The von Sydow murders, one of Sweden's most notorious criminal cases, occurred on 7 March 1932 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Events

On the night of 7 March 1932, Swedish politician Hjalmar von Sydow, his cook Karoline Herou, and his maid Ebba Hamn were all found beaten to death at Sydow's town house at

Norr Mälarstrand Norr Mälarstrand (Swedish for "Northern Shore of Mälaren") is a street onWhile Kungsholmen is one of the city districts of Stockholm, it is also one of the ridges (''malmarna'') surrounding the Stockholm Old Town and places on the ridges are said ...

in Stockholm. The bodies of Sydow and Herou were found in Herou's room; Hamn lay dead in Sydow's room. From the outset, it was presumed the murder weapon was an iron pipe, bought the day before the murders by Sydow's son, Fredrik von Sydow, but it was later determined that a

flatiron Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron *Hair iron Places *Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named after ...

, missing after the murders, was the real murder weapon. A young niece of Sydow's late wife, who also lived at the home, discovered the bodies. Her account led the police to issue a warrant for the arrest of Fredrik von Sydow and his wife Ingun as the main suspects in the case. Immediately after the murders, the pair had travelled by taxi to meet competitive shooter Sven O. Hallman, a friend of Fredrik's, borrowing a gun from him. Afterwards, the pair went to the Tegner restaurant in Stockholm, then visited a men's clothing store, a pharmacy, yet another restaurant called Vallonen, and the Gillet restaurant in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, where they arrived at about 8pm. They had arranged to have dinner with friends, and while the dinner was in progress, Fredrik shot his wife and then shot himself in the head.

Motive

The motive for the murders remains unclear, but one possible scenario is that Fredrik was a drug user and had fallen into serious financial difficulties. Fredrik's relationship with his father was strained. These factors might have resulted in a desperate impulse to murder. According to the police, Fredrik had taken his father's wallet, which contained SEK 235 (equivalent to SEK 7000 today) at the time of the murders.

In fiction

The murders were the inspiration for Sigfrid Siwertz's play ''Ett brott'' ("A Crime"), which premiered on 13 October 1933 at the Lorensteatern in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. It was also performed at the ''Dramatiska Teatern'' in Stockholm on 15 March 1934, directed by Alf Sjöberg. In 1940 the play was the basis of a film of the same title, with the actors

Edvin Adolphson Gustav Edvin Adolphson (25 February 1893 – 31 October 1979) was a Swedish film actor and director who appeared in over 500 roles. He made his debut in 1912. He appeared with Ingrid Bergman in ''Only One Night'' (1939), and is noted for his ...

and

Karin Ekelund Karin Ekelund (26 May 1913 – 21 December 1976) was a Swedish actress. She appeared in 29 films between 1933 and 1976. She was the first female radio producer in Sweden, producing, and later directing, for Sveriges Radio's Radio Theatre. She p ...

playing the lead roles. A television film about the murders, ''Ett skuggspel'' ("A Shadow Play"), directed by Ingvar Skogsberg, was broadcast on SVT in 1985. The lead roles were played by Stefan Ekman and

Jessica Zandén Anna Jessica Zandén (born 28 March 1957) is a Swedish actress. She has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows since 1983. She is the sister of actor Philip Zandén. Selected filmography * ''Freud's Leaving Home'' (1991) * '' The F ...

. In 2004, author

Helena Henschen Helena Henschen (1940–2011) was a Swedish designer and writer. Born and raised in Stockholm, she worked as a graphic designer, achieving success as an illustrator of children's books. She co-founded the famous design company Mah-Jong. She won ...

published her book ''I skuggan av ett brott'' ("In the shadow of a crime") about the murders. In 2006, the ''Uppsala Stadsteater'' presented a play based upon the event titled ''von Sydowmordens gåta'' ("Mystery of the von Sydow Murdere"), prompting the journalist Karin Thunberg to interview the daughter of Fredrik and Ingun von Sydow to discuss how the murders had affected her life.

References

{{authority control 1930s in Stockholm 1932 murders in Sweden Crime in Stockholm History of Stockholm Murder–suicides in Sweden Patricides Unsolved murders in Sweden

Events

Motive

In fiction

See also

References