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On a video link from a psychiatric clinic two caregivers, a lawyer and a man who allegedly murdered his son and daughter can be seen.
A detention hearing that says a lot about this type of crime.
White t-shirt, thin, dark hair, lifeless eyes and hands shaking uncontrollably in room 4, Södertälje district court.
Two children were found dead in their beds on Tuesday night, and as so often in cases like this, the investigation has already progressed.
Sure, so far the man is only a suspect, we’re all innocent until proven guilty, but this should be an easy road to conviction and life in prison or possibly inpatient forensic psychiatric care.
Prosecutor Ulrika Rosén plays her cards, she has been around for a long time and masters the legal rituals well, two cases of murder, probable cause, risk of destruction of evidence, risk of continued criminality, not obvious that grounds for arrest are lacking…
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closed doors, newspapers, radio and two run out.
The clock strikes eleven and from another town it is announced that a woman has been sentenced to the law’s most severe punishment for stabbing her daughter to death.
It is of course a coincidence that this is happening at the same time as a detention hearing is being held for two other child murders, but even a coincidence can tell us something important.
In the other town, a father has had his life ruined and he says that his daughter might have lived if someone had listened to him.
In Södertälje, the previously arrested mother has been released and written off as a suspect, and there is no reason to be surprised if it turns out that she has a similar story.
A report from the National Board of Health and Welfare on fatal violence against children, presented earlier this year, describes a pattern. In most cases, both killers and victims have been in contact with the police, social services or healthcare.
Warning signals have not been lacking, schools and neighbors have often sounded the alarm, but the shortcomings in society’s network are significant.
Children have not been protected against neglect, parents with mental health problems do not receive adequate care, there is a lack of cooperation, a holistic perspective is lacking.
Snow is falling over Södertälje and in the district court, recently noticed as the building is owned by a company with links to organized crime, minute by minute is added.
The last thing we heard before councilor Ulrika Åkerdahl drove us out was that the man, through lawyer Mikael Westerlund, admits that there are grounds for detention.
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From there to one full recognition is usually not a long step.
Five to ten children per year are murdered. The numbers are the same year in and year out. But given that the population is increasing, it is relatively a declining number.
After all, Sweden has gotten better, but much remains to be done.
The hearing is a quickly completed story, after 20 minutes the press is allowed back in, some investigators from the police have arrived, the man is detained.
A pair of still shaking hands.
It’s the last thing we see before the screen from Helix’s forensic psychiatric clinic goes out.
What can we teach us?
