[2] The Privy Council of Sweden, the board of nobles responsible for advising the king, was effectively replaced by Persson; also, nobles had been ousted from Erik's high court (Konungens Nämnd) and replaced by loyal commoners, and Persson was made the king's chief prosecutor.

[2]On the basis of unsubstantiated charges like "neglect of duty," Nils Sture was sentenced to death, but the verdict was commuted[3] to a humiliating drive through the streets of the capital;[1] on 15 June 1566, he had to ride through Stockholm on a wretched hack wearing a crown of straw, with some of his wounds suffered from prior torture still bleeding.

[3] Secretary rule, reduction of the nobility's influence on politics, and the high court's actions were not received well by the Swedish aristocracy.

[4] According to Geijer, this was a farewell party for Nils Sture,[7] while Peterson refers to the meeting as a "secret gathering" where the magnates' "fear and hatred turned to organized resistance".

[4] The meeting was attended by Nils Sture, his father, Svante Stensson Sture, Abraham Gustafsson Stenbock, Ivar Ivarsson Lillieörn, Hogenskild Nilsson Bielke, Clas Eriksson Fleming, Sten Axelsson Banér, Sten Eriksson Leijonhufvud, Erik's brother Charles of Södermanland and others.

[12] When it was announced that the riksdag would be postponed to 18 May and was to deal with an uncovered conspiracy against the king, the remaining suspected nobles refrained from following the king's invitation, namely Per Brahe, Gustaf Stenbock, Abraham Stenbock's brother Erik, Ture Bielke and his nephew Hogenskild Bielke, Clas Fleming, and Clas Åkesson Tott.

[14] On 19 May, when the death sentences were supposed to be endorsed by the riksdag, Erik collapsed after losing his notes for his speech and failing to manage without them.

[4] Two days later, Nils Sture was arrested upon his return from Lorraine[4] by Persson, who denied him a requested audience with the king.

[17] Erik returned to the castle a few hours after his first visit,[16] drew his dagger, and stabbed Nils Sture in his chest[18] or arm.

[24] The killings were not made public; the castle was locked, and at the gate Per Gadd's guards continued to accept food for the prisoners from their relatives as usual.

[25] After having been brought back to the capital, Erik was initially left isolated, as no one dared to seek audience in fear of him having another fit.

Martha Leijonhufvud demanded a letter of protection against further persecution from the king; an official statement of the innocence of the murder victims; economic compensation and, finally, the arrest of the people responsible for the behavior of the monarch, which was regarded to be his adviser Jöran Persson.

Erik remained in a state of madness for half a year, cared for by Karin Månsdotter, whom he married in the summer.

[16] Until his recovery late in 1567, the privy council assumed control of the government and had Persson tried and sentenced to death, although the verdict was not carried out.

[16] Erik died in 1577 from arsenic supposedly mixed in pea soup; until his death, according to Scott (1992), he "was taken from one castle prison to another, first with his family then alone, occasionally sane, sometimes lapsing into insanity.