Suspect 'hated Anna Lindh'

2003-10-08 11:39

Stockholm - British DNA tests on traces from the knife used to kill Sweden's foreign minister Anna Lindh have strengthened the case against a suspect held in connection with the murder, press reports said Wednesday.

Police refused to disclose the results of a video-conference on Tuesday, in which experts from Britain's Forensic Science Service briefed Swedish prosecutors, investigators, forensic scientists and police technicians.

But reports say the DNA found on the knife matched that of 24-year-old Mijailo Mijailovic, who is being held in connection with the case.

"The result strengthens the suspicion against the 24-year old," the TT news agency quoted police spokesperson Ulf Goeranzon as saying.

Swedish police asked the British lab to conduct tests because it has highly-sophisticated equipment which Sweden does not possess.

Crucial part of case

The DNA results are expected to be a crucial part of the case brought by prosecutors, who have until Friday to gather evidence to bring formal charges against Mijailovic.

But the TT news agency predicted that it was "certain" that prosecutors would ask for more time, and for the deadline to be moved back.

Swedish press reports are now speculating that there may be some complications in the DNA testing, including the possibility that Lindh's DNA may have been mixed with that of the murderer, making findings less certain.

According to press reports, Mijailovic was presented with the results of the DNA tests during police questioning on Tuesday.

Suspect denies killing

Mijailovic, who was arrested two weeks after Lindh's stabbing, has denied from the start that he attacked Lindh, a denial he reiterated on Tuesday, his lawyer said.

"He continues to deny committing the crime," lawyer Peter Althin said.

But Expressen has also reported that he confessed to the crime in a conversation with his mother a few days after the attack.

According to press reports, he has a history of psychiatric illness, a fixation on famous people and he "hated Anna Lindh".

Lindh, who was tipped to one day become prime minister, was fatally stabbed in the abdomen by an unknown attacker on September 10 while she was shopping at a Stockholm department store, a killing that stunned Sweden.

Lindh had no bodyguard with her when she was attacked. Her assailant fled the scene on foot, leaving behind the knife, a baseball cap and a sweatshirt.

- AFP