Stefan Lindskog, former chair of Sweden's Supreme Court, believes new details from a Knutby case investigation warrant reopening the trial. Prosecutors dismiss the claims and refuse to seek a retrial. Residents in Knutby express frustration over the renewed media spotlight.
A 200 sekunder investigation into the 2004 murder of Alexandra Fossmo in Knutby has sparked debate with new details. Stefan Lindskog, former chair of Sweden's Supreme Court, states that information—including a medical examiner's assessment that the victim was already dead—meets the criteria for resning, or reopening the case. 'And the probability requirement is clearly met here. If the person was already dead, then it cannot be murder,' Lindskog says.
Prosecutor Elin Blank and a chief prosecutor at the National Prosecution Authority have dismissed the findings, stating nothing new has emerged and they will not seek a retrial. Lindskog notes that the prosecutors' statements change nothing, as Sara Svensson's lawyer Johan Eriksson intends to apply for resning independently. 'I think it's distasteful, actually. This is no rally race. Now everyone should take a step back instead of running around defending themselves,' Eriksson says. He is continuing work on the application, which has not yet been filed, and is convinced by Svensson's consistent account.
Resning is rare in Sweden, granted less than once a year. Success requires new circumstances that could have altered the original outcome. Lindskog explains: 'One must show there are new conditions... that would have changed the outcome if known when the case was decided.'
In Knutby, the small community outside Uppsala, Aftonbladet's revelations elicit mixed reactions. Church caretaker Anna Norlin, who grew up there, describes the 2004 events as a wound reopened. 'It's still a wound and it gets torn open every time it comes up again,' she says. An anonymous resident feels persecuted: 'The first thing I thought was, "not again".' Witold Radogostowicz, 64, who moved there four years ago, downplays it: 'It happened in Knutby, but it could have happened anywhere.' Despite the quiet, tourists visit the graveyard yearly to leave flowers in memory of the events.