Sweden identifies man who killed PM Olof Palme in 1986
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Swedish prosecutors have named the man who they say killed former Swedish prime minister Olof Palme in 1986, ending years of mystery.
They identified the suspect as Stig Engstrom, also known as “Skandia Man”, who killed himself in 2000.
As a result they are closing the investigation into Palme’s death, Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson said.
Stig Engstrom, also known as ‘Skandia Man’, photographed outside Skandias office at Sveavagen/Tunnelvagen in Stockholm, Sweden, 07 April 1986 (reissued 10 June 2020). The investigation into the murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme will be closed after more than 34 years. The Swedish prosecutor said that the alleged perpetrator, Stig Engstrom, had already died in 2000. Olof Palme was shoot dead on a street in Stockholm on 28 February 1986 while walking home from a movie theater with his wife. EPA-EFE/Goran Arnback / EXPRESSEN
Palme was shot in the back as he walked home from the cinema with his wife Lisbet in Stockholm.
He had dismissed his security team earlier in the day. The assassination took place on Sweden’s busiest road and more than a dozen witnesses saw the tall man fire the shots before fleeing the scene.
Thousands of people have been interviewed over his death. A petty criminal was convicted of the killing but the verdict was later dismissed.
Engstrom, who was one of some 20 people who witnessed the assassination, eventually killed himself in 2000.
He was first identified as a suspect by journalist Thomas Pettersson, and police started looking into Engstrom 18 years after his death. It was suggested Engstrom had killed Palme because of the prime minister’s left-wing views.
He lied about the moments after the murder, even claiming he had tried to resuscitate Palme. It later emerged he had had weapons training.
