Prosecutors Anders Norberg and Irene Falk submitted the indictment to Skellefteå District Court on Tuesday morning regarding the dramatic events that occurred both in November of last year and on January 24th of this year.
Six youths, aged 15-20, from Skellefteå are suspected of involvement in these crimes. On Tuesday, several of them were also charged with a series of serious offences against two other young victims, committed during a week in November of the previous year.
The investigation began with a robbery and kidnapping incident that occurred in the evening and night of January 24 across various locations in the Skellefteå region, culminating in the Nordanå area. These crimes include kidnapping, aggravated assault, and robbery.
Over several weeks, numerous detention and re-detention hearings have been held at Skellefteå District Court. During these proceedings, further serious criminal allegations emerged, involving a total of three young victims.
These offences are alleged to have taken place between November 24 and 29. The suspects in the November incidents are three 15-year-old boys, charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping (a misdemeanour), and attempted extortion. In recent weeks, another boy has been charged with kidnapping (misdemeanour) and aggravated assault in court.
On February 25, remand hearings resulted in all six youths being detained pending indictment and trial in Skellefteå. Except for one suspect admitting to a misdemeanour kidnapping charge, all other criminal allegations have been denied.
The robbery and kidnapping drama reached its resolution in the Nordanå area of Skellefteå on the night of January 24. Now, seven young people in Skellefteå are being prosecuted for various degrees of involvement in these crimes, as well as for several serious offences against two other victims in November of last year.
On Tuesday morning, prosecutors Anders Norberg and Irene Falk filed a 17-page indictment detailing the alleged crimes from both November and January 24th. The total preliminary investigation comprises approximately 1,400 pages.
The January 24 Kidnapping:
Six individuals are suspected of varying degrees of involvement in three crimes: kidnapping, aggravated assault, and robbery. A 20-year-old woman is suspected of deceiving the victim into accepting a ride, which then turned into a violent ordeal. She is charged with aiding and abetting kidnapping.
What transpired after the victim was lured into the car, where five other defendants – teenage boys aged 15 to 19 – were present?
– Regarding a potential motive, there was a prior conflict at school between the victim and one of the suspects. However, there are no other significant, known events that provide a clear motive, stated Irene Falk.
– Therefore, it is possible that the severe crimes committed late on January 24 were an act of demonstrating violent dominance, subjecting another person to extreme violence, kidnapping, and robbery. The victim was also photographed at the end of the ordeal, showing him bloodied in the back seat of the car with his blood-soaked jeans on his lap.
Skellefteå police were called to the Nordanå area on the night of January 24, where the young victim was found.
What occurred during the victim's hour-long kidnapping?
– The victim was picked up at a location in Skellefteå, forced into the car, and had a plastic bag placed over his head. He reported that his assailants were masked, wearing balaclavas. During the investigation, a recorded conversation was discovered on one of the younger boys’ mobile phones, discussing the assault and preparations, including masking themselves. This recording is significant and beneficial to the police investigation, indicating that the kidnapping was premeditated, explained Falk.
The prosecutor further stated that the victim was assaulted and then transported to a remote forest road between Kåge and Skellefteå.
He was forced to undress and left alone in the cold and darkness. One of the individuals in the car – the young man who admitted to kidnapping and was driving – later suggested they return. They did, and the victim was picked up and eventually abandoned in the Nordanå area.
– The victim’s account, despite the limitations imposed by having a plastic bag over his head for parts of the incident, is corroborated by the information provided by the accused driver during police questioning. Otherwise, we only have denials, leaving us without other descriptive accounts for comparison, emphasised Falk.