One night in September last year, two young men climb in via a balcony in an apartment building in central Ulricehamn, where a 22-year-old lives. The young men, aged 17 and 20, were later found dead in the home – stabbed to death with a knife by the 22-year-old.
"I ask him every day, why did you do this, why did you go to the scene, why did you die this way," says the father of the dead 17-year-old.
According to the prosecutor, the incident stems from a drug conflict, where the two attackers allegedly broke into the apartment to rob the 22-year-old.
Claiming self-defense
The 22-year-old who lived in the apartment used a double-edged hunting knife when he stabbed the two men to death, with just over ten stab wounds each. He has been charged with manslaughter in two cases, but has always denied any wrongdoing, claiming self-defence.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, believes that the 22-year-old crossed the line.
"The violence is clearly unjustifiable," says prosecutor Martin Svensson.
Hard to move on
For the father, the grief has been great and he finds it difficult to come to terms with what has emerged during the investigation. Both fathers of the dead question how the young men were able to get up to the balcony. The father of the 17-year-old also has questions about how the injuries to the boys came about. And the prosecutor also asks himself.
"I agree with the father. There are injuries to the back of the body of both guys. And there the accused has given no explanation. There were three people at the time of the incident and two of them are dead, says Martin Nilsson and continues:
"There are obvious gaps in the defendant's story. There must have been more things happening than what he told us about.
The 22-year-old defendant denies the crime and his lawyer Mia Sandros claims that the violence used in the apartment, which caused the two young men to die, is justifiable.