Emma says Luna has always liked to create, dance and sing. Here is a picture that was taken at a rehearsal before a ballet performance last spring.
On July 7, when Luna was attacked, Emma was in Pajala on vacation with her family. The family, who live outside Stockholm, were waiting for Emma's brother's family, who live in Skellefteå.
– There was a lot of confusion with things that had to be fixed. Bedding, who would sleep where and so on, says Emma.
They were just about to go out for pizza when Emma's brother called. He said the police had found a girl. The girl lived, but was so seriously injured that no one knew if she would survive. The girl's name is Luna, she was nine years old at the time, and a few hours earlier she had left Morö Backe school and cycled home.
It was her last day before the summer holidays started.
She left school at 3:20 p.m. The police investigation would later show that a witness heard a scream from the woods, near the school, at 3:30 p.m. At 17.28 the alarm call came to SOS Alarm. A 15-year-old boy, who was later convicted of the assault, had then stopped passers-by, who found Luna a little way into the forest and alerted SOS.
Luna was then so seriously injured that the police who were first on the scene had to run with her to the ambulance. The police then drove the ambulance themselves, while paramedics gave Luna life-sustaining care. The decision was quickly made that Luna would be flown by ambulance helicopter to Norrland University Hospital in Umeå. There she then lay sedated for eleven days while beeing between life and death.
–Nobody knew if she would survive, says Emma.
The violent act at Morö Backe has attracted a lot of attention throughout Sweden and all major news media have reported on the case. Luna's parents cannot bring themselves to talk about what happened, so Emma is the one who speaks for the family. She says she feels she has to talk to the media – for Luna's sake.
– Luna must not be forgotten, she must not just become a number in the statistics, says Emma when Norran meets her at Sara kulturhus in Skellefteå.
Luna was initially cared for at Norrland University Hospital in Umeå, but was later able to be moved to Skellefteå hospital.
She tells about when Luna had a ballet performance at the cultural center earlier this year.
– Luna is an artist's soul. She enjoys creating, painting, dancing, singing, figure skating. You are inspired by her.
Today, Luna can't do those things. The injuries stop her. Emma was present at the trial in Skellefteå district court in mid-October. During the trial, the family sat and listened to the details of what the boy had done. Among other things, they heard how the boy took Luna's shoelaces. He tied one string tightly around her neck. The other string he used to tie her to a tree, so tightly that the tree suffered damage to the bark.
The police investigation also shows that it is likely that Luna was tied around the neck to the damaged tree. For four days, the trial took place at Skellefteå district court.
– It was like vomiting tears for four days, says Emma.
It has almost been six months since Luna was found in the forest on Morö Backe. For Emma and the family, there was no holiday in Pajala, instead they got into the car and drove towards Umeå. There they stayed, along with large parts of the family, until they knew Luna would survive. Luna then continued to be treated in hospital. At first she remained in Umeå before she was moved to Skellefteå in August.
"Luna must not be forgotten, she must not just become a number in the statistics," says Emma.
Early on, the doctors knew that the ruthless strangulation had given Luna very serious brain damage. Today, it is still uncertain about exactly what the brain damage will mean for her. Brain damage similar to what Luna suffers from is unusual and Emma says that it is difficult for the doctors to be able to give an answer to how much the damage will heal.
Before the charges against the boy were brought at the end of September, however, the family was told that the brain damage is irreversible, which in medical terms means that it is permanent. At the same time, there is a glimmer of hope, says Emma. Luna's development is progressing, albeit slowly, and today she can do more than she could last summer.
– From the beginning she needed to be turned every night to avoid bedsores, it is not needed as often today. Today she can move more than before, for example she can lift her hand a little when she wants more food. She still gets some of her food from a PEG tube in her stomach, but she can eat and chew larger amounts of food she likes.
Emma also says that Luna can handle a lot more than before.
– She both wants and needs more and more stimulation. You have to increase what happens in the schedule, otherwise she gets bored.
Luna still can't speak, but has managed to say one word: "Mommy".
