Thecase of thecentury
ThemurderofSwedish Prime MinisterOlofPalme
By Hans Andersson
©2025 Hans Andersson
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Publisher:BoD ·Books on Demand, Östermalmstorg1,114 42 Stockholm, Sweden, bod@bod.se
Printing: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee 273,22763 Hamburg, Germany
ISBN: 978-91-8080-169-0
It is themid 80s andanormalwinterwithablanket ofsnowcoveringtheopenfields.Myfatherdrivesusin hissmall,light-greenVolkswagenJettaequippedwitha fuel-efficientdieselengine.Itistheperfectcommutercar.
Todaythereisaslalomcompetitionforyoungpeoplein Skattmansöådalen(TheTreasureMan'sIsleRiverValley), locatednorthwestofStockholminthemiddleofSweden. Itisanaturereservewithaniceskislopeandbeautiful scenery.Thenameofthevalleyevokesasenseofmystery andcuriosity.
Inthepast,weusedtogoskiinginnorthernSweden duringthesportsholidays,butthisyearwestayedathome. Itisoneofthelastnormalwinterswithsnow.Towards theendofthe80s,climatechangestartstobecomeevident. Thesnowmeltsawayinthemiddleofthewinter,which hadneverhappenedbeforeinmychildhoodasfarasIcan remember.Thereusedtobeseveraldecimetersofsnowand coldthroughoutthewinter.Afterskiingholidaysoverthe Easterbreak,weusuallyarrivedhomejustintimeforsnow tostartmelting.Butnewtimeswereuponus...
OnthisparticularSaturdaymostofusSwedesremember wherewewereandwhatweweredoing.Outinthecountrysideitispeacefulwhenthecarradiosuddenlycatchesour attention:
—SwedishPrimeMinisterOlofPalmeisdead. Hewasmurderedlatelastnightinthecenterof Stockholm.Inthisextendedbroadcast,wereport onwhathappenedandthesituationthathasarisen. WeprovidecommentsfromtheGovernment,from otherpoliticianshereinSweden,andforeignreactions.
OurPrimeMinisterisbrutallymurderedintheopenstreet, leavingtheentirecountryinastateofshock.Idonotfocus muchonitthough,asIhaveacompetitiontoattend,but reflectthatthecriminalmustbesomekindoflunaticto commitsuchaheinouscrime.AlthoughIamneitherwellversedinpoliticsnorinterestedinitatthistime,Ithinkof OlofPalmeasagenerallygoodperson.
InStockholm,threewitnesseshavegottenparticularly shockedastheywereincloseproximitytothecrime.One ofthemisthevictim'swife,whileanotherhadjuststarted walkingafewmetersbehindthemwhenthegunshotswere fired.Thethirdwitnesswaspassinganadvertisingpillar about20metersbehind,northonthepavement.Wewill revisithimlaterandhisstateofshock.
Themostaccuratetestimonialsarethosegivensoonafter themurderandintheweeksfollowing.Thememoriesare stillfreshandhavenotbeensignificantlyinfluencedby mediaorotherexternalfactors.Tounderstandtheevents ofthecrime,itisimportanttoreadthroughtestimonies carefully.5 Itisalsohelpfultoempathizewiththewitnesses, placingyourselfinthesceneasifyouarereadinganovel.
Tobeginwith,Ishallreviewthecrucialpartsofthe testimoniestogiveanintroductionandunderstanding oftheperpetrator'sdescription.Thisinformationis significantasitwillhelptoidentifyaprimesuspect.
Approximatelyfortywitnesseseithersawthekilleror atleastheardthetwogunshotsattheintersectionofthe twostreetsTunnelgatanandSveavägen.Abouthalfof themcanprovideageneraldescription,whichistypically amiddle-agedmanwithanaverageheight,wearingalong jacketorcoatthatflutterswhenheleavesthecrimescene. Somewitnessesreportthatthekillermighthavebeen wearingaheaddressofsomesortandafewwitnesses provideabitmoredetaileddescription.
Itiscrucialtoapproachthefactscautiouslyand interpretwitnessstatementsasaccuratelyaspossible. Everydetailisimportantfortheoverallperspectiveand variousconclusions.Thatbeingsaid,thereisunfortunately atendencyamongauthorsanddebaterstochooseanddistort multiplepiecesofinformationthatcaneasilygiveafalse picture.Thiscanincludeperceptionsoftime,distance, orassessmentsofdescriptionsforexample.Iaimtobeas objectiveaspossibleinmyapproach,andduringmyeight yearsofresearch,Ihavehadnoagendaorpreconceptions. BearinmindthatImightoccasionallyoverlookthatsome priorknowledgeisnecessarytocomprehendthecontextfully. AndasIamSwedish,naturallymynativelanguageisnot English.
Li issbbeetth
The widow andplaintiffLisbethpassedawayin2018and wasthemainwitnessinthiscase.Sheisbymeperceivedas atrustworthyperson,whomostofthetimeseemstodoher besttohelpout.Whilesomemayquestionthecredibilityof hertestimoniesduetothetraumasheexperienced,Ibelieve thattheyarelargelyaccurateexceptforafewminordetails. Youcannotethatmostwitnesstestimoniescontainsome distortion,whichcanbeidentifieduponcloserexamination. However,shehaslittletrustinthepolice,andhersuspicions areconfirmedwheninformationfromherinterrogation immediatelyleakstothepress.Duetothislackoffaith, shedoesnotinitiallydescribethekiller'sfaceduringher firstinterrogation...assheexplainsincourtin1989. Shewasalsoveryconcernedaboutherintegrity.
TheidentificationofChristerPetterssonasthekiller wasmadeunderunfortunatecircumstances,butthatisa separatematterthatIwilladdresslateron.Afterthemurder, Lisbethcanprovideclearandfocusedobservationsofthe chaoticscene.Herjobasachildpsychologisthadtrained hertodoso,whichprovesusefulinthissituation.Shefaces difficultiesthoughwhenestimatingdistancesinmeters, asthenumbersoftenbecomewaytoolarge.Shemayalso mistakethecoloroftheclosestwitness'jacketforhisbeige pants.Suchdiscrepanciesarethuscommoninwitnessstatements...Thedayafterthecrime,Lisbethisinterrogatedin herhomeatVästerlånggatan31inStockholm'sOldTown.
February28,1986.Twogunshotsechoesthroughthestreetsof Stockholm,foreverchangingthenation.AlmosteverySwedecan recallwheretheywerewhenthenewsbroke—somewerestrolling
WithabackgroundfromtheRoyalInstituteofTechnology, Iprovideauniqueperspectivethatmeldsfacts,thoughtfulanalysis, alongSveavägen,whileothersfacedashatteringmorning.
ThisbookexaminesthetragicassassinationofSwedishPrimeMinister OlofPalme,exploringtheeventsofthatfatefulnightandaddressing importantquestionsthatcontinuetoresonate:Whowasresponsible?
HowcouldsuchacrimeoccurintheheartofSweden? andpersonalreflectionsfromatimethatimpactedSwedishhistory.