The 25-year-old man had been missing for a week when he was found hanging from a tree in the Hjälstaviken nature reserve in April last year.
A short time later, several teenagers were arrested and the case – which came to be known as “The Taxi Murder” – received a lot of attention as four of the teenagers are brothers and that the motive, as SVT Nyheter Uppsala could reveal, was considered to be revenge for an alleged rape of the girl.
The murder in Hjälstaviken
Investigation into the murder in Hjälstaviken is opened – life sentence in new interrogations
Want more people involved to be sentenced for the Hjälsta word – the verdict is being appealed
The alleged abuse was reported a month before the man was found hanged, but was dismissed by police.
Elder was sentenced to life
In November, the teenagers were sentenced by the district court; the three older ones for murder and the two younger ones for aiding and abetting murder. The eldest of the brothers, who was 18 years old at the time of the crime, was sentenced to life in prison, while the others were sentenced to closed youth care. All against their denial.
The sentence was appealed – and the investigation was reopened after the lifer had requested new interviews with him.
Has admitted the death – but denies murder
During the appeal court hearing, he said that a week before the incident, the youngest of the brothers said that his girlfriend – the then 15-year-old girl – had been “molested” by a 25-year-old man.
They then allegedly decided that the girl would lure the man out to Hjälstaviken where the brothers would confront and humiliate him, but that the man in the forest would have attacked one of the brothers – even though his hands were tied.
In the tumult, the attacked brother, who was 17 years old, is said to have gotten hold of the man’s neck and the eldest brother is said to have then put his knee on the man’s chest.
They then allegedly discovered that the man was no longer alive, according to the eldest brother.
When it was established that the man was dead, the eldest brother is said to have come up with the plan that the man would be hanged from a tree, so that it would look like a suicide.
The Court of Appeal changes the verdict
The Court of Appeal now changes the district court’s judgment and convicts the three older brothers – who were previously convicted of murder – for kidnapping, robbery, gross breach of privacy and gross protection of a criminal.
The article is updated.