A 38-year-old man has admitted to stabbing his girlfriend to death and attempting to murder his ex-wife in Västerås on May 9, 2025. He claims he was suffering from psychosis and believed he was being attacked by tigers. Prosecutors question the account, pointing to his subsequent actions that suggest intent.
The trial of the 38-year-old man at Västmanland District Court continued on its second day with an interrogation where he described the events surrounding the stabbings. He admitted to stabbing his girlfriend in Skultuna and later attacking his ex-wife in Rönnby, but emphasized that he had suffered a psychosis during the night leading up to May 9, 2025. According to the man, he believed he was being attacked by tigers when he murdered his girlfriend with a knife.
"It wasn't meant to be. Forgive me," he said in court. The National Board of Forensic Medicine has assessed that the man suffered from a serious mental disorder both during the crimes and at the examination.
The prosecution questioned the man's account. They pointed out that despite the psychosis, he called 112, reported himself sick, and sent several apologetic text messages in connection with the acts. Thomas Bodström, counsel for the murdered woman's relatives, commented: "I think it's clear that it's a deliberate murder. That he says he saw tigers sounds like an obvious post-hoc construction because he doesn't want a long prison sentence."
After the murder in Skultuna, the man went to Rönnby to attack his ex-wife. The murder attempt was stopped by their children, who pulled at their father and called 112 while he stabbed their mother. "If it hadn't been for the children, she probably wouldn't have survived," the man said. The trial has been emotional, with testimony from the ex-wife describing her fear during the assault.