Historical murders and executions in Stockholm
According to the Stockholm tänkeböcker, it is fair to assume that violence with a deadly outcome was up to a hundred times more common during the Middle Ages compared to today.
The oldest documented cases of this category goes back to 1280, when King Magnus Ladulås ordered the execution of three members of the privy council, who had been accused of several "traitorous acts against the throne".
Måns Bryntesson Lilliehöök [sv], one of Sweden's most eminent men in the 1520s, suffered the death penalty in 1529 when he participated in the Westrogothian rebellion against King Gustav Vasa.
Archbishop Gustav Trolles demands of economic compensation for the demolishing of his castle led to the question if the previous regent Sten Sture the Younger and his followers should be found guilty of heresy or not.
The executions were performed on Stortorget and commenced in the afternoon of 8 November with the beheadings of bishops Mattias och Vincent.
[23] The well-known poet Lasse Lucidor (his real name was Lars Johansson) also known as "the unlucky one" was just 36 years old when he got caught in a melee battle on the night of 12 August 1674 and was pierced by Lieutenant Arvid Kristian Storm's sword.
Lucidor was buried in an unmarked poor man's grave in the north end of Maria Magdalena graveyard.
The persons who had discovered the body could confirm that Putestads pants had been replaced, this made the court believe that Schechtelfocht must be in possession of the victims real clothes, and in turn, his money.
Schechtelfocht constantly changed details of his story and the court eventually told him to give up the truth, or his soul would be taken by the devil.
Torches and other open sources of light were prohibited due to the fire risk, and persons who wished to leave their houses were reminded to not forget their lanterns.
In 1776, Kungliga Poliskammaren (literally The Royal Police Chamber) was established with its headquarters located within the Tessin Palace.
The Police Chamber was to be overseen by the Governor of Stockholm and was tasked with issuing city regulations and laws regarding public order, as well as handling petty crime court cases.
He had closed the infamous Rosenkammaren (literally: 'The Rose Chamber'), and was known for despising the death penalty and using all means necessary to change sentences or, in some cases, pardon felons.
[30] Even though Gustav III was known as "the mild monarch" at the time, he was the victim of an assassination attempt on 16 March 1792, which led to his death thirteen days later.
The King's company, a member of the Von Essen family, immediately ordered all exits to be closed, and Polismästare Nils Henric Lilljensparre had all party guests demasked and their names noted.
[35] Usually, if the victim was an infant, the mother would state that the child was a stillborn, such was the case in the winter of 1765 when a Brita Engström was suspected of the crime.
[36] In order to combat the issue, Gustav III passed the Infanticide Act in 1778, a law which allowed unmarried mothers to give birth anonymously.
During the 19th century, the use of pardons increased even more, and starting in the middle of the 1800s, courts were officially permitted to pick between the death penalty or lifetime in prison.
[37] The bloody 19th century in Stockholm starts with the lynching of Marshal of the Realm Axel von Fersen on 20 June 1810 outside of the Bonde Palace in Gamla Stan.
[40] The 1861 murder of 34-year old Anna Sofia Forrsberg was greatly sensationalized at the time, due to no small part of the fact that 21-year old guardsman Per Victor Göthe defiled the woman's body.
The massacre took place on the night of 16 May 1900 aboard the steamer Prins Carl, which was en route to Stockholm from Arboga.
Now a free man, he desired money in order to live a luxurious life, he therefore started plotting a heist to rob and kill all travellers aboard the Prins Carl.
On 5 January 1910, Ander robbed Gerells växelkontor, a cash exchange agency at Malmtorgsgatan, near Gustav Adolfs torg.
[47] The weapon used in the murder of Hjalmar von Sydow, an iron pipe, is today part of an exhibition at the Swedish Police Museum.
Mijailo Mijailović, Anna Lindh's killer, was, however, arrested two weeks after the murder, and was sentenced to life in prison, due to significant evidence from surveillance cameras and DNA matching.
In order to convey the seriousness of their demands, military attaché Andreas von Mirbach and trade official Heinz Hillegaart were both shot and killed.
The incident sparked debate around chemical production regulations[49] as well as the seemingly flawed Swedish system of preventing violent extremism.
[50] At around 3:53 p.m. on 7 April 2017, a hijacked lorry was deliberately driven into crowds along Drottninggatan before crashing through a corner of an Åhléns department store, killing five and seriously injuring 14.
Rakhmat Akilov, a 39-year old rejected asylum seeker born in the Soviet Union and a citizen of Uzbekistan, was apprehended the same day suspected on probable cause of terrorist crimes through murder.
Akilov, who has expressed sympathy with extremist organizations such as ISIL,[51] was sentenced to life in prison and lifetime expulsion from Sweden on 7 June 2018.
