February 9, 2010
The definitive guide to the Knutby trial
On January 10th 2004 Alexandra Fossmo was shot dead while she was asleep in the village of Knutby, not far from Uppsala. A short while later, the killer knocked on the door of a neighbour and shot him as he opened the door. He survived.
The trial revealed extraordinary goings-on in the sleepy Swedish village. Life there was dominated by a sex-fuelled religious cult, an extreme Pentecostal sect led by Alexandra's husband, Pastor Helge Fossmo, and her sister, Åsa Waldau - otherwise known as the Bride of Christ.
The Local has provided the most comprehensive coverage of the Knutby case in English. All of our articles on Sweden's most sensational murder case in years are gathered below.
Knutby pastor: 'We have moved on'
Five years have now passed since the Pentecostal church pastor Helge Fossmo persuaded his nanny to murder his wife and his lover's husband. Knutby pastor Peter Gembäck claims the village has moved on. READ »
Knutby sect killing to become movie
The Knutby sect murder in 2004 is set to be made into a movie. Pentecostalists have reacted angrily to the plans. READ »
No new probe into Knutby sect murder
Prosecutors have said there will be no new investigation into the Knutby sect murder, despite pleas by Pastor Helge Fossmo. READ »
Knutby pastor demands new inquiry
The lawyer representing Helge Fossmo, the evangelical pastor convicted of soliciting the murder of his nanny and soliciting the attempted murder of his neighbour, has called for his client's case to be reconsidered. READ »
Knutby pastor ready to remarry
Helge Fossmo, who led an extreme Pentecostal sect in the village of Knutby, has been given the all-clear to remarry. He is currently serving a life sentence for encouraging his nanny to kill his wife by sending text messages purporting to be from God. READ »
Knutby pastor becomes engaged
Pastor Helge Fossmo, who encouraged his nanny to kill his second wife by sending text messages purporting to be from God, has become engaged from his prison cell. READ »
Knutby nanny allowed out of clinic
Sara Svensson murdered Alexandra Fossmo in Knutby in 2004 after receiving text messages she believed to be from God telling her to do it. She is now to be allowed back into the community. READ »
Knutby nanny seeks release
If a court decision on Thursday goes her way, Sara Svensson, 'the nanny' in the Knutby murder drama, will take her first steps away from institutional care. Svensson killed the wife of Knutby pastor Helge Fossmo in 2004. READ »
Knutby sect member in child assault probe
A member of the notorious Knutby religious sect has been arrested after allegations that he assualted children. READ »
Experts dismiss Knutby pastor's confession
Background: Sex, violence and religion in Knutby
Police in Uppsala are to question Helge Fossmo after he admitted he was involved in the murder of his wife and the attempted murder of a neighbour in 2004. But the confession has been lambasted by a professor of psychology.
READ »
Knutby pastor admits murder
A belated twist in Sweden's most sensational murder case in years: interviewed in jail, the pastor of Knutby at last admits involvement in the murder of his wife in 2004. READ »
Knutby pastor demands European hearing
The former pastor of Knutby, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of his second wife and for the attempted murder of a neighbour in January 2004, is to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights. READ »
Police keep missed targets under wraps
Stockholm police are in the doghouse for not mentioning in their annual report that they failed to meet more than half of their targets for 2004. But Uppsala police get the thumbs-up for their work on the Knutby case. READ »
Knutby spa is "illegal"
The congregation of Knutby is in trouble again. But while a year ago the village was at the centre of gripping cult-sex-murder scandal, this week it has merely fallen foul of building regulations. READ »
Knutby pastor could lose guardianship of children
Helge Fossmo still is legally responsible for his children, despite having begun a life sentence for the murder of their stepmother. But he says that the judgement against him is a "judicial catastrophe" and wants a new hearing. READ »
Supreme Court will not hear Knutby case
The life sentence handed down by the Court of Appeal in November to the pastor of Knutby will stand, following the Supreme Court's decision not to hear his appeal. READ »
Knutby pastor broke trial restrictions
To 'evil', 'manipulative' and 'dangerous' we can now add 'technically competent', after a newspaper reveals that with a couple of notebooks and a food tray Helge Fossmo broke a ban on TV in his cell. READ »
Appeals court upholds Knutby verdict
The stories became wilder and the accusations more pointed, but the verdict is the same: life imprisonment for the pastor and psychiatric care for the nanny. READ »
Curtain falls on Knutby appeals
Prosecution and defence make their final appeals as the last days of the Knutby trial throw up the interesting philosophical question: when does religious faith become an insane delusion? READ »
Pastor's mistress "remembers" new evidence
The Bride of Christ contradicts the pastor, the experts contradict each other and the witnesses contradict what they said in the original trial. Who'd want to be a judge in the Knutby case? READ »
"I was a sex slave"
So said both the pastor and the nanny this week - but that's about the only thing they agree on. The Knutby appeals trial continues in Stockholm with a litany of X-rated revelations. READ »
Knutby: they're back
The full cast of 'the Knutby drama', fresh from a sell-out run in Uppsala's district court, transfers to the grander stage of the Svea Appeal Court on Stockholm's Riddarholmen. READ »
Knutby - all back to court
Both the Pastor and the prosecution are appealing against the court's verdict: he wants one less life sentence, they want one more. READ »
Knutby: It's not over till...
The pastor and the nanny are sentenced, bringing the curtain down on the year's most popular tragedy. But wait, what's this? Oh, an appeal. READ »
Knutby - from tragedy to comedy
The trial is taking a four week break but you can't keep a good story down. The mystery buyer of the pastor's house is revealed and his mistress strikes gold while the congregation finally starts singing from the same hymn sheet. READ »
Knutby - mistress betrays pastor
The pastor's lover and his former best pal grab the headlines with some extraordinary claims, and there's good news for the nanny. READ »
Shots ring out in Knutby again
The bathtub death splits experts, gunshots are confirmed as being loud and the 'Bride of Christ' has her day in court. Dark times for the pastor. READ »
Knutby - programmed to kill
The nanny said she was brainwashed by the pastor - but he said she misinterpreted him. Some misunderstanding. The trial continues. READ »
Knutby trial opens
Three weeks of media fodder gets underway with the cross-examination of the nanny - we know she did it, but why? READ »
Knutby goes public
After weeks of leaks surely everything that could be said about Knutby has been said? You ain't seen nothin' yet. READ »
Knutby - episode 666
Scriptures, sex and SMS - the drama continues with another week of revelations from Sweden's most infamous village. READ »
Knutby Special
Two murders, a bizarre cult, brainwashing, and a woman who claims to be married to Jesus Christ. Welcome to Knutby. READ »
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