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Supreme Court denies ‘Malmö sniper’ appeal

Convicted murderer Peter Mangs had his attempt to overturn his life sentence quashed on Tuesday after the Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen) refused him leave to appeal.

Published: 25 June 2013 09:11 CEST

Supreme Court denies 'Malmö sniper' appeal

Mangs was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for two murders and five attempted murders. In April 2013 he was convicted of another three attempted murders by the Malmö appeals court (hovrätten).

Mangs’ lawyers had based their application to the Supreme Court on weapons analyses, which tied Mangs’ weapon and bullets to the crime scenes.

The so-called Malmö sniper wanted the analysis to be repeated by technicians not previously engaged in the case.

The ruling in Sweden’s highest court puts a final end to what Malmö residents called a period of terror as an unknown gunman targeted mostly foreign-born victims in the southern city with a Glock 19 pistol.

Mangs was arrested in November 2010 after a string of shootings that took place in Malmö against people of immigrant origin.

He was charged with killing two men of immigrant origin, aged 23 and 66, in 2003 and a 20-year-old Swedish woman who had been sitting in a car with an immigrant man in 2009.

He was also charged with a slew of attempted murders in which he fired numerous shots with his Glock 19 pistol at homes, businesses and cars as well as out in the open, seriously injuring a number of people and coming close to killing many others.

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Swedish sniper wanted to ignite 'gang warfare'

Mangs, who was jailed last year in Malmö, southern Sweden, told the regional Sydsvenskan newspaper on Tuesday that his goal with the series of shootings that terrorized the city was to incited gang warfare. On Monday, he confirmed that he had killed 20-year-old Trez West Persson.

The interview also contained quotes that came close to a confession to two further murders, after telling the paper’s reporter on Monday that he had shot Persson and seriously injured her companion, in a parked car in Malmö.

Her companion, Mangs’ intended target, survived and gave evidence at the trial in Malmö. His short hair revealed a long scar snaking across his skull, the physical reminder of the attack which he told court had altered his life for ever.

Mangs told the paper that the man did not look “like a criminal”, rather that the circumstances pointed to him being a lawbreaker, and that this was enough for the serial killer to feel the need to strike.

“It was a hunt! When the right opportunity presented itself, one that filled all the right criteria, then the idea was to do it,” he said.

On Tuesday, Mangs continued his saga by telling Sydsvenskan that he had engaged in target practice across the entire city at least a hundred times.

Mangs was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for two murders and five attempted murders. In April, he was convicted of another three attempted murders by the Malmö appeals court (hovrätten). The Supreme Court denied his lawyers a chance to appeal.

Mangs was also charged with killing two men aged 23 and 66, in 2003, as well as the 20-year-old Swedish woman in 2009.

As many of his victims had immigrant backgrounds, the attacks spread fear in Sweden’s most multicultural city before Mangs was apprehended by the police. Swedish police grappled with his motives, as Mangs had no clear cut ideological profile, but has spoken about his disdain for criminals.

He was also charged with a slew of attempted murders in which he fired numerous shots with his Glock 19 pistol at homes, businesses and cars as well as out in the open, seriously injuring a number of people and coming close to killing many others.

The Swedish prosecutor who headed the case against him, Solveig Wollstad, said on Monday that the confession may help Persson’s family.

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