The man denies the crime but has admitted during questioning that he was at the crime scene and has given an explanation for the sequence of events. According to Hanna Flordal, senior prosecutor and head of the preliminary investigation, that explanation is not credible.
It is of course an overall assessment that the court will ultimately have to make, but if I had judged it to be a credible story, I would not have pressed charges, she says.
The accused man was 25 years old at the time of the incident and lived in Härnösand, but no connection between him and the farming couple has been established.
Nothing has emerged in the investigation that suggests a clear motive, says Hanna Flordal.
In connection with the murders, the woman's bank card disappeared and several attempts were made to withdraw money from an ATM in connection with the incident. However, the accused man has not been linked to that act.
According to Hanna Flordal, the indictment is based on the DNA traces secured at the crime scene and on the victim, in combination with crime scene analyses and forensic examinations.
The man came under scrutiny in the investigation through DNA-based genealogy research just over 20 years after the incident.
The trial begins on August 17 in Ångermanland District Court.
