Latest / Shades of Murder / 71: The Dismemberment Trials of Sweden - The Coroner and The General Practitioner

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71: The Dismemberment Trials of Sweden - The Coroner and The General Practitioner · Shades of Murder

0:01
In the summer of 1984, in a city outside Stockholm, Sweden,
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suspicious looking trash bags were found discarded on the
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streets. The police were horrified and
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repulsed by what lay inside. The investigation into her death
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would lead the police to two peculiar.
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Suspects. And unfold into one of the most
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controversial and debated cases in the history of Swedish law.
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Who was this victim whose body had been desecrated and thrown
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out like garbage? And who was the monster, or
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possibly monsters who had taken her young life?
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Hello and welcome to Shades of Murder.
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I am your host Alita Caldwell. In this podcast, I discuss cases
1:24
of murder from around the world and throughout history,
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attempting to unravel the layers of darkness that help make
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humans and tell monsters. Please be forewarned that each
1:42
episode contains specific and at times very graphic and
1:47
disturbing details of the case. This show is not intended for
1:52
all audiences and listener discretion is strongly advised.
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On July 18th, 1984, several black plastic bags were
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discovered on an urban motorway that ran between Somnana and
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Vestaburga, which ran along the western part of Stockholm's
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inner city, an area that was notorious for prostitution and
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drug use. When officers were called to the
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scene to investigate, they were shocked and disgusted to find
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that they contained the dismembered remains of what was
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believed to be a female. Then, on August 7th, a second
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set of bags was located nearby. The woman's head was missing.
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Senior staff member Yvonne Rice of the forensics department at
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Karolinska Institute in Stockholm performed the autopsy.
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The examination concluded that the most probable cause of death
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was homicide. The examination performed on the
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victim revealed that one of her breasts had been removed, her
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internal organs were missing, and her genitalia had been cut
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off. The woman's body had been
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mutilated and butchered into pieces.
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If it weren't for her hands being intact inside one of the
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bags, it would have been impossible to confirm the
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identity of the victim. She was later identified as 28
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year old Katrine Dacosta. She had been reported missing by
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her mother more than a month earlier.
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Katrine Dacosta was the epitome of a marginalized victim.
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Born Katrine Bakstrom in Moulay, Sweden in 1956, not much is
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known of her childhood, but the young woman got messed up with
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the wrong crowd and found herself addicted to heroin while
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she was still in high school. Katrine left home shortly after
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and lived on the streets, selling her body to support her
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drug habit. She was married for a short
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while and had a child with a man in Portugal, where she also
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lived. But nothing could stop the
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darkness from entering back in and she found herself once again
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using heroin and on the streets. She lost custody of her two
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children along the way to social services and was homeless.
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Katrine worked the streets to survive.
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During the spring of 1984, she had lived in different men's
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houses and at other times was sleeping in shelters.
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The last known sighting of Katrine being alive was in
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Kongstad Garden, one of the oldest preserved parks in
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Stockholm. It was the weekend of
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Whitsunday, also known as Pentecost, which is a Christian
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holiday that falls on the 7th Sunday after Easter.
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It commemorates the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the
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disciples of Christ. It is a nationally recognized
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day in Sweden, where most businesses are closed and
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families celebrate feasting and spending time together.
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Homicide investigators received many tips and leads, some of
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which they pursued and others they ignored, but nothing solid
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or significant panned out. That is until the fall of 1984
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when everything changed. Law enforcement was contacted by
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a man who identified himself as the former father-in-law of a
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coroner. He claimed that his ex
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son-in-law frequently picked up prostitutes.
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The man's name was Teet Harm. Teet Harm was a young Doctor Who
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worked at the Department of Forensic Medicine at the
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Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
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He left a trail. Of ominous circumstances in the
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wake of Katrine Dacosta's death that are not gone unnoticed.
