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Two women, 19 and 20 years old, were sentenced to life in the district court for the murder of Tove in Vetlanda. The case is now being tried again in the Court of Appeal. Sketch from the trial.
1 / 2Photo: Anna-Lena Lindqvist / TT
Two young women were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Tove, 21. But when the Court of Appeal now hears the case, it is with a new prosecutor, new defense attorney and new witnesses.
In addition, the defender Clea Sangborn still has the opportunity to proceed with her complaint – and have the trial reconsidered.
It has been postponed twice, but on Wednesday the main hearing in Tovefallet finally started in Göta Court of Appeal.
As recently as the day before, it looked like it might be canceled a third time – when lawyer Clea Sangborn, who is defending one of the women convicted of murder, reported the judges as dead. This is because she considered that the three judges had too close ties to the new prosecutor Thobias Vilhelmsson, who took over the case on Monday.
The complaint was tried and rejected by the Court of Appeal for Western Sweden, but Sangborn still has the opportunity to report dissatisfaction in order to appeal the decision.
As of Wednesday morning, she still hadn’t made up her mind.
– After we got the decision, my client was on a trip so I haven’t spoken to her. But I don’t want to stop the trial, I want it now, she tells TT before the start of the trial.
A notification of dissatisfaction must be received within a week of the decision being announced on Tuesday.
Two women, 19 and 20 years old, were sentenced in Eksjö district court to life imprisonment for the murder of 21-year-old Tove in Vetlanda. But when the case will now be heard in the Court of Appeal, much is new.
Prosecutor Thobias Vilhelmsson is new to his chair, and the 19-year-old has changed defenders. In addition, several new expert witnesses will be heard, forensic experts who will give their view of how Tove actually died.
FACT This has happened
Saturday 15 October: 21-year-old Tove disappears after a night out at a restaurant in central Vetlanda.
Monday 17 October: Two women, now 19 and 20 years old, are taken in for questioning and arrested. They are later detained on probable cause on suspicion of kidnapping.
Wednesday November 2: The police find Tove dead in a wooded area southeast of Vetlanda.
Friday March 17: Charges are brought against the two women for murder and grave breach of peace.
March 27: The trial in Eksjö District Court begins. The women admit to moving the body, but both deny murder. The 20-year-old admits that there was a fight and that she then took a stranglehold on Tove while the 19-year-old held Tove’s hands – but says that it was short-lived and that Tove did not die from it.
The younger woman denies any involvement. She states that she was asleep when Tove died, and that she did not dare to say no when the 20-year-old asked her to help move the body.
Wednesday April 19: The women are sentenced to life in prison for murder and grave breach of privacy. The elderly woman is also sentenced to damage because she tried to start a fire at Tove’s father’s house. The sentence is later appealed by both women.
Tuesday, October 3: Clea Sangborn, who defends the 20-year-old, reports the judges in the Göta Court of Appeal are guilty. This is because the new prosecutor Thobias Vilhelmsson was previously employed at the Court of Appeal and worked closely with them. The Court of Appeal for Western Sweden came to the conclusion in the afternoon that there is no risk of an accident.
Wednesday 4 October: The trial in Göta Court of Appeal begins. It will continue on 10 and 12 October.
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