60s and a woman in his 50s who were reported missing. The man had been cut with a knife and the woman was found strangled to death with a belt wrapped around her neck and plastic wrap around her head. By then they had been dead for several days.
Due to the severe violence, the case was given high priority and by tracing the money transfers from the couple’s accounts, the police were able to find a suspect, a 28-year-old man living in the municipality.
– It’s a mapping job and through that transaction we opened our eyes for this man. But then we didn’t know what role he had played in a robbery or murder, says Christer Axling, the leader of the police investigation in the case.
For the murder As they approached, the police suspected that there were several perpetrators and therefore began an extensive reconnaissance work against the 28-year-old, which led them to his alleged accomplice. The fact that several days had already passed between the killings and the discovery of the bodies influenced the decision to wait with the arrest, according to chamber prosecutor and lead investigator Jenny Karlsson.
– In the investigation, we made the decision not to arrest directly, but we chose to carry out wiretapping and reconnaissance against these people. It would have made a difference if the crime had taken place recently, and you quickly found a trace of a suspect, then you probably would have intervened immediately, the prosecutor says.
The motive for the killings is believed to be money. The summer before the murder, the man sold a family farm for SEK 14 million, according to information from the National Land Survey, and the defendant must have known that the couple’s man had become rich.
Police have been able to obtain DNA of suspects at the crime scene, but they have also left extensive digital trails. The 6,000-page preliminary investigation covers everything from money transactions, communication between the defendants, and instructions on how the loot is distributed. In an email called “Saturday coffee,” the 28-year-old sends a robbery plan to his partner, according to the lawsuit.
The house in question is somewhat lonely in a forest area west of Vallentuna.
Photo: Lisa Mattisson
On the suspects’ phones, there are web searches for formulations such as “2 meters of plastic”, “time transfer between banks”, “tear tattoo” and “criminal protection uses”. The 28-year-old also has a movie where he draws two tears under his eye, something that according to Christer Axling in criminal contexts can mean that someone has been murdered.
– Of course, it is speculated that he participated in a double murder or killed two people, says Christer Axling.
There has been information In the media that at least one of the suspects had connections to a criminal gang, but Christer Axling denies this.
In the days leading up to the alleged killings, the men had intense contact. On the day of the murder, January 11 this year, the 28-year-old sends a message to the co-defendant: “Get up and shine” (editor’s note) early in the morning. After that, there is no phone activity for several hours.
The suspects must have had information about financial assets, according to the 26-year-old detainee, lawyer Björn Sandin.
– The purpose of going to the place is to overcome them. My client acknowledges and admits liability for theft of the normal degree. As for the point of the murder, he denies the crime. He has not deprived the two applicants of his life, either himself or anyone else.
The robbery and murder have taken place at the same time, according to the lawyer, but believes that his client was not aware of this, nor did he witness the violence.
– He has not known in advance or in the meantime what will happen. There is no plan for everything, from what he knows in any case, says Björn Sandin.
The 28-year-old also denies the murder:
– My client admits to aggravated robbery but denies murder, says his detainee, attorney Martin Cullberg.
But according to the prosecutor the men carried out the murders “together and in concert”.
– I cannot comment on their information, all I can say is that they have left different versions of what happened in this house, the crime scene, on January 11, says Jenny Karlsson.
The two defendants have been detained since February 4.
