Pair 'unlikely' to face charges for teen murder
Two people suspected of being involved in the high-profile killing of a missing Swedish teenager this summer are unlikely to face charges, one of the prosecutors for the case has said.
Evidence is mounting against a 35-year-old Lithuanian man arrested on suspicion of murdering 17-year-old Lisa Holm, deputy chief prosecutor Lars-Göran Wennerholm said on Friday, more than three months after the Swedish teenager disappeared after working a shift at a cafe in central Sweden.
But the man's wife and his younger brother are unlikely to be brought to court, he said, adding that his team had not managed to gather sufficient evidence against the pair, who deny all accusations.
"I will look at the investigation on the whole now and then decide how to proceed against the younger brother and his wife," Wennerholm told regional newspaper Göteborgs-Posten.
The brother is suspected of murder and the wife suspected of protecting a criminal. They were both released from custody pending the investigation in June and have since returned to Lithuania.
"As things are looking now, the degree of suspicion is low. It would need to be raised a bit if they were to be prosecuted and something would in that case have to happen that we aren't aware of at the moment," added Wennerholm.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lars-Göran Wennerholm. Photo: Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT
But the prosecutor is on a tight deadline. According to Swedish law he must press charges against the 35-year-old – who denies the allegations – by October 7th or ask for an extension to the investigation.
Wennerholm did not say on Friday whether he would meet the deadline or not, but said that he planned to prosecute the older suspect eventually.
"Evidence is sufficient," he commented to the Aftonbladet tabloid.
Lisa Holm was last seen alive at a café in Blomberg near Lidköping in June after working a shift there.
Prosecutors have remained tight-lipped about how she died, but have previously said that blood and DNA traces found on her clothes connects the 35-year-old to her.
Lidköping is a small town in a rural area north east of Gothenburg, and is close to two of Sweden's largest lakes. It is around 50km from the teenager's home town, Skövde.
More than 900 volunteers joined police in searching for the missing teenager, in the biggest event of its kind organized by the Missing People charity.
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Evidence is mounting against a 35-year-old Lithuanian man arrested on suspicion of murdering 17-year-old Lisa Holm, deputy chief prosecutor Lars-Göran Wennerholm said on Friday, more than three months after the Swedish teenager disappeared after working a shift at a cafe in central Sweden.
But the man's wife and his younger brother are unlikely to be brought to court, he said, adding that his team had not managed to gather sufficient evidence against the pair, who deny all accusations.
"I will look at the investigation on the whole now and then decide how to proceed against the younger brother and his wife," Wennerholm told regional newspaper Göteborgs-Posten.
The brother is suspected of murder and the wife suspected of protecting a criminal. They were both released from custody pending the investigation in June and have since returned to Lithuania.
"As things are looking now, the degree of suspicion is low. It would need to be raised a bit if they were to be prosecuted and something would in that case have to happen that we aren't aware of at the moment," added Wennerholm.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lars-Göran Wennerholm. Photo: Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT
But the prosecutor is on a tight deadline. According to Swedish law he must press charges against the 35-year-old – who denies the allegations – by October 7th or ask for an extension to the investigation.
Wennerholm did not say on Friday whether he would meet the deadline or not, but said that he planned to prosecute the older suspect eventually.
"Evidence is sufficient," he commented to the Aftonbladet tabloid.
Lisa Holm was last seen alive at a café in Blomberg near Lidköping in June after working a shift there.
Prosecutors have remained tight-lipped about how she died, but have previously said that blood and DNA traces found on her clothes connects the 35-year-old to her.
Lidköping is a small town in a rural area north east of Gothenburg, and is close to two of Sweden's largest lakes. It is around 50km from the teenager's home town, Skövde.
More than 900 volunteers joined police in searching for the missing teenager, in the biggest event of its kind organized by the Missing People charity.
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