When the trial against the man began in Attunda District Court on Monday, he announced through his defense attorney Solveig Sörlien that he denied murder.
He has no explanation for what happened," says Sörlien.
The man took notes intently during the prosecutor's presentation. He seemed almost unmoved by the accusations against him and at one point drummed his fingers on the table.
Both he and I think it's good that the court is allowed to consider this," says Sörlien.
The evidence didn't hold up.
The man is suspected of killing his wife by drowning her in a creek in Sigtunafjärden in Lake Mälaren. His wife had previously filed for divorce, moved and met a new man.
The suspected crime took place in January 2015, and the man was already arrested at that time. However, after a month, he was released because the evidence against him was not strong.
During questioning, the man says that he and the woman went to a pier at Sigtunafjärden and that they talked for a while, according to him, she wanted to call off the divorce. He objected to that and went home after a while. The woman was alive at the time, he says.
"The investigation was closed in 2015, so I haven't had access to it. But in my opinion, very little has been added now. I mean, there is no evidence of how this has taken place," says Sörlien.
"More clarity"
The investigation was reopened in 2024 after a relative of the woman contacted the police with questions about how the woman died. Sara Derakti is the plaintiff's attorney for several of the woman's relatives.
"I think it's good that a lawsuit has been filed. I hope that my clients can now, after eleven years, possibly gain more clarity about what happened. But now we have to let the legal process take its course," she says.
