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CRIME

German woman charged for murder of Swedish toddlers

A 32-year-old German woman suspected of murdering two Swedish toddlers and the attempted murder of their mother has been charged at Sweden's Västmanland district court, Swedish news agency TT reported on Wednesday.

German woman charged for murder of Swedish toddlers
A memorial at the home of the murdered toddlers. Photo: DPA

The Hannover woman, identified as Christine S. by German daily Hannoversche Allgemeine was charged with the murder of three-year-old Max and his two-year-old sister Saga, as well as the attempted murder of their mother, Emma Jangestig, in Arboga, Sweden on March 17.

The criminal filings submitted to Västmanland district court explained how the woman “repeatedly beat the children and their mother on their heads and bodies with a hammer or hammer-like instrument.”

The children and their 23-year-old mother were found bloody and beaten in the family home in Arboga on March 17, about 100 kilometres west of Stockholm. The children later died in the hospital, but the mother eventually recovered from her injuries.

The charges confirmed reports that there is no DNA evidence which links Christine S. to the the house in Arboga.

“But the body of evidence which exists means that there are a raft of circumstances that are particularly compromising,” said prosecutor Frieda Gummesson in a press conference on Wednesday morning.

The children’s father was arrested for the double murder a couple of hours after the discovery of their bodies. He was released two days later and police suspicions soon turned to Christine S., who is a former girlfriend of Jangestig’s current partner, Torgny H.

Christine S. was confirmed to have been in Arboga that night. She left Sweden shortly after via Nyköping Skavsta Airport and was later arrested in Hannover, Germany.

The charges detail that the 32-year-old suspect admits to being in Arboga on the night of the murders but she claims that she was there to look for a rune stone. She has however been unable to confirm the route she took. Details have also emerged that indicate that she was so keen to make the journey to Arboga that she had borrowed money from a friend.

Several witnesses have confirmed that they saw a woman fitting Christine S.’s description in the area of the young family’s home in the days prior to the crime as well as immediately before the murders were committed.

The prosecutor, Frieda Gummesson, does not believe that the suspect’s explanations are realistic and contends that the murder was planned, TT reported.

Christine S. and Torgny H. met on vacation in Greece in June 2006, according to the Hannoversche Allgemeine. Their long-distance relationship failed in January 2007, and friends have said that Christine S. suffered greatly from the break up, trying numerous times to win Torngy H. back – and even feigning pregnancy. She moved to Sweden in March 2007 and enrolled at a Stockholm university, all the while trying to contact her former sweetheart. The murders happened just a few weeks later.

Christine S. has kept a diary detailing her feelings about the journey to Sweden and for her former boyfriend. The diaries confirm that the break up from her former boyfriend had left her feeling emotionally unstable. German news agency DPA also reported on Wednesday that investigators had found suspicious emails and notes on her computer.

Swedish daily Expressen revealed quotes from her diary earlier this week. “I hate what he did to me. Took from me. It is difficult to describe. I have never felt this way before, but he has broken something inside me. I feel like he has chewed me up and spat me out,” she wrote. “It feels so terrible and I don’t want to feel this way for the rest of my life. I love you. I miss you. I dream about you but even then you don’t talk to me. That makes me so unhappy. But how can I change it? I have no idea…You can carry on playing with your little family. I do what is best for me.”

Christine S. denies all charges and her lawyer Tanja Brettschneider has criticized the publication of her diary entries. “They contain notes that should never be made accessible to a third party,” she told the paper on Monday, adding that the entries should be regarded as a typical feelings after a break up, which means they should not be used to incriminate her client.

CRIME

How politically motivated crimes are rising in Germany

Crimes with political motivations have risen in Germany according to police data, with cases of right-wing extremism making up the majority of crimes reported last year.

How politically motivated crimes are rising in Germany

Germany’s Criminal Police Office (BKA) registered 60,028 politically motivated crimes in 2023, the highest number recorded since records of this statistic began in 2001.

That’s almost two percent more politically motivated crimes than were recorded the previous year. But of those, 3,561 cases involved violence, which is approximately 12 percent less compared to 2022.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) presented the statistics this week. “We are seeing a new high in crimes directed against our open and free society,” she said according to Tagesschau. “We must show unequivocally that the rule of law does not accept this violence.”

Majority of political crimes classified as right-wing extremism 

With a total of 28,945 crimes, right-wing extremist-motivated cases made up the largest portion of political crimes in 2023 – up 23 percent from the year before.

There were 714 people recorded as being injured by right-wing extremist violence.

The President of the BKA, Holger Münch has previously emphasised that right-wing extremism remains the greatest threat to free democratic basic order in Germany.  

Although significantly less were recorded, left-wing extremist attacks also increased last year to 7,777 reported incidents.

Religiously motivated crimes increased by the biggest percent

Crimes registered as religiously motivated increased by the biggest proportion, up 203 percent from the previous year according to the BKA figures – to a total of 1,458.

The number of cases related to a foreign ideology also rose.

Anti-Semitic crimes also reached a new high last year with 5,164 offences being recorded (148 of these being acts of violence).

Conflict in the Middle East has certainly had an effect on domestic crime as well, with 4,369 crimes recorded as being connected. That figure is 70 times higher than the previous year, with more than half of them recorded after Hamas’ attack on October 7th. Of those, 1,927 were considered anti-Semitic by the BKA.

Public servants and asylum-seekers face increasing risk

The number of crimes against politicians and political volunteers also increased by 29 percent last year.

In recent weeks, a worrisome spike in both right- and left-wing attacks on politicians has been observed across Germany.

READ ALSO: Why are German politicians facing increasing attacks?

In her comments, Interior Minister Faeser warned that “a climate of violence” is being brought, especially by right-wing fringe groups.

Also motivated by right-wing ideologies were an increase in the number of attacks on asylum-seekers and refugees. Last year saw a significant increase in these attacks including 321 violent acts and 179 crimes against asylum accommodations registered.

Crimes targeting the “state” fell last year by 28 percent compared with 2022.

READ ALSO: Why experts say Germany’s rising crime rate is misleading

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