Murdered schoolgirl’s family speaks of loss
UPDATED: Relatives of Lisa Holm, 17, who went missing and was found dead earlier this month have spoken for the first time about losing a happy, shy daughter who loved to travel. “We cannot understand that Lisa is gone, she had so much to live for,” family members told local newspaper Skaraborgs Allehanda (SLA) in their first interview since the schoolgirl’s death.
The paper did not name the people its reporter spoke to for the exclusive interview.
Lisa Holm, 17, disappeared on June 7th after working a shift at a cafe in Lidköping a small town in a rural area north east of Gothenburg, close to two of Sweden's largest lakes.
Her body was found a week later after the largest volunteer search in Swedish history.
“We had hoped until the last moment that she would be found alive,” her relatives told SLA.
“Although we know that we are in a bubble where we still somehow believe that she will come back home.”
The family said that Lisa was sometimes shy around new people but had been a happy teenager who cared about others and was curious about the world.
“She loved to travel, it was the best thing she knew about!”, the relatives explained, adding that she had hoped to study architecture in Australia.
They explained that they had been approached by other media and had found the experience stressful and had chosen to speak only to their local paper to thank the community for its support following their loss.
“We want to do this, among other things, to get a chance to say thanks for the enormous commitment that people demonstrated.”
Police have arrested two brothers from Lithuania on suspicion of killing Lisa Holm, although both deny the charges against them.
Both were ordered to spend another week in custody following a hearing at the Göta Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
Swedish rules allow suspects under "strong suspicion" to be held for up to a fortnight, with room for the period to be extended further after that.
A woman accused of "harbouring a criminal" in connection with the case who was also arrested has now been released.
Lisa Holm's funeral is scheduled to take place in her home town, Skövde on July 7th.
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“We cannot understand that Lisa is gone, she had so much to live for,” family members told local newspaper Skaraborgs Allehanda (SLA) in their first interview since the schoolgirl’s death.
The paper did not name the people its reporter spoke to for the exclusive interview.
Lisa Holm, 17, disappeared on June 7th after working a shift at a cafe in Lidköping a small town in a rural area north east of Gothenburg, close to two of Sweden's largest lakes.
Her body was found a week later after the largest volunteer search in Swedish history.
“We had hoped until the last moment that she would be found alive,” her relatives told SLA.
“Although we know that we are in a bubble where we still somehow believe that she will come back home.”
The family said that Lisa was sometimes shy around new people but had been a happy teenager who cared about others and was curious about the world.
“She loved to travel, it was the best thing she knew about!”, the relatives explained, adding that she had hoped to study architecture in Australia.
They explained that they had been approached by other media and had found the experience stressful and had chosen to speak only to their local paper to thank the community for its support following their loss.
“We want to do this, among other things, to get a chance to say thanks for the enormous commitment that people demonstrated.”
Police have arrested two brothers from Lithuania on suspicion of killing Lisa Holm, although both deny the charges against them.
Both were ordered to spend another week in custody following a hearing at the Göta Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
Swedish rules allow suspects under "strong suspicion" to be held for up to a fortnight, with room for the period to be extended further after that.
A woman accused of "harbouring a criminal" in connection with the case who was also arrested has now been released.
Lisa Holm's funeral is scheduled to take place in her home town, Skövde on July 7th.
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