Sweden drops final 'serial killer' murder charge
Swedish prosecutors have discarded the eighth and final murder charge against the self-confessed serial killer and cannibal Thomas Quick, who in 2008 recanted his alleged participation in a series of brutal killings.
The final murder charge concerned the 1976 disappearance of Charles Zelmanovits. Quick, who now goes by the name Sture Bergwall, confessed to the murder along with seven other suspicious deaths.
"The guilty verdict was based on the confession of Bergwall and him wanted to be convicted," chief prosecutor Håkan Nyman told the TT news agency on Wednesday as news of the discarded charge broke.
There was no forensic evidence to tie Bergwall to 15-year-old Zelmanovits' death, but he was convicted of murder in 1994. Zelmanovits' remains were not found until 1993, with Bergwall confessing to the crime the following spring.
FOR MORE BACKGROUND: The brutal confessions of a 'serial killer' that injured Sweden's justice system
The prosecutor who demanded that Sweden's justice system revisit the case has long been convinced that the young boy died of exposure.
"He was drunk, he got lost, and he froze to death. It was more or less completely open terrain and it started to snow," Bengt Landahl told TT earlier this year. "It was -10C and he was only wearing low shoes, a short jacket, and no hat."
Read what Sturewall wrote on his blog after the verdict
TT/The Local/at
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The final murder charge concerned the 1976 disappearance of Charles Zelmanovits. Quick, who now goes by the name Sture Bergwall, confessed to the murder along with seven other suspicious deaths.
"The guilty verdict was based on the confession of Bergwall and him wanted to be convicted," chief prosecutor Håkan Nyman told the TT news agency on Wednesday as news of the discarded charge broke.
There was no forensic evidence to tie Bergwall to 15-year-old Zelmanovits' death, but he was convicted of murder in 1994. Zelmanovits' remains were not found until 1993, with Bergwall confessing to the crime the following spring.
FOR MORE BACKGROUND: The brutal confessions of a 'serial killer' that injured Sweden's justice system
The prosecutor who demanded that Sweden's justice system revisit the case has long been convinced that the young boy died of exposure.
"He was drunk, he got lost, and he froze to death. It was more or less completely open terrain and it started to snow," Bengt Landahl told TT earlier this year. "It was -10C and he was only wearing low shoes, a short jacket, and no hat."
Read what Sturewall wrote on his blog after the verdict
TT/The Local/at
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