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ARBOGA MURDER TRIAL

SWEDEN

German murder suspect takes the stand

The Arboga murder trial continued on Tuesday in Västmanland District Court the central Swedish town of Köping as the accused, 32-year-old Christine Schürrer, took the stand for the first time.

German murder suspect takes the stand

She began by discussing her reaction to the news that her boyfriend, Torgny Hellberg, had decided to end their relationship in the spring of 2007.

“I was naturally very sad,” she said.

It was Hellberg who discovered the bloodied bodies of Emma Jangestig and her two toddlers, Saga and Max, on the floor of the home they shared in Arboga in March of this year.

The two children later died from their injuries while Jangestig survived.

Schürrer, who has been charged with murdering the children and the attempted murder of Jangestig, continued to discuss how she met Hellberg while vacationing in Crete in 2006.

Later in the autumn, the pair reunited in Arboga.

“It was more or less like Crete. We enjoyed the occasion,” she said.

After another visit, contact between the two cooled off and shortly thereafter Hellberg made a definite break in the relationship.

“I was naturally very sad because it came as such a surprise for me,” Schürrer told the courtroom.

When she moved on to discussing her suicide attempt in March of 2007 following the break up, her story started off with a bit of hesitation.

“It was a gradual process which had gone on for a long time. The separation from him knocked my feet out from under me, took away my security,” she said.

Schürrer swallowed a number of pills in an attempt to take her life.

When she awoke the following day she discovered her wallet was missing.

She then called Hellberg once again and he came to pick her up.

When prosecutor Johan Fahlander then took over questioning, he immediately inquired about the letter Schürrer sent to Hellberg explaining that she had given birth to his child and given it up for adoption.

Specifically, he asked her when the child was born, to which Schürrer responded, “Why do you want to know that? That’s not an important detail, in my opinion.”

Although Fahlander pressed her, Schürrer continued to avoid the question, as is her right under the rules of Swedish criminal proceedings.

Instead, Fahlander moved on to questioning Schürrer as to why she was laughing and smiling throughout proceedings.

“For example, when I questioned the children’s father and he explained how he learned that his children were dead you sat and talked and laughed with your German counsel,” said Fahlander.

“I can’t remember that, but if I laughed, I wasn’t laughing at the father’s story,” Schürrer replied.