Her DNA solved the double murder in Linköping: “Was shocked”

For 16 years, the police worked with the double murder in Linköping – without success.
The criminal reporter’s DNA was the puzzle piece needed to solve the case.
– I flew up from the chair, which you might do when you are shocked, says criminal reporter Linda Hjertén.

After 16 years of fruitless work, the police were able to arrest the double murderer in Linköping thanks to criminal reporter Linda Hjertén’s DNA. After the incident was noticed in the Netflix drama “the breakthrough” she decided to herself rewrite it in Aftonbladet.

-When the Netflix series started, I was contacted by a colleague at another newspaper, who had heard that it was me who asked for an interview. Then I wondered if I could tell it my own way and I got okay from my closest family, says Linda Hjertén.

“Was pretty shocked”

When the double murder occurred in October 2004, Linda Hjertén was 24 years old and followed the news at a distance as entertainment reporters. In 2020, she heard about genealogist Peter Sjölund’s method and offered to leave DNA, as she has a large East Gothic family.

She was one of several who submitted her DNA and didn’t think much more about it. Until the conversation came that it was a relative.

– They called me and said, “Are you sitting down?” I said yes and flew up from the chair, which you might do when you get shocked. They told us that of all DNA that had been submitted, it was just a match on me and that it was reasonably close. Then I was quite shocked, says Linda Hjertén in News Morning.

Both joy and guilt

The perpetrator turned out to be her cousin’s son, Daniel Nyqvist. When he was arrested in June 2020, he acknowledged the murders of Mohamed Ammouri and Anna-Lena Svenson directly.

To contribute to the murderer being able to be arrested gave Linda Hjertén two -minded feelings – both joy and guilt.

– Guilt that I have helped to put a relative there, even though I did not consciously. And a feeling of a little sadness actually. That this is in my family tree.

Martin: But you also gave answers to the relatives with this.

– I’m from Linköping. This opened a large wound through Linköping’s reasons. The fact that a little boy was killed on his way to school was very unnecessary. This was something that really shook Linköping.