Man admits to daughter’s ‘honour killing’ murder

A man suspected of killing his 21-year-old daughter in Katrineholm in central Sweden admitted on Tuesday to murdering her in what his lawyer described as a possible honour killing.

“I am not sure that the case meets all the criteria to be classified as honour-related, but it leans in that direction,” lawyer Bo Johansson said on Wednesday.

The woman’s body was found on Monday morning at 9am after her father went to the police and reported what had happened, after which he was arrested, according to the local Södermanlands Nyheter daily on Monday.

“There was no specific event that triggered the murder, but something has been bottled up in him for a long time,” explained Johansson.

“The woman was previously married and there are events in connection with the divorce that may have triggered the whole incident,” he added.

However, prosecutor Anna Carlsson Lundh asserted that the motive is not yet clear.

“The murder may be honour-related, but the motive could also be something else. We have not restricted ourselves to any one theory. It remains unclear what is behind this crime,” she said.

Police would not comment on the subject.

“It is too early to divulge any details about what the man said during questioning. I do not want to say anything about the motive for the sake of the investigation. It would be inappropriate,” said Michael Backman, operations director of the county criminal investigation department in Södermanland.

“However, I can say that the man provided information that can be considered an admission,” he added.

Authorities performed an autopsy on the woman on Wednesday. Police will receive details about her stabbing injuries.

“We have a knife from the seizure that we believe is the murder weapon. It will be interesting to compare the woman’s injuries with the information the man provided and see if they match,” said Backman.

The man will face the detention judge in Nyköping district court on Thursday.

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