A man from Sundsvall, a close friend of convicted murderer Allan Karlström, is suspected of drugging, raping, and photographing a woman nine times. The case came to light when a USB drive and the man's driver's license were handed to the police. The suspect, who has been in custody since June, denies the charges, claiming consent. Prosecutors plan to file charges soon.
Friend of Convicted Murderer Suspected of Nine Rapes
Friend of Convicted Murderer Suspected of Nine Rapes
A father from Sundsvall is suspected of drugging, raping, and photographing a woman nine times. The case was revealed when the police received a USB drive and the man's driver's license sent to the station. The rape suspect is a friend of Allan Karlström, 48, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Liselotte, 25.
"The weekend is saved," reads a post on the social media platform Meta.
On a wooden plank laid over a partially snow-covered porch, eight large bottles of liquor are lined up. The picture also shows a lid with beer cans and bottles of IPA chilling in the snow.
The location appears to be the remote cabin where Allan Karlström, 48, took 25-year-old Liselotte in October 2022, assaulted and drowned her before dumping her body down a cliff.
Close Friend of Allan Karlström
Karlström was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2023.
In the picture with the liquor bottles, which Allan Karlström liked, he is tagged along with a childhood friend from Sundsvall. This is a father in his 50s described as a close friend of Allan Karlström since childhood.
– I met them together shortly after the pandemic, it was at Ikea. We sat and had coffee for a while and chatted. It was mostly (the rape suspect) who talked about his job. I know they sometimes went on short trips together to fish and the like, says an acquaintance of the men.
– They have been together for over 40 years.
The father was arrested in June this year and has since been detained on suspicion of about ten rapes.
Prosecutor Ida Annerstedt expects to file charges against the man on Tuesday.
– It concerns nine rapes and it is against one and the same plaintiff. My opinion is that the plaintiff was asleep, intoxicated, or drugged – I believe it is clear that she was not awake and aware, says Ida Annerstedt.
Mysterious Tip – Police Received USB and Driver's License
She explains that the case came to the police's attention when a private individual handed in a USB drive and the man's driver's license to the police.
– I can't say more than that it was a member of the public who found and handed this in, says Ida Annerstedt.
Interrogations were held with the man, but after a decision by another prosecutor, he was released. However, his mobile phone was seized, and when the results of the mobile extraction were clear, Ida Annerstedt decided that the man should be arrested.
– When we got further evidence, he was requested to be detained.
She says the man admits to sexual acts but claims there was consent.
Traces of Sedative Medication
In connection with the murder investigation after Liselotte's death, traces of a breakdown product of Flunitrazepam, better known as the drug Rohypnol, were found in her body.
According to her family, she had never used the sedative medication.
– There are indications that she was drugged with benzodiazepines sometimes called a rape drug, said the family's legal representative Fredrik Lindberg to SVT, and that the family was convinced that Allan Karlström had sexual motives when he took Liselotte to his cabin.
The investigation also showed that Allan Karlström had a boundless and sexualized language in contacts with others and an extensive consumption of pornography, often with elements of gross sexualized violence against women.
The rape suspect has lived a seemingly orderly family life. The crimes he is suspected of are said to have occurred between November 2022 and September 2024 and concern, in addition to rape, nine cases of offensive photography.
– He denies the crime. Otherwise, I have no comments regarding the suspicions against him, says the man's lawyer Fredrik Burvall.