'Jesus made me do it'

2004-01-12 15:07

Stockholm - The man charged by Swedish prosecutors on Monday with the murder of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said in his confession that voices in his head, including Jesus, told him to do it.

"I don't know, I think it's Jesus. That he has chosen me," Mijailo Mijailovic, 25, said according to a transcripts of his confessions.

Mijailovic, who has a history of mental problems, said the September 10 attack on Sweden's popular foreign minister was a "cry for help."

Prosecutors said he stabbed Lindh 10 times on her chest, stomach and arms as she was shopping at a Stockholm department store. The 46-year-old politician, who was touted as a future prime minister, died from her injuries the following day.

Mijailovic's lawyer, Peter Althin, said he would request a psychiatric screening of his client during the trial.

Premeditated

Police and prosecutors said the attack was premeditated.

"The main proof is the technical evidence, that Mijailovic's DNA is on the knife and that Anna Lindh's blood is on the knife," said investigator Christer Nilsson.

Mijailovic's confession came after nearly four months of denials. According to transcripts of the confession, he said the attack wasn't politically motivated and that he didn't have any hard feelings toward Lindh.

"It could have been anybody, but I heard the voices, I couldn't resist the voices," he said.

Mijailovic said he had been denied psychiatric help at hospitals in the area before and after the attack.

Confession not main evidence

Lead prosecutor Agneta Blidberg said the main evidence against Mijailovic wasn't the confession, but DNA evidence linking him to the murder weapon, a craftsman's knife. Lindh's blood was also found on his clothing.

"Our evidence was strong enough to press charges without his confession," Blidberg said, adding that she would call three witnesses to testify: Anna Lindh's friend who was with her during the attack, the coroner who did her autopsy, and a British forensic expert that analysed the murder weapon.

"I can't really remember when in my 30-year career I have seen a murder charge with such a high level of proof," said Leif GW Persson, a criminology professor at the National Police Board.

Mijailovic could be sentenced to between 10 years and life in prison, or to a mental hospital if found not mentally competent. Sweden, like other European Union countries, does not have capital punishment.

- AP