The court’s doubts about the verdict against the boy: “Barbaric” murder
The 15-year-old practiced stabbing a stuffed animal.
Then he went out and filmed himself stabbing a man to death.
– What a good day, says the boy in the film.
Now he has been sentenced to four years of closed juvenile care by the Norrköping District Court – which itself questions whether it is punishment enough.Latest news clips from Expressen.
The boy has said that he began having thoughts of killing someone in February of this year. On March 30, he chose to stay home when his family was away for the day. He felt that “it was a good day for murder.”
He sharpened a kitchen knife and practiced carving a stuffed animal depicting the children’s film character Totoro. Then he left his home in Norrköping and headed to the Himmelstalund recreation area to realize his murder fantasies.
The victim was supposed to be an adult male, otherwise he had no special criteria.
“What a great day”
He spotted a man in his 30s who he followed for a short distance before stabbing him from behind. The victim tried to run away but fell to the ground. The 15-year-old then started filming as he stabbed the man in the head.
– What a great day, the boy is heard saying in the film, as he completes the crime.
A few days later, the 15-year-old was arrested. In police questioning, he told how the victim’s death anxiety filled him with joy.
– He was terrified, terrified, and I think that also contributed to the experience being even more fun.
The police have not found any traces of him belonging to any violent group. However, he has an interest in violence, anti-Semitism and Nazism.
– That’s true, but there’s no connection to the crime itself, the boy told the police.
Not seriously disturbed – receives youth care
He has undergone a forensic psychiatric examination but was not found to suffer from a serious mental disorder.
The boy is now sentenced to four years in closed juvenile care. Norrköping District Court notes that an adult had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the same crime.
“The district court cannot but summarize the act as extremely crude and barbaric,” the verdict states.
“The district court cannot but summarize the act as extremely crude and barbaric”
But as the district court interprets case law, no 15-year-old convicted of a single count of murder can be sentenced to prison.
The court writes:
“One can reasonably question whether, even taking into account [the 15-year-old’s] age, four years of closed youth care is a sufficiently intrusive penalty. However, it is not up to the district court to make legal policy decisions in a context like this.”
“One can reasonably question whether, even taking into account [the 15-year-old’s] age, four years of closed youth care is a sufficiently intrusive penalty. However, it is not up to the district court to make legal policy decisions in a context like this.”
