The debate after Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson's designation of the so-called Skandia man as Olof Palme's murderer is still hot. Many people believe that Stig Engström, dismissed by Hans Holmér and described as "too cowardly" by an ex-wife, was not capable of murder.

Professor James W. Clarke, one of America's foremost experts on political murders, disagrees. According to him, there are four types of perpetrators. These were reported in the perpetrator profile that Ulf Åsgård and crime commissioner Jan Olsson produced in consultation with the FBI in the mid-90s and were summarized as follows:

  • Type 1: Act as a martyr for a political idea
  • Type 2: Has aggressive and egocentric needs of acceptance and therefore seeks closeness to big, strong personalities
  • Type 3: Live immortal, meaningless lives that make them seek redemption by attracting attention
  • Type 4: Psychotic offenders
Agree with the Prosecutor

James W. Clarke was interviewed by the Investigation Commission after the Palm murder and has also acted as a pitcher for Thomas Pettersson in his work on the book "The Unlikely Killer" where Stig Engström is selected as the perpetrator.

Clarke followed Wednesday's press conference, saying he agrees with the prosecutor's conclusion. According to him, the profile, a suicidal type 3 person, fits well with both Stig Engström and Christer A, a person who previously figured in the investigation as a suspected offender.

James W Clarke also states that he previously provided his support to Mattias Göranssons (Filters editor-in-chief) and Thomas Pettersson's theory.

- They put forward a very credible argument that Stig Engström is probably the killer.

May have been remorseful

One question is why Stig Engström did not take the deed if he were now the perpetrator. A type 3 killer is looking for attention and confirmation.

- I wonder if it is because he had become remorseful and ashamed because even Palme's critics, those whom Engström admired and thought would be positively attuned to the deed, were appalled that such a deed could occur in Sweden.

Stig Engström died of a combination of alcohol and tablets in 2000, but it was not determined whether he intended to kill himself.