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His wife had died 2 years earlier in 1982 under Bazaar and
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to some what were considered to be suspicious circumstances, her
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body was found hanging on the side of their bed.
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She was dressed. And fancy party attire.
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Although the police and family members found it highly
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suspicious and some thought she may have been a victim of foul
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play, the doctor was never charged.
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His young wife's untimely death, who he had already arranged a
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divorce and was seriously involved with another woman at
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the time, was deemed. To be a suicide.
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The young doctor's reaction to his soon to be ex wife's
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terrible death didn't sit well with some of the officers.
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The man was cold, showing no emotion and a strange, very
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calloused and insensitive move. He wrote and published an
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academic paper on death by hanging or specifically
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strangulation. Not too long after her death,
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his wife's family didn't believe for one second that she had
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taken her own life and they began to spread rumors that the
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young doctor had killed her. In fact, his mother-in-law
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utilized her position as an employee of the Swedish tabloid
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expressing to perpetuate sinister beliefs around him.
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It was difficult to deny that Teeth Harm was a strange, even
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possibly disturbed man. He was highly intelligent and
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extremely invested in his work as a coroner.
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Not only was he known for enthusiastically inviting others
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to watch him perform autopsies, but he was also known to send
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autopsy reports along with a very graphic pictures to people
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who were not involved in the investigation at all, much less
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who had requested them. The doctor also had an unusually
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high interest in horror and sex, with horror films that included
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sexual violence being a preferred watching experience
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for him. It was also common knowledge
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that he was sexually liberated, as was his previous wife, and he
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had multiple encounters with prostitutes.
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The Department of Forensic Medicine had been aware of his
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plans to divorce his wife and set up house with a new woman,
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in addition to his affinity first sexual liaisons with
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prostitutes, none of which they were pleased with.
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These were all, of course, personal matters that were not
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necessarily illegal, but the department found his behavior
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embarrassing, especially since he often worked closely
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alongside the police. It could have been grounds or
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the doctor's dismissal, or at a minimum, his rejection of a new
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employment contract. Another unsettling factor that
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possibly linked the young doctor to Katrine Dacosta was how
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pieces of her body were discovered very close to the
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Department of Forensics Medicine.
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In December 1984, the forensic pathologist was arrested for
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suspicion of murder in both Katrina Costa's death and his
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wife's two years earlier. Officers held him in custody for
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the maximum number of five days, as permitted by the law.
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The police performed A thorough search of his residence, but
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there was no evidence connecting him to Katrina Costa's murder or
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having known the young woman at all.
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However, at least according to some sources, there was ample
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evidence of possible S&M and interest in violent sex and
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torture, including hardcore pornography, a whip, a knife,
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and a doll with a wire around its neck.
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But this wasn't evidence of any crime, much less his involvement
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in the murder and dismemberment of the woman.
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Further, there was no communication between the two,
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nor had he ever written her a prescription for drugs.
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This was pertinent to a note because Katrina Costa had
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received prescriptions from multiple doctors.
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Five days later, with only admissions of his having a few
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liaisons with prostitutes in the Stockholm area and absolute
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denial of killing his wife or Katrine, whom the doctor swore
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he had never met, T Tarm was released.
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The media, in particular the tabloids, plastered the young
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doctor's face and name across the headlines.
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It was observed how law enforcement had done nothing to
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protect his identity from being released to the press, which,
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considering he hadn't been charged, was perceived by some
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to be unfair and biased. Some believed the police had
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intentionally released. It.
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So he would lose his position at the forensics department, The
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Board of Social Welfare, which oversaw the forensic medicine
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department, making them his employer, fired him based on
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these mere suspicions alone of his committing murder.
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The police were pleased with themselves.
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They had issues with his encounters with prostitutes and
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they wanted him to pay for his immoral sexual behavior.
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When he was fired, the suspicion and rumors followed him and he
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faced great difficulty in securing another position in the
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field. Pete Harm's work meant
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everything to him and without it, the young doctor felt lost,
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hopeless, and a very little value.
