Murdered girl's mother to sue Swedish state
Published: 21 Feb 12 09:56 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/39226/20120221/
Carina Höglund, mother to 2008’s 10-year-old murder victim Engla, is suing the government for its inability to protect her daughter in what she claimed was a preventable attack.
- Engla's killer sentenced to life in prison (6 Oct 08)
- Engla's mother lashes out at lawyer of daughter's killer (25 Sep 08)
“What the Attorney General is saying is that we cannot expect the police to work beyond their own regulations and that they don’t need to be held accountable for their mistakes,” said Höglund to Dalarna Tidningar newspaper (DT).
If the police had acted on their tip-offs, they may have prevented the rape and murder of her ten-year-old daughter Engla, according to Höglund.
“The government will pay for their mistake,” Höglund told DT on Monday.
Höglund is aware that the chances are not in her favour when it comes to suing the state, but aims to make an attempt on behalf of her daughter, and in the hope of preventing any similar attacks in the future.
If Höglund does not succeed with the lawsuit, she will not only have to pay for her own court fees, but also the government’s, but this is a case she considers to be worth the risk.
“We won’t get Engla back. Her suffering won’t decrease. I just want to put some meaning into all this senselessness,” she said.
On April 5th, 2008, Anders Eklund ran across 10-year-old Engla as she was riding her bicycle home following football practice outside Stjärnsund in Dalarna in central Sweden.
Eklund followed the girl a short way and then began speaking to her, at which point, according to Eklund, she started acting “cheeky” and “arrogant”. Afterward, he said, he lost his senses and got “tunnel vision”.
He then raped and strangled the girl, and dumped her body in an isolated wooded area before trying to burn it.
Eight years earlier in June 2000, Eklund followed the then 31-year-old Pernilla Hellgren when she left a street festival in Falun in central Sweden.
He later attacked, raped, and strangled her, leaving the body visible and partially clothed in a wooded area.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Parent patrols help quell Stockholm riots
Parents and volunteers have been patrolling the streets of Stockholm's immigrant-heavy suburbs to help quell riots that have raged for almost a week, serving as a successful deterrent to troublemakers and winning praise from police. READ () »
Police hunt man after woman found dead
Police are hunting a 40-year-old man after a woman was found dead in a suburb of Stockholm on Saturday. READ () »
Two cars collide as elk gives birth on road
Two cars collided on a road between Trollhättan and Vänersborg in western Sweden on Friday afternoon due to an elk having chosen the unusual spot to give birth to a calf. READ () »
Dad slams booze delivery to 10-year-old son
Express delivery firm DHL has been criticised for having handed over a load of alcohol ordered from Germany to a 10-year-old boy in southern Sweden who was home alone at the time. READ () »
Stockholm riots spread west on sixth night
A sixth straight night of unrest blighted several Stockholm suburbs on Friday night, spreading briefly to the city of Örebro, 160 kilometres to the west. READ () »
Stockholm's not burning
With international media swooping on the Stockholm riots from every angle, The Local's Oliver Gee explains why Stockholm is not burning, and how the story has been blown out of proportion. READ () »
Stockholm riots: causes and consequences
After five nights of rioting throughout the outskirts of Stockholm, many in Sweden and elsewhere are trying to make sense of it all. The Local spoke to a mix of commentators and local politicians to get their views. READ () »
Swedish firms 'clueless' about foreign graduates
As white-collar union Saco slammed Sweden for not helping well-educated foreigners into the labour market, The Local spoke to researcher Josefin Edström about the disconnect between foreign professionals and Swedish employers. READ () »
- 25/05 Police hunt man after woman found dead »
- 25/05 Parent patrols help quell Stockholm riots »
- 25/05 Two cars collide as elk gives birth on road »
- 25/05 Stockholm riots spread west on sixth night »
- 24/05 Swedish riot police to call in reinforcements »
- 24/05 Stockholm's not burning »
- 24/05 Stockholm riots: causes and consequences »
- 24/05 US and UK issue travel warnings for Sweden »
- 24/05 Man held for murder after new body parts find »
- 24/05 Schools burn on fifth night of Stockholm riots »