Luna likes dogs and likes to stop and greet them when she's out for a walk.
While the progress is gratifying, it seems that it comes with a downside, says Emma. As Luna is able to do more, her frustration increases that the body does not work as before, that it does not obey. In addition, the family believes that she is starting to remember more from what happened last summer. Recently, she has suffered from severe and recurring panic attacks, which has meant that the doctors had to put in sedatives.
– It's terrible to stand on the sidelines, to be unable to do anything, that she has to be drugged.
Something that makes Luna happy is when she meets other children – and dogs. When they go for a walk with the wheelchair, she likes to stop and pet dogs that pass by.
Another thing that makes her happy is when she gets to meet her family and relatives. It became especially clear on her tenth birthday last fall, which was celebrated at Skellefteå hospital. The whole family had gathered.
– She was incredibly happy when we arrived. Her little sister and my youngest child, who are about the same age, were messing around. Luna laughed at them and you could feel how the whole room was filled with energy.
Luna thought her tenth anniversary, which was celebrated at Skellefteå hospital, was fun.
Emma especially remembers Luna's look when the family sang the birthday song "Ja må hon leva".
–Her eyes sparkled and she smiled a big smile. After that, we thought we would let her rest for a while, but that was out of the question. She absolutely did not want the party to end.
During the autumn, Luna was mostly cared for in hospital, but as she got fitter, she was able to stay at home more and more. They were all very happy that she could come home and celebrate Christmas.
–It was very nice that she could do it. I am extremely grateful that she is with us, that she refused to die, says Emma.
The boy tied Luna to a tree so tightly that the tree suffered damage to the bark.
Shortly after the four trial days, the district court announced that there was convincing evidence against the 15-year-old boy and that he would undergo a month-long forensic psychiatric examination. In connection with the announcement, prosecutor Andreas Nyberg told Norran:
– He is a dangerous person, therefore his mental health must be carefully investigated.
The forensic psychiatric examination showed that the boy suffered from a serious mental disorder both when he assaulted Luna and at the time of the examination. It also showed that the risk of recidivism in serious crime of a similar nature is high.
On December 14, the 15-year-old boy was sentenced to forensic psychiatric care with a special discharge examination for attempted murder and aggravated rape of a child.
As more details have come to light about the boy and his background, a debate has flared up about whether society could have done more to prevent what happened to Luna. Already several years ago, it was possible to see warning signals in the school. Documentation seen by Norran shows that in 2019 the boy was investigated for three cases of abusive treatment of girls at school, where he grabbed their breasts, buttocks and called one of them a ”whore”.
In addition, the boy has previously been suspected of crime, as he is said to have attacked a woman in an underpass on Moröhöjden in the summer of 2021. The crime was categorized as attempted assault or sexual harassment, and the woman was able to identify the boy in a school directory. As the boy was not of legal age, the case was handed over to social services, but the school was never made aware of the incident.
During the autumn trial, it also emerged that the boy surfed the school's computers and searched for violent and pornographic films. School staff should have then only told him to stop searching for that kind of material if he wanted to continue using the school's computers.
Luna's aunt Emma describes the trial as vomiting tears for four days.
Expressen has also reported that the boy has met with psychologists and the municipality's habilitation team to get help. But when his parents did not want to participate in the investigation, the social service stated that they "found no reason to investigate against the will of the parents".
Emma and Luna's family are strongly critical of the authorities' actions regarding the boy. Now they want to see a change in the law to make it easier for authorities that work with children to exchange information about individuals. In the news media, it has come to be known that the family wants a ”lex Luna” to be introduced.
– There should be no secrecy between professional groups that work with children, says Emma.
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) agrees that a change in the law is needed.
– Neither school nor social services share this type of information with each other, or for that matter with the police or other law enforcement agencies - and it is very important to change, he said recently in TV4's "Efter fem".
An investigation has been set up and Strömmer said that he believes that the government will be able to present concrete legislative proposals during 2023.
On July 7 Luna's summer vacation began.
Norran has received approval from Luna's parents to publish the pictures.