Who is responsible for Molly, 14, dying of a Tramadol overdose? The prosecutor points to the 19-year-old who sold the tablets. 

The defense wants to place responsibility on Molly herself.

– Molly is being questioned as a person, it is very strong. It feels like a great violation, especially towards Molly, says mother Malin Gnospelius. News, reports and analyses in Sweden and the rest of the world.

The trial in Falu District Court began in November last year, but had to be suspended just as quickly when the accused 19-year-old fled abroad. On a warm June day, it was resumed, now with a new defense attorney – star lawyer Tobias Enochson, who, among other things, got Jonas Falk acquitted in the Playa case – and with the 19-year-old present, now in custody in the detention center.

He was picked up by police at the airport in Norrköping, where he had flown from Cyprus. On the holiday island, he has lived a seemingly carefree life of sun, swimming and partying during the spring, documented on social media, despite an international arrest warrant being issued by the prosecutor.

The wanted 19-year-old grew tired of life on the run, and volunteered to come home and stand trial.

“Very tough emotionally”

The man, who was 16 years old at the time he sold a map of the narcotic drug to Molly and her 13-year-old friend on sports vacation in February 2023, was unhappy with his old defense attorney, but when he was allowed to switch to Enochson, he was prepared to let justice take its course.

The Gnospelius family has been waiting for the trial to take place for a long time.

– It’s very tough emotionally. We also think of the young people who are called to testify and perhaps especially our daughter. It’s very painful for her, says mother Malin.

It is also a transformative time for the family, with sharp swings between happiness and pain.

On Friday, Molly’s older sister graduated. On Monday, she testified in room 4 of Falu District Court about how she found her little sister lifeless in bed at home.

– It’s unfortunate that it happened right now. It’s an emotional time right from the start when you’ve lost a child, says Malin Gnospelius.

Admitted: Sold the pills

The 19-year-old admitted during the first day of the trial that he was the one who sold the pills. This allowed the focus to be on who is responsible.

– What the court will examine is whether he caused her death through negligence, says district attorney Kristina Modig.

– She was a child, with limited knowledge of drugs and tramadol in particular, she cannot be considered to have had the opportunity to take responsibility for herself.

The precedent-setting so-called Fentanyl case is invoked, in which the Supreme Court sentenced people to four years in prison for aggravated manslaughter in eight cases.

But the defense argues that it is not possible to compare, as Tramadol, unlike Fentanyl which is used on animals, is prescribed to humans as medicine.

Got to the same school as Molly

The party night Molly overdosed on began with the purchase of a pack of ten slow-acting tramadol tablets. She quickly took the tablets, as they did not have the intended immediate effect.

The 19-year-old was asked if he had told Molly and his friend what kind of Tramadol it was, and if he had checked their ages. He had not, but he thought they were older, the same age as himself.

Did he even know Molly? That became an important question.

The defendant claims that he never heard of her, yet he attended the same high school as Molly for a year – he in ninth grade, Molly in seventh grade.

Molly’s older sister was in the same class as him.

His little sister was in the same class as Molly. It was through her little sister that he first heard about Molly, he says.

– My sister was sad, she said, “A girl in my class overdosed and there are rumors that you sold to her.” I tried to calm her down as best I could, says the 19-year-old.

– Then the police came and stormed me and took three phones. Then a few days later the task force stormed my studio. A day later, the social services contacted the father. He said, “You can pack your clothes, you’ll get LVU”.

One hundred Tramadol tablets seized

The police seized one hundred Tramadol tablets in the 19-year-old’s studio, something he is also charged with.

Molly’s older sister testifies about how she helped her withdraw money. But she didn’t understand that it would go to the pills Molly bought from the 19-year-old.

– “I’m going to buy some tram,” she said, I thought she was joking. They’ve bought vodka before and it also cost 300 kronor so I didn’t understand, says the older sister.

Did the 19-year-old understand how young Molly and her friend were, 14 and 13 years old? Yes, the prosecutor claims:

– The act involves deliberate risk-taking of a serious nature, as the sale was made to children who lacked insight and understanding of the risks that taking the tablets entailed, says Kristina Modig.

Absolutely not, the defendant claims:

– I didn’t know she was 14. I was 16 at the time. They had a lot of makeup on, I thought they were my age, says the 19-year-old, who gets upset.

– I want to exercise my rights not to answer questions I do not want to answer.

Spread image on Snapchat

After that, all responses will be “no comment”.

The prosecution relies on the coroner’s report which states that alcohol was not a factor at the time of death. However, the defence has obtained a second opinion, and another coroner concludes that alcohol may have contributed, even though there were no traces of it at the autopsy.

The coroner’s conclusion is also that it is not possible to determine whether the death was caused by an accident, or by the plaintiff’s own intentional act.

Mother Malin testified about her whirlwind experience as a 14-year-old. Without any thought of consequences, and absolutely alive in the here and now. She doesn’t think Molly could have imagined that something serious would happen that night.

– What is provocative for us is the claim that she has substance abuse problems and mental illness, she says.

The picture of Molly and her friend holding up the map with tramadol was shared by the girls on Snapchat.

– It was a way to show that they were a bit crazy, that they didn’t understand the consequences of it either.

Anxiety about the trial

One concern the family had before the trial was that their daughter’s memory would be tarnished.

– What if she took her life on purpose? That feels like a big insult, says Malin Gnospelius.

– We who know how much she loved life and know how much this would mean to her, that she is not allowed to be there. She is not here and cannot defend herself.

LISTEN TO THE EXPRESS DOC

In the documentary “Molly’s Secret,” Expressen’s reporter Anna Gullberg follows in Molly Gnospelius’ footsteps. She seeks answers to how drugs can so easily end up in the hands of a child and takes listeners to those who really know.

Listen in the player below or hear the entire documentary series directly on Spotify or Podcaster.

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