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ARBOGA MURDER TRIAL

CRIME

Child murder suspect ‘lied to police’

Christine Schürrer, on trial for the murder of two toddlers, admitted in court today that she lied or withheld the truth during questioning in an effort to keep details from police.

Child murder suspect 'lied to police'

As the trial entered its fifth day, Schürrer also refused to talk about the child she claims was fathered by her ex-boyfriend Torgny Hellberg and which she then gave up for adoption.

Several people have testified that there was never any trace of the pregnancy.

Prosecutors also revealed that Schürrer had visited Hellberg’s blog 230 times prior to the date when two toddlers and their mother, Emma Jangestig , were attacked in Arboga.

A search of Schürrer’s computer also uncovered several internet searches were carried out using terms connected to Jangestig and Hellberg, as well as pictures of the house the couple shared in Arboga with Jannestig’s two children, Saga and Max.

But Schürrer claimed she couldn’t be held responsible for the search traces left on the computer, as it had been given to her by a friend.

Prosecutors are trying to prove that Schürrer’s jealousy over Hellberg’s relationship with Jangestig caused her to commit the crimes.

They pointed out that Hellberg is prominent in many of Schürrer’s journal entries from last autumn.

In her journal, Schürrer wrote about his new relationship with Jangestig and expressed her devastation that her relationship with Hellberg had come to an end.

She wrote that she continued to dream about him and still loved him.

But when questioned in court on Wednesday whether it was accurate to say that she could not let go of Hellberg, Schürrer thought otherwise.

“I don’t see it that way, even if it appears so.”

Earlier Schürrer was unable to provide an explanation as to why she had the address to the Arboga home shared by Hellberg and Jangestig. But in court on Wednesday she changed her story, saying that she had written it down to forward to the person who adopted her child in order to allow them to contact Hellgren.

“He had asked me about a paternity test and that’s why I wanted to pass along the address,” she said, according to Dagens Nyheter.

Schürrer also admitted that she had not been entirely truthful during police interrogations carried out during the investigation.

“You can’t take what I’ve said in certain interrogations 100 percent seriously,” she said, according to Svenska Dagbladet.

“So what you said during police questioning could have been lies?” asked prosecutor Johan Fahlander.

“Yes, for example the colour of my bicycle pump. At the time I answered that I didn’t know, except that I did know exactly. Or why I was at Stockholm South General Hospital.”

“When you were asked about private matters, such as your pregnancy, earlier you said you wouldn’t answer. Why not simply do that in this case?” continued Fahlander.

“Maybe to give another answer,” she responded.

Fahlander also attempted to cast doubt on Schürrer’s account of a trip she claims she made to Örebro in January 2008.

He pointed out that the odometer in the car she said she took to Örebro more accurately measures a trip to Arboga. But to the majority of Fahlander’s further questions, Schürrer simply said that she couldn’t remember.

During the trip Schürrer placed a call to Jangestig’s phone, according to investigators.

When asked about the call, Schürrer explained that she was hoping to reach Hellberg to tell him about the alleged giving birth to his child.

LANDSLIDE

Swedish authorities: Worker negligence behind motorway landslide

Swedish authorities said on Thursday that worker negligence at a construction site was believed to be behind a landslide that tore apart a motorway in western Sweden in September.

Swedish authorities: Worker negligence behind motorway landslide

The landslide, which struck the E6 highway in Stenungsund, 50 kilometres north of Sweden’s second-largest city Gothenburg, ripped up a petrol station car park, overturned lorries and caved in the roof of a fast food restaurant.

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Prosecutor Daniel Veivo Pettersson said on Thursday he believed “human factors” were behind the landslide as “no natural cause” had been found during the investigation.

He told a press conference the landslide had been triggered by a nearby construction site where too much excavated material had been piled up, putting excessive strain on the ground below. 

“At this stage, we consider it negligent, in this case grossly negligent, to have placed so much excavated material on the site,” Pettersson said.

Pettersson added that three people were suspected of among other things gross negligence and causing bodily harm, adding that the investigation was still ongoing.

The worst-hit area covered around 100 metres by 150 metres, but the landslide affected an area of around 700 metres by 200 metres in total, according to emergency services.

Three people were taken to hospital with minor injuries after the collapse, according to authorities.

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