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Pete Harm eventually attempted suicide due to the life saving
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treatment he received. He ended up losing most of his
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hearing. By the summer of 1986, the
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police had closed the case against him, and with no
13:24
evidence or any new clues regarding an alternative
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suspect, the murder case grew cold.
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But the investigators continued to harbor suspicion, even
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resentment, toward the pathologist.
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In the early 1980s, Nineteen 82 to be precise, Teet Harm had a
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student named Thomas Algin with whom he had developed a good
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relationship. At one point, he even helped a
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young man fulfill his school requirements.
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After Thomas missed a scheduled autopsy to express his
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gratitude, he and his wife invited the pathologist and the
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new woman in his life to have dinner at their home.
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The woman showed up dressed in very sexy, inappropriate
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clothes, which really upset and angered Thomas's wife, and she
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never met with a couple in a social setting again.
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There was something about the coroner, this young pathologist,
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the wife didn't like at all, and she grew to hold a deep disdain
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for the man. At this same time, the wife had
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growing suspicions that her young daughter had been sexually
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abused by her husband. Allegedly, some physical signs
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the child had may have been perceived as such to an everyday
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person. However, doctors, after multiple
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examinations of the young girl, didn't think there were any
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grounds, much less proof of these horrible accusations the
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wife continued to make. It didn't seem to matter to the
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wife though, and the woman refused to believe it wasn't
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true. The couple later ended up
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getting divorced. In 1984, when the wife of the
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now General practitioner Thomas Algin read that a forensic Dr.,
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a coroner, had been a suspect in the murder, she contacted the
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police. When the woman inquired whether
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it had been the Doctor Who had come over for dinner years
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earlier to her house, the police, ignoring basic legal and
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professional protocol, confirmed that it was.
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Fast forward 2 1/2 years after Katrina, Acosta's remains were
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found and some strange and unexpected developments surfaced
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in the case this woman's child. Began to tell.
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Her weird and disturbing random things the child spoke about a
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doll without a head. These words planted a seed of
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suspicion in the mother that maybe her ex-husband had been an
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accomplice to the coroner and together they had killed and
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dismembered the young woman. She convinced herself that her
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child had been witness to these horrific events.
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So the now ex-wife of Thomas Algin incessantly questioned her
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young daughter who was only about four years old and had
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been about 1 1/2 years old at the time of these alleged
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events. She began to ask her about her
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father and the teacher at the forensics department and what
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they had done to her and to the woman, Katrine.
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The mother wrote down notes and even recorded these
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conversations with her four year old daughter, believing them to
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be incriminating statements of evidence.
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The woman went to the police with her suspicions about her
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husband and the coroner sexually abusing her daughter and
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submitted 200 pages of what she deemed as proof of their
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involvement. That wasn't where it stopped
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though. This paranoid and obsessed
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mother frequently called officers to inform them if
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anything new her child had said, which to her was further
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evidence of their guilt. Now 2 mental health experts, a
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psychiatrist Frank Lindblon, and a psychologist Margaretta
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Ericsson, would assess this so-called evidence, including
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determining the credibility of both the mother and child
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experts in child psychology and forensic psychiatry, by applying
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what is known as the psychodynamic approach.
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They both concluded that the mother's statements were
18:03
credible and that the small child had been at the scene of
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the crime. This was primarily determined
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based on the child's visit to the Department of Forensic
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Medicine where it was believed to be the site of the murder and
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dismemberment. It was recorded how the child
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showed no emotion at all while she was there.
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This was used as evidence that the trauma she suffered was
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buried so deeply underneath due to the violence she was exposed
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to that she couldn't show any emotion at all.
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The psychodynamic approach held a lot of weight and credibility
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among many medical and forensic professionals and was further
18:49
supported by professors. The support this approach has
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from so-called professionals and experts led to very few people
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including the media questioning this method.
