The high-profile double murder in Brattås, when an elderly couple was found dead on their farm in 2005, has eluded police and prosecutors for a long time.
Over the years, hundreds of people have undergone DNA testing without success. The breakthrough came last year when a new law that makes it possible to use DNA-based genealogy in murder investigations came into force. Police were then able to link the now-indicted man to DNA traces from the crime scene.
When the trial against him started in Ångermanland District Court on Monday, the prosecutor presented a new investigation, with new DNA evidence.
The newspaper Ångermanland reports that the suspected perpetrator's DNA has also been found inside a handbag that belonged to the murdered woman.
Previously unpunished
The suspect, who has no previous convictions and lived in Härnösand at the time of the murder, has admitted during questioning that he was at the crime scene - but he denies the crime. On the first day of the trial, he was present at the hearing, wearing the green shirt of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service. When the new DNA evidence was presented, he sat with his arms crossed and looked down, according to the newspaper Ångermanland.
He claims he came to the farm by chance after hearing screams. He states that two men left the scene when he arrived and that he dragged the murdered woman into a barn.
"I'll probably panic. And then I'll pull her into the barn and then I'll run away," he said during questioning.
DNA from several
The murdered woman's handbag was found about 150 meters from the house on the farm. The bag contained her wallet, but her bank card was gone. Next to the handbag was a cloth bag containing the murdered man's belongings.
A total of three people's DNA was found on the handbag: that of the murdered woman, a police officer and the suspected murderer, writes the newspaper Ångermanland.
In addition to the suspected perpetrator's DNA, DNA from two unknown women has been found in connection with the farm.
The trial is being held in Ångermanland District Court and will last four days.
