At four years and six months in prison, a defendant has been sentenced in the trial for the spectacular theft of centuries-old crown jewels in Sweden. This was reported by the district court of Eskilstuna.

The crown jewels had been stolen at the end of July 2018 from Strängnäs Cathedral, some 70 kilometers west of Stockholm. These are the funeral crown and the orb of the king, Charles IX, who died in 1611. from Sweden as well as the crown of his wife died in 1625, Queen Christine von Holstein-Gottorf. They have an estimated value of more than six million euros.

"There is no doubt that he and other people accessed the two funeral crowns and the Imperial Apple together, as the prosecution claims," ​​the court ruled. The 22-year-old Swede was prosecuted for serious theft and attempted theft of other crown jewels from the cathedral.

The defendant, who had been arrested in mid-September, had denied the theft for weeks, but ultimately admitted it on the final day of the trial a week ago. At the scene DNA traces had been found by him.

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Sweden: The crown jewels coup of Strängnäs

As a motive, the man gave the high value of the stolen goods. He denied that he also wanted to steal the three other crown jewels. The prosecution had demanded in the case, inter alia, because of the cultural-historical value of the spoils six years in prison. The defense was reasonable for up to three years.

More than half a year after their disappearance, the crown jewels reappeared in early February in a garbage bin in the village of Åkersberga northeast of Stockholm. Pictures showed considerable damage to them: The temples of the crown of Karl IX. are all impressed, broken the golden orb in the middle.

The parish of Strängnäs wants to restore the treasures gradually, after the police released them from custody. Then they should be seen again in the cathedral.

Two other men aged 26 and 24 are in custody on suspicion of serious miscarriage. According to the police, it should be friends of the 22-year-old.