| Anders Eklund | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 6, 1965 Torsåker, Sweden |
| Motive | Sexual |
| Charge(s) | Murder Rape Child pornography charges |
| Conviction(s) | Life imprisonment |
| Status | Incarcerated |
| Occupation | Truck driver |
Per Anders Eklund (born August 6, 1965) is a Swedish murderer and rapist convicted of killing a 31-year-old woman in 2000 and a 10-year-old girl in 2008. Eklund is also a suspect in other murder cases currently under investigation, including the unsolved 1994 murder of Malin Olsson in Gothenburg.[1] On October 6, 2008, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the two murders, one rape in Sandviken 2006 and on child pornography charges.[2]
Eklund's case became the most noted and most followed criminal case in Sweden during 2008, along with the crimes of Christine Schürrer.
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On April 5, 2008, 10-year-old Engla Juncosa Höglund went missing on her way home from football practice in Stjärnsund, Sweden. When she did not answer her mobile phone, Engla Höglund's mother, Carina Höglund, went looking for her. Carina Höglund found her daughter's abandoned bicycle in the woods.[3] A person had taken photos after testing his new digital camera on the road and snapped a photo of Höglund on her way home. He had also snapped a photo of a car following the girl; the photo was of a red Saab 900 driven by Eklund.[4] After the photographer stepped forward, Eklund was arrested and told police where to find Höglund's body on April 13, 2008. Höglund's death became headline news, as most people had high hopes of finding the girl alive. Höglund's funeral on May 10, 2008 was broadcast live on television on SVT1, the first time in Swedish television history any such broadcast was made.[5]
On June 4, 2000 in Falun, 31-year-old Pernilla Hellgren was found murdered. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted.[6] A young girl on her way home had witnessed the attack, and told investigators that she saw a man following Hellgren on her way home from a party in central Falun. DNA found on Hellgren's body matched that of Eklund, who confessed to both murders when he was presented with the evidence.[3]
On July 18, 2008, Eklund's trial began. He was charged with two murders, two rapes and child pornography charges. He was found guilty in August and declared not mentally ill. On October 6, 2008, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the two murders, one rape in Sandviken 2006 and on child pornography charges .[7]