John Filip Nordlund
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John Filip Nordlund was a Swedish mass murderer from Gävle who was executed 10 December 1900 in Västerås. It was the next to last execution ever carried out in Sweden (the final took place in 1910 when Johan Ander was executed at Långholmen). The sources are quite vague on Nordlund's birth, but at least one source claims that he was 25 when he committed the murders (which would mean that he was born in 1875)[1].
Also known as Mälarmördaren or Svarte Filip, Nordlund had led a life full of petty crimes until 16 May 1900. This day he committed one of the worst murder sprees in known swedish history. He entered the passenger ferry Prins Carl and went on a rampage which left five people dead and eight wounded. Later that day he was arrested at the train station in Skogstorp near Eskilstuna. He could never give an explanation for his actions, and his only remorse was that he hadn't killed the people he wounded.
He was sentenced to be executed for his crimes. The execution took place at the prison in Västerås on 10 December the same year. Claims have been made that his final words were "Här hugges min själ inte fel"[2]. He was the first executed commoner known to be legally buried in holy ground after his execution (legal practice before this where to bury executed outside the graveyard). The execution of Nordlund also sparkled the debate concerning capital punishment in Sweden, since he was by some considered criminally insane.
