Father gets 18 years for killing 7-year-old son
A 53-year-old man who stabbed his 7-year-old son to death in Umeå, in northern Sweden, was convicted on Wednesday to 18 years in prison for murder and unlawful coercion.
During the trial, the man had confessed to causing the boy's death but was adamant that it was aggravated assault and manslaughter.
According to the man he didn't know what he was doing when he attacked the boy at home in their apartment on July 10th.
However, according to daily Expressen, the man had cleaned the blood off his knife and off himself directly after killing his son.
The man waited until his wife left for work, then pushed his mother-in-law out of the front door, locked it and attacked his young son with a knife.
According to the forensic investigation the boy had been fatally stabbed 17 times as he lay bleeding on the kitchen floor. At the same time the father had tried to suffocate him with his other arm.
Police were called to the flat in the Tomtebo area in Umeå on the evening of July 10th, where they found the boy's lifeless body.
The father was placed under arrest immediately after the incident and remained in custody on suspicion of murder.
Later, unlawful coercion was added to the charges, due to the manhandling of the grandmother, as the man manouevered her out of the apartment and stopped her from reentering the flat.
The prosecution argued that the murder had been planned in advance. The apparent motive for the crime was a wish by the man to reclaim the power he felt he had lost to his wife.
Defence lawyer for the father, Jonas Wiklund, said in his closing statment that it had not been the 53-year-old's intention to kill the 7-year-old boy but just to beat him up in order to frighten his wife and mother-in-law.
Although the little boy's mother had previously reported her husband for violent behaviour and threats, the 53-year-old had had never been charged with any crime.
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During the trial, the man had confessed to causing the boy's death but was adamant that it was aggravated assault and manslaughter.
According to the man he didn't know what he was doing when he attacked the boy at home in their apartment on July 10th.
However, according to daily Expressen, the man had cleaned the blood off his knife and off himself directly after killing his son.
The man waited until his wife left for work, then pushed his mother-in-law out of the front door, locked it and attacked his young son with a knife.
According to the forensic investigation the boy had been fatally stabbed 17 times as he lay bleeding on the kitchen floor. At the same time the father had tried to suffocate him with his other arm.
Police were called to the flat in the Tomtebo area in Umeå on the evening of July 10th, where they found the boy's lifeless body.
The father was placed under arrest immediately after the incident and remained in custody on suspicion of murder.
Later, unlawful coercion was added to the charges, due to the manhandling of the grandmother, as the man manouevered her out of the apartment and stopped her from reentering the flat.
The prosecution argued that the murder had been planned in advance. The apparent motive for the crime was a wish by the man to reclaim the power he felt he had lost to his wife.
Defence lawyer for the father, Jonas Wiklund, said in his closing statment that it had not been the 53-year-old's intention to kill the 7-year-old boy but just to beat him up in order to frighten his wife and mother-in-law.
Although the little boy's mother had previously reported her husband for violent behaviour and threats, the 53-year-old had had never been charged with any crime.
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