A tragic shooting in Malmö left a family devastated when a father was mistakenly killed in his own bed. The incident, which occurred on the daughter's birthday, has left the widow struggling with grief and financial hardship. As the trial of the accused unfolds, the family continues to grapple with the aftermath, including the inability to return to their home due to ongoing investigations.
Tragic Mistake: Husband Shot Dead in Bed, Family's Life Shattered
Tragic Mistake: Husband Shot Dead in Bed, Family's Life Shattered
After the murder of a young father on Serenadgatan in Malmö, his wife has lost her husband, her home, and her sense of security.
Early in the morning of October 7 last year, a 16-year-old shooter arrived at Serenadgatan in Malmö, according to police investigations.
An older instigator had picked him up from a youth home, and the teenager retrieved an automatic weapon of the Zastava brand at an address in Malmö. He then went to Serenadgatan and smashed a window.
And shot straight in.
– Several shots with an automatic weapon were fired into the residence. Then they entered the apartment and fired additional shots, prosecutor Mårten Alvinsson described the act.
Woman Saw the Suspected Men
But the shooter attacked the wrong address.
Instead of the intended target, whom investigators do not know, the unpunished young father was shot. His wife lay beside him in bed. Their children, aged eight and ten, were to go to school just hours later. The attack happened by a tragic coincidence on the daughter's birthday.
The shots hit the man's artery, lung, and spleen, and he died from his injuries.
– No decent society can live with either such gross violence or violence that is so reckless when it comes to innocent people, said Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer in response to the woman's questions after the murder, as reported by Expressen.
In August, three men stood trial in Malmö for the murder, which is considered a mistaken shooting. The woman who lost everything sat in court.
– It was very difficult for me. To hear everything that led to my husband no longer being here.
She is grateful for the police's work but dares not believe in a conviction.
– They deny everything, but I hope they get a reasonable punishment. They have taken the life of a good person, a good father, a good friend, a good man.
– They didn't even dare to look at me.
Cannot Live in the House
The time after the murder has been "the hardest in her life." Her husband worked, she studied, that was their agreement. Overnight, she was left alone with everything.
The first few months were all chaos. Besides the grief, she lacked income. In February, she started a teaching internship, even though she was still in shock.
When other teachers went on paid summer leave, her salary stopped coming, as it was a temporary position. She also did not receive unemployment benefits, as the employment was shorter than six months.
Meanwhile, the family has more expenses than when there were two providers. The woman continues to pay the monthly fee for the condominium, where she and the children cannot live, as it is still partially cordoned off.
The preliminary investigation leader Mårten Alvinsson is on vacation, but his colleague prosecutor Jenny Olovsson explains that there are rules regarding all coercive measures, including cordons.
– At the latest when the prosecutor brings charges, the cordon should be lifted – or request for continued cordon, she says.
In this case, the preliminary investigation leader wanted to keep parts of the cordon even after charges were brought. The district court decided in July that the patio should continue to be cordoned off, and it still applies.
– The children constantly ask: Why did we leave our house? My daughter asks how it could happen on her birthday. And I can't answer all that, says the mother.
– It hurts everywhere. Life crushed me from all sides.
Children Have Nightmares About the Murder
She has sold the family car to free up money. Then she realized that the parking fee was still being deducted from the account – to no avail.
– I have to chase everything, says the woman.
Her husband had been in the housing queue, she knew. At first, she was not allowed to count his queue time, but eventually, she found the login in an email, and now the mother and the two children live in a rental apartment.
– My children still have nightmares. When they see a child with a father, they say: Why do others have a father, not us?
She wants to tell her story but not have her name in Expressen.
– I know we did nothing, that we are victims in this. But I don't want to do anything that affects our lives.
Wednesday, August 20, the verdict will be delivered in Malmö District Court.