The case of thecentury
ThemurderofSwedishPrimeMinisterOlofPalme
ByHans Andersson
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©Hans Andersson 2026 ·SecondEdition
Publisher:BoD ·BooksonDemand, Östermalmstorg 1, 114 42 Stockholm, Sweden, bod@bod.se
Print: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee273, 22763 Hamburg, Germany
ISBN: 978-91-8080-908-5
1980s
It is themid 80s andatypicalwinter,withablanket ofsnowcoveringtheopenfields.Myfatherdrivesusin hissmall,light-greenVolkswagenJetta,equippedwitha fuel-efficientdieselengine.Itistheperfectcommutercar. Todaythereisaslalomcompetitionforyoungstersin Skattmansöådalen(theTreasureMan'sIsleRiverValley) locatednorthwestofStockholmincentralSweden.Itisa naturereservewithaniceskislopeandbeautifulscenery. Thenameofthevalleyevokesasenseofmysteryand curiosity.
Inthepast,weusuallygoskiinginnorthernSweden duringthesportsholidays,butthisyearwestayathome. Itisoneofthelastnormalwinterswithsnow.Towards theendofthe1980s,climatechangebeginstobecome evident.Snowstartsmeltinginthemiddleofwinter, somethingthatneverhappenedbeforeinmychildhood asfarasIcanremember.Thereareusuallyseveraldecimetersofsnowandsteadycoldthroughoutthewinter. AfterskiingholidaysoverEaster,wearrivehomejustin timeforthethawtobegin.Butnewtimesareuponus.
OnthisparticularSaturday,mostSwedesremember whereweareandwhatwearedoing.Outinthecountrysideitispeacefuluntilthecarradiosuddenlycaptures ourattention:
—SwedishPrimeMinisterOlofPalmeisdead.
Hewasmurderedlatelastnightinthecenterof Stockholm.Inthisextendedbroadcast,wereport onwhathappenedandthesituationthathasarisen. WeprovidecommentsfromtheGovernment,from otherpoliticianshereinSweden,andforeignreactions.
OurPrimeMinisterisbrutallymurderedintheopenstreet, leavingtheentirecountryinastateofshock.Idonotfocus muchonitthough,asIhaveacompetitiontoattend,but reflectthatthecriminalmustbesomekindoflunaticto commitsuchaheinouscrime.AlthoughIamneitherwellversedinpoliticsnorinterestedinitatthistime,Ithink ofOlofPalmeasagenerallygoodperson.
InStockholm,threewitnesseshavegottenparticularly shockedastheywereincloseproximitytothecrime.One ofthemisthevictim'swife,whileanotherhadjuststarted walkingafewmetersbehindthemwhenthegunshotswere fired.Thethirdwitnesswaspassinganadvertisingpillar about20metersbehind...northonthepavement. Wewillrevisithimlaterandhisstateofshock.
Approximatelyfortywitnesseseithersawthekilleror atleastheardthetwogunshotsattheintersectionofthe twostreetsTunnelgatanandSveavägen.Abouthalfof themcanprovideageneraldescription,typicallyamiddleagedmanofaverageheight,wearingalongjacketorcoat thatflutterswhenheleavesthecrimescene.Somewitnesses reportthatthekillermighthavebeenwearingaheaddress
ofsomesort,andafewwitnessesprovideabitmore detaileddescription.
Themostaccuratetestimonialsarethosegivensoon afterthemurderandintheweeksfollowing.Thememories arestillfreshandhavenotbeensignificantlyinfluencedby mediaorotherexternalfactors.Tounderstandtheevents ofthecrime,itiskeytoreadthroughtestimoniescarefully.5 Itisalsohelpfultoempathizewiththewitnesses,placing yourselfinthesceneasifyouarereadinganovel.
Tobeginwith,Ishallreviewthecrucialpartsofthe testimoniestogiveanintroductionandunderstanding oftheperpetrator'sdescription.Thisinformationis significantasitwillhelptoidentifyapossibleculprit.
Itisessentialtoapproachthefactscautiouslyand interpretwitnessstatementsasaccuratelyaspossible. Everydetailisimportantfortheoverallperspectiveand variousconclusions.Thatbeingsaid,thereisunfortunately atendencyamongsomeauthorsanddebaterstoselectand distortvariouspiecesofinformation,whichcaneasilycreate amisleadingpicture.Thismayinvolvemisjudgmentsof time,distance,ortheinterpretationofdescriptions,for example.Iaimtobeasobjectiveaspossibleinmyapproach, andduringmyeightyearsofresearch,Ihavehadnoagenda orpreconceptions.BearinmindthatImayoccasionally overlookthatsomepriorknowledgeisneededtofully understandthecontext.AndasIamSwedish,mynative languageisnaturallynotEnglish.
Lisbbeetth h
The widowand plaintiff Lisbeth,whopassedawayin 2018,isthemainwitnessinthiscase.Sheappearstobe trustworthyandmostofthetimeseemstotryherbestto helpout.Whilesomemayquestionthecredibilityofher testimoniesduetothetraumasheexperienced,Ibelieve thattheyaremainlyaccurateexceptforafewminordetails. Youcannotethatmostwitnesstestimoniescontainsome distortion,whichcanbeidentifieduponcloserexamination. However,shehaslittletrustinthepolice,andherdoubts areconfirmedwheninformationfromherinterrogation immediatelyleakstothepress.Duetothislackoffaith,she doesnotinitiallydescribethekiller'sface...duringherfirst interrogation.Shelaterexplainsthisincourtin1989. TheidentificationofChristerPetterssonasthekilleris madeunderunfortunatecircumstances,butthatisaseparate matterthatIwilladdresslateron.Afterthemurder,Lisbeth canprovideclearandfocusedobservationsofthechaotic scene.Herjobasachildpsychologisthadtrainedhertodo so,whichproveshelpfulinthissituation.Shefacesdifficulties thoughwhenestimatingdistancesinmeters,asthenumbers oftenbecomewaytoolarge.Shemayalsomistakethecolor oftheclosestwitness'jacketforhisbeigepants.Suchdiscrepanciesareasmentionedcommoninwitnessstatements.
Thedayafterthecrime,Lisbethisinterrogatedinher homeatVästerlånggatan31inStockholm'sOldTown.
February28,1986.Twogunshotsechothroughthestreetsof Stockholm,foreverchangingthenation.AlmosteverySwede rememberswheretheyarewhenthenewsbreaks.Someare
ThisbookexaminestheassassinationofSwedishPrimeMinister OlofPalme.Itreconstructstheeventsofthatnightandconfronts thequestionsthatstilllinger:Whoisresponsible?Howcansuch
WithabackgroundfromtheRoyalInstituteofTechnology, Iapproachthecasefromascientificstandpoint,melding
acrimehappenintheheartofSweden? documentedfactswithcarefulanalysisandpersonalreflections.
Revisitthemystery.Relivethemoments.Reflectonthecase. walkingalongSveavägen.Otherswaketoashatteredmorning.
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