- 25/05 Merkel: business must fight immigrant prejudice »
- 25/05 Chinese premier visit to strengthen trade ties »
More news from Germany at thelocal.de
More news from France at thelocal.fr
More news from Norway at thelocal.no
More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch
In cooperation with DoToday
Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss
- Corporate Sports Sales Executives
- Finance Director/Senior Fund Controller
- Interim Business Controller
- Internal Communications Officer
- INTERNATIONAL SALES EXECUTIVE
- Online Functional Designer
- RAW Tailor special project Stockholm
- Regional Sales Manager - Nordic EMEA (Mobility)
- Senior IT Project Manager, Husqvarna Group
- Accounts Payable to Bosch Rexroth
Be British, be sincere and be bold »
"Sweden is a veritable smorgåsbord for UK business. I see our work as a bit like a kind of dragon’s den for both for larger and smaller British companies. It is about matching the UK companies, not with cash, but with Swedish market opportunities." READ »
- 23/5 09:23 REFLECTIONS OF A TWITTER VIRGIN…. (The Diplomatic Dispatch)
- 21/5 21:34 WEEK 21 (Stripes News)
- 20/5 15:25 Hockey. Hockey. Hockey. (Boston Blatte)
- Corporate Sports Sales Executives
- Finance Director/Senior Fund Controller
- Interim Business Controller
- Internal Communications Officer
- INTERNATIONAL SALES EXECUTIVE
- Online Functional Designer
- RAW Tailor special project Stockholm
- Regional Sales Manager - Nordic EMEA (Mobility)
- Senior IT Project Manager, Husqvarna Group
- Accounts Payable to Bosch Rexroth
- 19:12 Phone landline installation
- 18:53 Husby Riots and violence against the police...
- 18:27 Salary for a cashier working at ICA, COOP?
- 17:34 Canada vs. Sweden
- 16:54 Driving to Sweden from the UK
- 13:22 Sweden, English News and Alternative Media...
- 23:14 Cleaning business in Sweden
- 21:43 Moving to Sweden from England
- 20:24 Moving to Sweden (Questions) HELP
- 19:21 Questions regarding partner visa
Create an account with Banc De Binary, the world’s most reputable binary options firm, and start cashing in today! You can start by practicing with our free $50,000 demo account.
www.bbinary.com
Expat counsellor & talk therapist offers counselling for stress, relationship issues, sexuality, culture adjustment & life coaching. Private & confidential. Stockholm or Skype. Contact me today! 08-559 22 636 or
CLICK HERE
Casa Birgitta in Algarve, Portugal. Reduced price in best location. Private estate on white sand beach. All amenities included. Book here today! edward_george1@hotmail.com
Find products and services that are specifically focused on English speakers living in Sweden!
FULL DETAILS
Individuals & Couples - Stockholm Beth Rogerson PhD - Clinical, Marriage & Family Therapist
Click or call 08-5580 1266 now
Your comments about this article:
The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.
You are totally right! But let's try to be positive and not second-guess the results. She has a chance, let's hold on to that hope.
Here is also an appeal to Sweden's star attourneys: please offer this courageous lady your services - pro-bono, God knows she needs all the support that she can get and she speaks for many.
(Stackars Dom).One thing is for sure it really does pay to commit crime in Sweden.You have a 90% chance of getting away with it .Great odds.
We phoned the police once ,because there was a car parked outside our house with a van playing really loud strange music,about 2-30--3.00 am and my wife was 8 months pregnant,We phoned the police and they said to her ,We have no cars ,go and talk to them .What a joke.They could be on Drugs ,stab you with a knife etc.
THis is why we pay such high taxes to have no protection what so ever.
@kevin Walker
yes I fully agree. I always take the example of traffic. You can speed and pass when the light is red as you please because the chance of being stopped and fined is close to 0.
The problem I think is that Swedes have always been calm and law abiding citizens, but thinsg are changing now, just like you see in the rest of europe. People are getting more anitsocial and aggressive and behave as complete egoists.
I personally blame the out of hand kind of capitalism that is ruling now.
Unfortunately, this kind of lawsuit is sometimes necessary to cause "regulations" to be changed to protect the rights of the innocent rather than the rights of the criminal. Also, there is a failure when the police or any other government officials are free from "accountability" for their actions or inactions.
