East tried to stop the section about his daughter: "It was like a slap in the face"

On August 5, 2015, Ida Johansson set out to run in the light rail in Upplands Väsby. Suddenly, she was assaulted by a strange man who murdered her and violated her body. Police began an intensive hunt for the perpetrator who was heavily guarded by the media.

Ida's parents, Östen and Karin, have consistently refused all interview requests over the years, and tried to mourn. When Östen Johansson now meets SVT Cultural News, it is to give his view on the working methods of the true crime podcasts, which he believes strike hard against relatives.

One day, when the East was scanning his Facebook feed, he discovered that people were suggesting that the Trial Court should handle the murder of his daughter.

“On Saturday comes a new section. Subscribe to our website and get access to more exclusive sections. The first month is free! ”, It said in a post from the podcast platform PodMe.

Östen Johansson got a shock.

- It came as a blow to the face. We had no idea this was coming. Nobody had contacted us, says Östen Johansson.

He immediately contacted the Trial Court to stop the paragraphs, but was denied. Instead, against the will of the East, an hour-long section - and then a half-hour section labeled "extras" was first published - where the killer describes in detail what he exposed Ida to.

- You do entertainment and make money from a tragedy. It is completely wrong, totally unacceptable, ”says Östen Johansson.

He thinks it is good that we have a public principle in Sweden that means that material from trials is public, but questions how it has come to be used in the growing true crime genre.

- The podiatrists do nothing wrong in the legal sense, but it is immoral. I think you use the principle of publicity in a way that was not intended from the beginning, ”says Östen Johansson.

Prior to the publication of the Judgment Pillow's section on Ida, the program's comment field on Facebook was filled with listeners' expectation:

"At last!" "Pepp !!" "Exciting!" "Looking forward!"

Östen Johansson urges people to think about: It is the listeners' great interest that enables and finances phenomena such as the trial podium, and there is a responsibility, he says.

- This is not entertainment, this is for real. People should think for a bit: Imagine if it was your own children who were affected.

- Ida is so much more than 90 bad minutes describing her last moment in life. True crime podcasts are an abuse of her name.

Nils Bergman, who is doing the Trial, tells the Culture News that he regrets that relatives have taken ill from his publications, and believes that the purpose of the program is to create an understanding of the Swedish legal system and to report the whole process to an interested public. Bergman confirms that Östen made contact after the publication, but remembers the event differently.

- I took up the criticism with my responsible publisher, and then I followed up on what is said there. I got the impression then that a dialogue had been held and that it had resolved, says Nils Bergman.

- The East can definitely contact me again, so we can pick down that section.

Doesn't it become a bit of a reverse responsibility here for the relatives to contact you? Shouldn't you do it before publishing?

- You are absolutely right in that. I will review how I relate to the victims and the relatives in future trial swab sections.

After taking note of the criticism from relatives, Nils Bergman now says that he will review how he works with the trial pod. You can read a longer interview with him here.