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CRIME

Murder trial begins for dismemberment suspect

The murder trial against a 22-year-old suspected of dismembering his ex-girlfriend began on Thursday in Piteå, northern Sweden. The man took part in the massive search and rescue operation launched after her disappearance.

Published: 31 October 2013 10:29 CET
Murder trial begins for dismemberment suspect

The suspect has pleaded not guilty. The blood of 20-year-old Vatchareeya Bangsuan was discovered in the boot of his car. A pair of work gloves and a roll of tape tainted with the victim’s blood were also found in his home.

Bangsuan disappeared in Boden on May 7th, 2013 sparking a drawn-out search by rescue services and volunteers – including the suspect – until her dismembered remains were discovered on May 20th in a building on an abandoned military base. The 22-year-old man on trial for her murder was a friend, with whom she also had a short relationship several years back.

Technicians have been able to determine that Bangsuan attempted to call 112 (the European and Swedish emergency services number), but was unsuccessful. She pressed asterisk instead of the call button and her call for help never made it through.

The high-profile hunt for her and the details of her death have drawn attention to the case, with the court house in Piteå swarmed by reporters and onlookers alike on Thursday morning.

"There's a lot of pressure on him today, but at the same time it's a huge relief that his long time in jail is nearing an end," Bo Forssberg, the suspect's attorney, told the news agency TT.

Investigators have yet to find the crime scene or any sort of murder weapon, and the complicated case will be assessed by two judges as well as a jury. Generally only one judge is present, but the investigation is the largest ever in the Swedish Norrbotten County.

"The only think I can say is that I have no idea how it got to this," the suspect said during his pretrial hearing.

Male DNA from the woman’s ankles has been analyzed, but the results were uncertain. The DNA could belong to the 22-year-old man, but forensic technicians could not say for sure.

The murder suspect participated in the search for the woman, along with volunteers from the organization Missing People. He admitted that he had been to the abandoned building where the woman’s body parts were later found, although he claimed he did not see anything there. Bangsuan was studying in his apartment before she disappeared.

TT/The Local/sr

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CRIME

Sweden’s ‘snippa’ rape case to go to the High Court

When Sweden's appeals court threw out a guilty verdict in a child rape case over the meaning of 'snippa', a child's word for a vagina, it caused a scandal in Sweden. Now, the Swedish Supreme Court wants to hear from the Court of Appeals about its decision.  

Published: 24 March 2023 14:57 CET
Sweden's 'snippa' rape case to go to the High Court

Attorney General Petra Lundh criticised the appeals court for “a number of serious miscarriages of justice” in the way it dealt with the case. 

The man had been sentenced to three years imprisonment in 2021 after the district court heard how he, in the prosecutor’s words, had “by sticking his hand inside the plaintiff’s shorts and underwear, holding his hand on the the girl’s ‘snippa’ and having a finger inside her ‘snippa’, performed a sexual act” on her. 

The girl’s testimony was found to be credible, in part because she had told her mother about the incident on their way home.

But in February this year, the appeals court threw out the conviction, arguing that it was unclear what the girl means by the word snippa, a word taught to Swedish children to refer to female genitalia.

Despite agreeing with the district court that the man had touched the girl between her legs and inserted his finger into her snippa, the court found that it could not be determined whether the girl was referring to her vulva or to her vagina.

If the man had inserted his finger into her vagina, that would have met the standard to be classified as rape. Because the girl said that his finger was “far in”, but could not state exactly how far, the appeals court found that it could not establish beyond doubt that the man had inserted his finger in her vagina and not her the vulva.

Because no lower-grade charges, such as sexual abuse or molestation, had been filed against the man, the appeals court could not consider other offences.

This week, the Attorney General lodged a complaint with the Supreme Court against the appeal court’s decision. Now the Swedish Supreme Court has given the appeals court until April 12 to explain its decision-making in the case.

The Supreme Court has not decided whether it will hear an appeal against the decision to clear the man of rape charges.

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