The article is a little misleading as it doesn't make clear that Eklund was never arrested or charged i connection with the murder of Pernilla in 2000
It was first AFTER the murder of Engla and Eklunds arrest and subsequent confession that police also connected him to the Pernilla murder as well - however it later transpired that his name was one that the police had recieved - among many - in relation to the Pernilla murder that had not been fully followed up.
He was of course caught by luck in the Engla case - that his car and registration number was photographed in the area at the time of the murder by someone out with a new camera
"Kom Inte Hit För Hjälp"
"Don't come here for help"
Written on the doors of Swedish Courthouses:
"Kom Inte Hit För Rättvisa"
"Don't Come Here For Justice"
The police had received a tip that Eklund could be responisble for Pernilla's murder. It was decided that a swab for DNA analysis be taken from him to check this out. 16 months went by without the test being made. Then he killed Engla and they did a test and found he was also Pernilla's murderer.
below is the text from http://dalademokraten.se/Dalarna/Englas-familj-stammer-staten-pa-18-miljoner/
Eklund bodde i Torsåker, några mil från Falun på andra sidan länsgränsen mot Gästrikland, och hade ett förslutet som sexualbrottsling.
Sedermera skulle hans namn återfinnas dels bland flera män som identifierats som potentiella gärningsmän, dels i ett konkret tips till polisen. Båda tipsen på outredda när Engla mördades.
Tragiskt nog fanns beslut om så kallad "topsning" av Eklund vilket betyder att den idag 46-årige mördare obönhörligen skulle ha blivit gripen förr eller senare. Beslutet om "topsning" hade dock legat obearbetat i 16-månader när tioåringen mördades.
The law has to work on facts, not what if's or speculation. unfortunately I dont see much happening with this except the media rounds, because there was no imminent or reported threat to her daughter on which the police could have worked on. If not her daughter then someone else, if the daughter wasn't there would it have been another 8 years.
The only good thing the Swedish law can do is lock this guy away for a very long time which will probably not happen.
Disagree with you. The first crime took place in 2000, in the era of DNA testing, so it would not have been so difficult to obtain a hair sample or DNA sample from the killer at the time of the first rape and murder. He is not on a list of 500,000 suspects, he was on a much smaller list of people they had tips on.
And yes, people should also be allowed to sue the state for their inability to reform criminals. The state has a duty to not release psychopaths back into society. The release of psychopaths with no strictly enforced medication injection program after a state appointed quack has deemed the psychopath to be 'cured' is grounds for a lawsuit as well.
And of course the mother had no way of knowing her daughter would be killed. The point she is making is that improper safeguards endangered all of society, and that this should never happen again.
What if this murder happened 5 years from now? After he had been caught from the 1st crime, served his sentence, and was released. Would this case still stand in court. How many times do we see people convicted of a crime and released only to re-offend.
The state has a duty, but you talk too specifically on psychopaths, but what about all other types of criminals. Basically your suggesting life imprisonment for all - because the legal system will not want the copious amount of lawsuits should criminals be release.
fact: you don't have to be a psychopath to rape and murder. Don't assume. The majority of Psychopaths cannot be cured, how can you chemically induce emotions, chemically induce a sense or right and wrong. you cant, and so should these people be locked away forever, even tho u walk the streets and pass many everyday tho they haven't committed any crime.
realistically, you cannot successfully safeguard all of society and this will happen again.
Forced concumption of mood stabilizing drugs will take away homiciidal impulses in some cases, so this is worth adding to the release conditions of mentally ill offenders who are deemed fit to release, but I am not suggesting that these will make the world a perfect place.
If the police and prosecution team deem that a killer is a psychopath, they should request that this person never be released at the time of a trial.
The point here in this particular case is negligence on the part of the state, which implies that the state did not take reasonable investigative action on the tips they had at their disposal to solve an unsolved rape and murder case, which later led to the senseless rape and murde. of a young girl.
Suing for negligence, even if not succesful in terms of compensation for the mother, can hopefully stil lead to an improvent in proceduresto to máke it less likely that this will happen again, which is a very worthy goal.
1. No official, body, or any group or individual acting as a representative of the City, County, or State is ever responsible for wrongdoing unless a higher official, body, group, or representative definitively says so.
2. If ever there is an action brought by a private individual giving reason to believe that such parties affiliated with the State are guilty of wrongdoing, always refer to rule number 1.