Caroline had said she wanted a divorce. Her husband Shawn wanted to meet one more time, just to talk.
Instead, he stabbed Caroline to death in a parking garage in Malmö last April.
Caroline loved life. She loved to eat chicken. She loved watching Disney movies.
But most of all she loved her nine-year-old daughter.
Caroline lived to be 33 years old and never got to fulfill her dream of becoming a police officer.
– I miss everything about her. From here to here, Caroline’s daughter has previously told and pointed with her hand:
From the toes up to the top of the head.
Not yet settled cases
Aftonbladet’s long-term review Killed women shows that most of the murders of women in a close relationship have been preceded by warning signs, often in the form of threats and violence. A report by the National Board of Health and Welfare also shows that more than half of the murders took place in connection with a separation.
Between the years 2000 and 2023, 359 women have been murdered by a man they once loved, Aftonbladet’s long-term review “Murdered women” shows.
Together, the 358 women left behind 658 children – 326 of whom were minors when their mother was killed.
And for 354 of the surviving children, the reality is that the killer was their own father.
All murder cases from 2023 have not yet been decided in the district or appellate courts. Therefore, several are still in the ongoing category in Aftonbladet’s database. The figure for the year 2023 will therefore most likely be higher than it is now.
Three of the murders, those of Maria, Caroline and a woman in Nacka, have been confirmed in the Court of Appeal. In two of the cases, the murder of Joullnar and Ellinor, appeal court proceedings await.
In a further six cases, investigations are still ongoing.
square1 April 13, Malmö
33-year-old Caroline wanted a divorce from her husband Shawn. On April 13, they met to talk.
They were sitting in a parked car in a parking garage in Malmö, below them on a soccer field their common daughter was training.
Suddenly, Shawn takes out a knife and kills Caroline with great violence, then he calls a friend. Shawn Fruchter is sentenced to life in prison for the murder.
Caroline left behind a daughter.
square1 May 18, Neck
The 50-year-old woman wants to leave her boyfriend Erik Johnsson. They had only been a couple for a year but the relationship was stormy.
– He is fun to be with when he is sober. Then they do a lot of fun things together. I understood that the alcohol was the big problem, says a friend of the woman in questioning.
On May 18, police were called to an area in Nacka outside Stockholm because a man was walking around stabbing cars with a knife. Once in custody, Erik Johnsson told that he had stabbed his girlfriend. The 50-year-old woman was then found dead in the apartment.
The woman had three children. She is described by those who loved her as a person who was “happy as a lark and someone who wished everyone well”.
Erik Johnsson is now serving a life sentence for murder.
square1 August 14, Sangis
Hamid Fatlawi called 112 himself and told what he had done.
When the police and ambulance arrived at the house in Sangis, Maria’s life was already beyond saving.
What led her husband, less than two years into the marriage, to be suspected of having taken a knife and with enormous violence attacked Maria as she lay in her own bed is still a bit of a question mark.
In the emergency call, however, Fatlawi said:
– I killed my wife. With the knife. I was crazy about her.
Maria is described as a lot of will in a small package. She was always in the middle of a book, preferably in the fantasy genre, and she loved to tinker.
56-year-old Maria’s husband Hamid Fatlawi is now serving a life sentence for her murder in Sangis on August 14, 2023. Maria is the mother of five and “mommo” of two.
– Mother didn’t have much money, she had pain problems and was on sick leave half-time, but she was always so generous with what she had. She made presents and gave away, she donated money to dog kennels, she was passionate about animals that got hurt, daughter Therese has previously told.
APPEAL NEGOTIATIONS PENDING: Joullnar was only 43 years old. Photo: Private
square1 February 24, Taberg
43-year-old Joullnar had only known Mahmoud Asalya for a month or so.
The mother of two was going to visit him in Taberg in Småland when she suddenly disappeared without a trace. A month later, she was found buried in a wooded area in Taberg outside Jönköping, after several weeks of searching.
She had suffocated to death.
– She had a great heart. And she was a really good mother to me and my older brother, daughter Sara has previously said.
