Both Johanna Leshem Jansson, 20, and Maja Hellman, 18, are appealing their life sentences for the murder of 21-year-old Tove in Vetlanda. – Never seen a similar verdict, says author and former lawyer Jens Lapidus. On Wednesday, Johanna Leshem Jansson, 20, and Maja Hellman, 18, were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 21-year-old Tove in Vetlanda last year. Now the two women’s lawyers announce that the verdicts will be appealed. According to the author and former lawyer Jens Lapidus, the vast majority agreed in advance that Johanna Leshem Jansson would be sentenced for murder. But in the case of Maja Hellman, it was more doubtful. Lapidus says in After Five that the decisive factor for the life sentence was the hearing with the coroner, who was able to clearly establish that strangulation was the cause of death. Lapidus: Never seen a similar judgment Jens Lapidus further says that it is not completely out of the question that the Court of Appeal makes a different assessment than the district court. – So far we have only heard one coroner, what happens if you bring in more experts? In the Court of Appeal, you have nothing to lose, you are sentenced to life, he says. Lapidus also says that he has never before in his career seen a similar judgment, which he believes is a mixture of protocol and judgment. According to Lapidus, what the various parties and witnesses say in the interrogation is clearly stated, but it is also written who has asked the questions to the two women. Lapdius believes that this has happened because the court has been extra careful that the judgment cannot be criticized afterwards, and so that everything is extra clear. Defense critical While the women admitted that they moved Tove’s body after the death, both have denied murder. Maja Hellman has also completely denied having been involved in the death itself. Hellman’s defender Mikael Svegfors is very critical of her being sentenced to life in prison despite this and tells TT that: “It is obvious that a life sentence is appealed, especially when you have not done what you are charged with.” Johanna Leshem Jansson will also appeal the verdict, says her defender Clea Sangborn. Sangborn said during the trial that the suffocation may have been caused by stomach contents entering the lungs – something she stands by: – The coroner initially said that there was uncertainty about stomach contents in the lungs. Then she changed her mind, takes it back and writes a statement that says the strangulation was the main reason, says Clea Sangborn to TT.
t4-general