The double murderer in Linköping was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and according to the forensic psychiatric investigation, his autism was directly linked to the act.
There are more notable serious violent crimes where perpetrators have had a functional variation within what is called autism spectrum disorder, a concept that gathers diagnoses such as autistic syndrome and Asperger's syndrome.
But in general, it is not the case that people with autism commit more crimes than others.
On the other hand, there is research that suggests a connection between violent crime and autism diagnoses.
In 2013, Björn Hofvander made a report to the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, which showed that of 270 young men convicted of violence and sexual crimes, about ten percent had autism.
In the adult population as a whole, 1-2 percent are estimated to have the diagnosis.
Also had other problems
At the same time, the survey showed one important thing - almost all of the men convicted of violence with autism had other complicating factors.
A large study from Bristol University 2017 pointed to similar results.
Autism itself did not present an increased risk, but contemporary substance abuse problems or additional diagnoses, such as ADHD, clearly increased the risk of violent crime.
- It is the type of combinations that allow us to see a clear overrepresentation, says Björn Hofvander.
Many have ADHD
In the same survey that Hofvander did in 2013, it turned out that 63 percent of the men convicted of violence were judged to have been diagnosed with ADHD while growing up.
Among prisoners in general, that figure is somewhat lower but still significantly higher than among the general population.
In 2016, Martin Lardén, then head of the unit for treatment programs in the prison service, estimated that approximately 25 percent of the inmates met the criteria for ADHD.
He said this to the site Special Nest, which focuses on neuropsychology.