Lawyer Johan Eriksson has requested to reopen the investigation into the Knutby murder. He seeks to overturn the conviction of babysitter Sara Svensson following Aftonbladet investigations highlighting flaws in the probe. The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office will now assess the request.
On 10 January 2004, pastor Helge Fossmo's wife was found murdered in their home in Knutby outside Uppsala. A 30-year-old man was shot in the neighboring house, and Fossmo was later sentenced to life imprisonment for incitement to murder and attempted murder. Babysitter Sara Svensson received forensic psychiatric care for carrying out the acts. The incident drew attention to the Philadelphian congregation in Knutby. Fossmo was conditionally released in January 2022, and Svensson in 2011. On 25 November 2025, Aftonbladet published an investigation questioning the probe with details on additional shots, contradictory shot angles, and blood traces. Eriksson then announced he would request reopening from the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Earlier this week, a follow-up pointed to a possible alternative perpetrator linked to the sect, arrested at the scene with 41 gunshot residue particles. On Friday morning, 20 March 2026, Eriksson confirmed submitting the request. Prosecutor Elin Blank, who led the 2004 investigation, previously rejected reopening, stating the information was not new. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Mats Svensson at the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office will now review it: “I will go through the request and assess whether it is likely that a supplementary investigation of the cited material provides grounds for reopening,” he told SVT. No timeline for a decision has been given.
