The 45-year-old man was arrested on April 10 on probable cause suspicion of the murders of Tor Öberg and Gerd Wiklund, who were found dead on a farm in Brattås outside Härnösand in June 2005. The man was identified more than 20 years after the incident using DNA-based genealogy in the investigation.
Jan-Ola Nordin, the former lead detective on the case, said the man was unknown to investigators.
I sent it out to my old colleagues who were there when this started, when people were questioned and tipped off, but no one recognized the name, he told TT.
Lived alone
The 45-year-old has no criminal record and lived in Härnösand at the time of the murder. Since then, he has changed municipalities several times. When the police arrested him, he was living alone in an apartment in central Sweden. According to the Swedish Tax Agency, he is unmarried and has no children.
The personal investigation that the probation service has now submitted to the court shows that the man has worked for much of his life, but that he has been unemployed in recent years. The man states that his financial situation has nevertheless been okay, as he has been able to live on investments and saved money.
The investigation also shows that the man has suffered from mental illness for “large parts of his life” and that he has been socially isolated in recent years.
Denies crime
The man continues to deny the crime, his defense attorney Johan Lavås told TT:
It’s the same setting as before.
Johan Lavås cannot comment on what the man says about the trace he allegedly left at the crime scene because the case is covered by a gag order.
A personal investigation is a description of a suspect’s living conditions and personal situation and is carried out at the request of a court.
