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Sweden's 'Laser Man' charged with murder in Germany

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Sweden's 'Laser Man' charged with murder in Germany
Ausonius (centre) pictured in 1995. Photo: Yvonne Åsell/TT

One of Sweden's most notorious killers has been formally charged by German prosecutors over the murder of a Jewish woman in Frankfurt in 1992.

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Dubbed the "Laser Man" in Swedish media, 63-year-old John Ausonius gained notoriety in the 1990s when he went on a six-month shooting spree with a laser sight between 1991 and 1992 in Sweden, injuring 10 immigrants and killing one.

He is serving life behind bars for the attacks, and in January was sent to Germany by Sweden to stand trial for another murder, that of 68-year-old Blanka Zmigrod in Frankfurt on February 23, 1992.

READ ALSO: More background on 'Laser Man' Ausonius

On Tuesday, German prosecutors formally charged the Swedish citizen with murdering Zmigrod, who he had been in an argument with a week before she was killed 25 years ago.

The case has been built on both forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts from 1992, according to the prosecutor.

"The prosecutor considered there to be sufficient evidence, in part from witnesses, in part from bullet casings found at the crime scene which are consistent with ammunition secured in Sweden," Nadja Niesen from Frankfurt's prosecution authority told Swedish news agency TT.

According to the charge sheet, Ausonius is alleged to have followed Zmigrod after she left the restaurant she worked at, then shot her in the head at close range. He also took her handbag before fleeing, and a week before the alleged murder had accused her of stealing an electronic calendar from him.

Ausonius agreed to be sent to Germany last January to stand trial after it was agreed that any eventual sentence would be served in Sweden. He denies the crime, but has admitted that he was in Frankfurt around the time of Zmigrod's death.

It is currently unclear when the trial will begin according the prosecutor, but it is hoped that it will take place during the summer.

READ ALSO: 'Laser Man' murderer starts prison blog

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