A 35-year-old Lithuanian man remains under arrest on suspicion of murdering 17-year-old Lisa Holm, more than three months after the Swedish teenager disappeared after working a shift at a cafe in central Sweden.
But the prosecutor confirmed on Monday that he had dropped the probe into allegations the man's wife and younger brother were connected to her death.
The brother had originally faced suspicions of murder while the wife was suspected of protecting a criminal. They were both released from custody pending the investigation in June and have since returned to Lithuania.
Deputy chief prosecutor Lars-Göran Wennerholm told public broadcaster Sveriges Radio on Monday that the woman had been suspected because she had "washed clothes in connection to the crime", but said it could not be proved that her intent had been to cover up a crime.
He declined to comment whether or not there had been traces of blood on the clothes.
Wennerholm also said he had not managed to confirm the veracity of claims the 31-year-old man had helped his older brother murder Holm.
"The investigation has been dropped and he is supposed to be treated as an innocent after that. Just like someone being freed by a court," he told Sveriges Radio.
The prosecutor had originally planned to charge the 35-year-old on Wednesday, but has asked for another extension to the investigation, which according to Swedish law means that the suspect cannot be prosecuted until October 14th at the earliest.
Lisa Holm was 17 years old when she died. Photo: Thomas Johansson/TT
Holm was last seen alive at a café in Blomberg near Lidköping in June after working a shift there.
Prosecutors have remained tight-lipped about how she died, but have previously said that blood and DNA traces found on her clothes connects the 35-year-old to her.
Lidköping is a small town in a rural area north east of Gothenburg, and is close to two of Sweden's largest lakes. It is around 50km from the teenager's home town, Skövde.
More than 900 volunteers joined police in searching for the missing teenager, in the biggest event of its kind organized by the Missing People charity.
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