Published: Less than 20 min ago
Three children tried to intervene when their father attacked the mother with a knife.
The children were also stabbed.
– Perhaps it is not possible to expose children to something worse than witnessing the murder of their own mother, says prosecutor Jakob Holmberg.
The tragic incident took place in Falköping on June 22 this summer. The mother, who was in her 40s, was going to collect one of the shared children from her ex-partner.
– Then he attacks her with a knife. All the children are there, they see this and try to ward off the knife attacks against the mother, says prosecutor Jakob Holmberg, who has now brought charges against the man.
The three children also manage to disarm the father, and get the knife away.
The mother runs out of the apartment to her car.
But the father gets hold of another knife, catches up with the mother and continues the attack by the car.
One of the children had then knocked on the door of the neighbors and pleaded for help.
– It ends with one of the neighbors coming downstairs and taking him away. The neighbor was arrested by the police, they thought he was the perpetrator when they first got there. But he is innocent, and has facilitated the end of the crime, says Jakob Holmberg.
All three children were injured in their attempts to stop the father. Two of them had cuts to their fingers that required stitches, and the third had minor injuries.
“Conspiracy of people in Falköping”
The 42-year-old man is charged with 13 counts. Among other things, for murder, serious abuse of the children, and the relatively new criminal classification of child welfare offences.
The prosecutor insists that the crime against children is serious, and also raises the crime against children as an aggravating circumstance under the charge of murder.
The father has admitted the crime but denies any wrongdoing.
– He has perceived it as being part of some kind of game, where he is exposed by a plot of people in Falköping and the deceased is part of it, says prosecutor Jakob Holmberg.
The 42-year-old expresses strong remorse in questioning.
“I don’t understand why and wish it was undone. I had no anger towards NN and I don’t know why I had to go to such lengths. I still love her even though she’s not here,” says the man.
The man says he has been mentally ill “for as long as he can remember”.
The minor forensic psychiatric examination that was carried out has shown that the man may suffer from a serious mental disorder. A major forensic psychiatric examination has also been carried out, which the prosecutor will present during the trial.
The man: “I thought I was healthy”
In the first interview with the man, he said that he had not taken his medication, and that he had lied about it.
“I thought I was healthy… I’m paranoid and psychotic and haven’t taken my antipsychotics in a year.”
The fact that the man was medicated, but did not take his medicine, is a factor in the prosecutor bringing charges of murder.
– Part of the criminal intent is that he did not take his medicine. Being on medication, and not taking it, is of course a circumstance that has significance in this case, says Jakob Holmberg.
Aftonbladet has also sought the children’s legal counsel, to no avail. The 42-year-old’s lawyer has declined to comment.