Shopped for pots together – hours later she was murdered • “She was so broken”
It was on July 22 that 14-year-old Emilia was found murdered in an industrial area in Landskrona. Two girls, 13 and 15 years old, are suspected of the murder and on Monday the 15-year-old was charged.
Emilia’s mother, Anna Sjöberg, remembers a kind and caring daughter who extended a helping hand to people, even though she didn’t know them.
– If there was an aunt crossing the street and you saw that she needed help, she thought it was obvious that you should run there and help her. But not everyone thinks so today. Or if there was someone behind the till who didn’t have enough money.
And when Anna thinks about her daughter, an image pops up in her head.
– A candle. She saw good in everyone. She was very responsive. It didn’t matter if she knew people or not. She took everyone as they were and she treated everyone the same way.
Going to a pajama party
Anna Sjöberg remembers the last day she got to see Emilia, before she left to meet the two girls who are now suspected of murder. They have previously been placed in the same Sis home.
– We were about to buy pots for Emilia’s plants. And the one girl kept calling for Emilia to hurry up and get there. But Emilia said she had promised to help me with the pots and had to keep her promise.
Anna and Emilia hurry back home for Emilia to get ready. Anna helps her daughter pack her bag and brush her hair. But amid the stress, Emilia worries about mother Anna, who will be sitting at home alone this evening.
– I say that it goes without saying that she should go to this pajama party. I thought that all children have the right to be part of their first pajama parties at some point. And as trapped as she was in the family home in the middle of the country, she was not allowed to do anything. I just wanted her to experience what other children got to experience as well.
Then it will be time to say goodbye.
– I double check that she has both keys, mobile phone and everything. So we say what we always say and that is, I love you. You are my everything. See you later. And then she walks out the door.
A while later, mother Anna receives a text message from Emilia in which she apologizes for being so stressed. They talk to each other during the train journey, but then it goes silent.
“She was so broken”
The next day, Anna sits at home and waits for Emilia to come back. Then there is a knock on the door. There are two policemen who say that they have found a dead girl, who may be Emilia.
– The hope was still there, that maybe it wasn’t her.
It takes another two weeks before Anna receives the final message that it is actually Emilia. Finally, she gets to go and see her daughter.
– I didn’t know what had happened. She was so broken that I thought maybe a whole gang had attacked her. Or at least a big grown man. Because I could never have imagined that a child could do these injuries. And then I heard about the videos.
Now four months have passed since that day in July, and the sadness is with Anna every day.
– It is impossible that she will not come back, she says.
– Every time I wake up like that… God how I hope every time it was just a nightmare. Then I realize I’m living the nightmare. There are so many times that I just wanted to jump into her grave and sleep.