Mahmoud Asalya was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The case must be taken up in the Court of Appeal.
square1 September 13, Lidingö
For nearly two days, Ellinor’s partner sat in their apartment, while Ellinor lay dead in the bedroom.
He says he doesn’t remember what happened, that he may have accidentally put his arm over Ellinor while she was sleeping.
But the investigation shows that he strangled her to death.
The partner was sentenced in the district court to 18 years in prison for the murder.
51-year-old Ellinor is described as happy with life. She loved her nieces and nephews and traveling.
– It is impossible to describe the shock of losing your sister in this way. He has robbed us of Ellinor, my parents of their daughter, my children of their beloved aunt, my brother’s children of their aunt. I am both pissed off and disappointed. We will never get our beloved Ellinor back, her sister Johanna previously told Aftonbladet.
Ellinor’s partner has appealed the verdict to the Court of Appeal.
square1 April 29, Örebro
Saga was seven months pregnant when she was found dead in her apartment in Örebro. Her one-year-older boyfriend has been indicted on suspicion of the murder, which the prosecutor believes had an honor context.
The man’s family did not accept that he met someone outside his culture and he is suspected of having murdered Saga to avoid telling his family that he was expecting a child with a Swedish woman.
A relative of Saga has written on Facebook:
“Saga was 20 years old and longed to be a mother to her boy who was waiting in her womb. She was so happy.”
Saga’s mother has to Nerikes Allehanda said:
– She was so happy. She would move to a new apartment and start her life as a mother. This is the worst thing imaginable.
The trial begins on April 10.
square1 December 29, Vingåker
When the 49-year-old woman was found dead, it was not the first time police had been called to her and her 55-year-old husband’s home.
In 2021, the husband was fined for hitting her.
Just a few months before she was found dead, the police were alerted again. She said she was beaten and threatened with scissors by her husband.
– He said I’ll kill you next time. I don’t know why he will kill me next time. I haven’t done anything, the woman said in questioning.
The woman did not want to participate in the investigation – something that is common when it comes to violence in close relationships – and when the trial began, she did not appear. The husband was then released, and a few weeks later she was found dead.
The husband has since been detained and charges were recently brought.
The 49-year-old woman had three children.
ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS:
square1 February 22, Norrtälje municipality
Emergency services were called in February to a villa in Rimbo in Norrtälje municipality, regarding a house fire.
A woman in her 60s was found dead in the house and her partner, also with some injuries, was arrested.
The theory has been that the man, who has previously been convicted of serious crime and in recent years has also been convicted of sending threatening messages, set fire to the house to hurt the woman he allegedly treated badly in the past.
But the evidence was not enough to detain him and in December the suspect died. The case thus appears to be unsolved.
The dead woman had three children.
square1 17 May, Åmål Municipality
A 64-year-old man comes in to his neighbors and tells them that his partner nine years younger is dead in the home in a small town in the municipality of Åmål.
When the ambulance arrives, it is noted that the 55-year-old woman has several injuries on her body. The partner is arrested. He is later released, and has since been at large, but the suspicions against him remain.
The investigation is ongoing and the prosecutor hopes to make a decision in the matter within a few weeks.
The man denies any wrongdoing. The 55-year-old woman was the mother of two children.
square1 September 30, Umeå
On September 30, a 32-year-old woman was found dead in her apartment in Umeå.
A 29-year-old man she had some kind of relationship with was arrested and has since been in custody. A small mental examination of the man shows that a serious mental disorder can be suspected. It also shows that the man had increased his drug use before the time of the murder.
The motive for the crime is still unknown.
The 32-year-old woman was from India. She ended up in Umeå in 2018 to complete her research studies in neurology at Umeå University.
– I have lost my only reason to live, her mother has previously told Indian media.
square1 November 22, Norrköping
Police were called to an apartment in the Marielund area of Norrköping on November 22. A 34-year-old woman is found dead in the apartment.
Two men were initially arrested, but only one of them, a man who had a love affair with the woman, remains in custody.
The suspect, who is 44 years old, has a long criminal record and has served several prison sentences, including for drug offences.
The investigation is ongoing and charges will be filed in April.
The man denies any wrongdoing.