A man in his mid-40s has been remanded in custody on probable cause for the unsolved double murder at a farm in Brattås outside Härnösand in the summer of 2005. The arrest was enabled by DNA-based genealogy research following a new law change last year. Prosecutor Hanna Flordal confirms the man's DNA matches the trace from the crime scene.
On June 2, 2005, Tor Öberg, 70, and his partner Gerd Viklund, 67, were found beaten to death at Öberg's farm in Brattås. The couple had suffered severe head injuries, and police secured a DNA trace from an unknown perpetrator early on. Despite testing hundreds of men and an investigation spanning over 20 years, the case remained unsolved, with the DNA not matching police records.
A new law effective last year allows police to use genealogy databases in murder investigations after other leads are exhausted. In August 2025, the prosecutor decided to apply the method in the Brattås case, leading to the man becoming reasonably suspected and remanded in absentia. On Wednesday, police arrested him in southern Sweden, and a DNA comparison yielded a positive match.
"The man's DNA has been compared with the DNA from the trace secured at the crime scene and has given a positive result. The suspicions against him have thereby been strengthened," senior prosecutor Hanna Flordal says in a press release.
Tor Öberg's daughter Barbro Öberg, who had given up hope, reacts strongly: "It feels unreal." Police chief Pontus Fälldin calls it "completely fantastic" and hopes for a resolution. DNA genealogist Peter Sjölund, who solved the 2004 Linköping double murder, welcomes the arrest: "Finally." Criminologist Leif GW Persson is surprised but positive, despite prior doubts about the DNA trace.
The prosecutor must decide by noon Saturday whether to seek detention. Police may re-interview witnesses.
