John Ingvar Lövgren, later renamed John Ingvar Andersson (22 October 1930 – 9 February 2002)CD Sveriges dödbok 1901-2009 was a Swedish

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

and

rapist Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...

who confessed to four murders committed between 1958 and 1963 in the Stockholm region. Lövgren was convicted and sentenced to closed psychiatric treatment at Salberga prison. He went under the name Flickmördaren ("The Girl Killer"), because his last two victims were young girls. He was, at the time of his death in 2002, no longer in treatment due to poor health, which he had received from his cancer. He was buried at Sala cemetery.CD Begravda i Sverige

Biography

Lövgren's parents died when he was young and he was subsequently placed in a foster home. As an adult, Lövgren became infamous for drinking heavily and exposing himself to women, for which he was convicted several times. Because of this he was enrolled in several different

psychiatric hospitals Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociati ...

between 1953 and 1961. The authorities described him as childish and weak, probably with a mild

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signif ...

. At the time of the murders, Lövgren held a job as a gardener. After the murder of Ann-Kristin Svensson in September 1963, her playmates identified Lövgren as the perpetrator. In addition, while fleeing the crime scene, he left traces in the form of Svensson's clothes in desperate attempt to get rid of them, with these traces leading the authorities to Lövgren's residential area. After he was arrested, Lövgren confessed to another murder: the unsolved murder of 26-year-old Agneta Nyholm in

Fruängen Fruängen (''Wife Meadow'') is a district of the Hägersten-Liljeholmen borough in Söderort, the southern suburban part of Stockholm. It was built in the early 1950s. All the streets are named after famous Swedish women like Agnes Lagerstedt, A ...

in June 1958. Despite this, Lövgren was never convicted of her murder and her case has since been statute-barred. Police, however, consider it solved and Lövgren to be the assailant.

Literature

* The novel ''

The Man on the Balcony ''The Man on the Balcony'' is a mystery novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, originally published as ''Mannen på balkongen'' in 1967. It is the third novel in the detective series revolving around Swedish police detective Marti ...

'' released by Sjöwall/Wahlöö in 1967 was based on John Ingvar Lövgren and his crimes. * ''The true face of the assassination: a criminal commissioner's memories'' by Gösta W. Larsson (1971), published by Stockholm: Bonniers

Victims

*Agneta Nyholm, 26 - murdered on the night of 27 June 1958 at her home in

. *Greta Löfgren, 62 - raped and murdered in November 1962 in her home at

Kungsholmen Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of central Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland. Its area is with a perimeter of . The highest point is a ...

. *Berit Glesing, 6 - raped and murdered on 12 August 1963 in

Vita Bergen Vita Bergen (lit. ''The White Mountains'') is a park area of Södermalm in Stockholm. The former civil defence center Pionen, now used to host a data center is located there. Vita Bergen is also mentioned in the novel '' The Red Room'' by Augu ...

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm. Overview The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wa ...

. *Ann-Kristin Svensson, 4 - raped and murdered on 2 September 1963 in

Aspudden Aspudden (''Aspen cape'') is a district of the Hägersten-Liljeholmen borough in Söderort, the southern suburban part of Stockholm. Metro line 13 stops at Aspudden metro station. See also *Aspudden metro station *Geography of Stockholm The ...

References

{{authority control 1930 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Swedish criminals Deaths from cancer in Sweden Male serial killers People convicted of murder by Sweden Prisoners and detainees of Sweden Serial killers who died in prison custody Swedish murderers of children Swedish people convicted of murder Swedish rapists Swedish serial killers