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Once this child's story became sensationalized headline news,
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other residents in the area began to come forward recalling
19:13
seen who appeared to be the men, maybe even both of them
19:17
together. One particular witness walking
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her dog informed the police that she had seen what could have
19:24
been the two doctors along with a small child enter the
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anatomical department on that wit weekend.
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The child's story, as relayed by her mother, mentioned a
19:36
photographer at crime scene. This LED people to believe that
19:40
photos of the dismemberment of Katrina Coste's body must exist.
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In late 1987, towards the end of the investigation, the police
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received a call from a couple who owned a photography shop
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located near the forensics department.
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They said that years earlier, during the summer of 1984, they
20:02
had developed a roll of film that horrified them.
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There were images of dismembered body parts and images.
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Of an unidentified person wearing blood spattered
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clothing. The couple along with their
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staff were very disturbed and upset when they viewed these
20:22
images but they handed them over to the client.
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The person claimed that the images were part of a secret
20:29
investigation and that no one must be aware of their
20:33
existence. When the Photoshop owners were
20:37
given a police lineup that included the two suspected
20:41
doctors, they identified the younger man, the General
20:45
practitioner as being one of the clients and sort of recognized
20:51
the coroner. However, investigators tapes
20:54
revealed that the wife was the only one who identified the
20:58
General practitioner and it was only after being guided by the
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officers reactions. The woman initially identified a
21:07
different person altogether and her husband identified one of
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the police officers that was included in the line up.
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Both identified Thomas Algin as being the customer, but again,
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this was only after much hesitation and an affirming
21:26
reaction from the officer. Police lineups are notoriously
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unreliable. People can become confused about
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whether they saw that particular individual at the time of the
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incident. Or if they just.
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Remember seeing their photographs somewhere from
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another source, especially the media.
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The correct protocol is to show one image of a suspect at a time
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and not in a photo array. Unfortunately, police
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departments often don't follow this protocol.
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This can lead to innocent persons being identified as the
22:03
culprit. I have been exposed to this
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strange police tactic of identifying A perp and it can be
22:09
very confusing. I was exposed to a police
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lineup, specifically a photo array, which is a photo spread
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of multiple individuals who all look alarmingly similar.
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Even as the primary victim in a crime, it is very difficult not
22:25
to doubt or question your memory of.
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Course. You don't want there to be only
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one suspect that is extremely different from the others
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because this US confirmation bias.
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However, the majority of people are overly confident in their
22:41
visual memories, which both time and trauma have shown adversely
22:47
affect, and this overconfidence and their memories spills over
22:52
into the juries which overwhelmingly trust and have a
22:57
great amount of misplaced faith in eyewitness testimony.
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Wrongful convictions based on eyewitness testimony far
23:06
outweigh any other sources or reasons such as forced false
23:11
confessions or junk science. It is the number one culprit
23:16
that leads innocent people to a life of incarceration and
23:20
sometimes even to death row. What was also interesting to
23:23
point out that during the investigation, the police
23:27
learned that it wasn't that uncommon for photos to be taken
23:32
of an autopsy illegally. Considering the Photoshop was so
23:36
close to the forensic department, it wasn't illogical
23:41
to think that the Photoshop owners had seen other images of
23:45
autopsies and equated them to the dismemberment of Katrina
23:50
Costa. I can only imagine that autopsy
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photos would be shocking, grotesque and traumatizing for
23:58
an everyday person to come across.
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Apparently neither the Photoshop owners nor any of the other
24:04
photo shops in the area were ever asked if they had come
24:08
across similar photographs or if this was a one time thing.
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In October of 1987, forensic pathologist Teat Harm and
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General practitioner Thomas Algin were arrested and charged
24:23
with murder and child abuse. The investigation would uncover
24:28
then not only did both of the men accused deny murdering or
24:33
dismembering Katrina Costa, but neither of them had seen one
24:37
another since 1982. It wasn't until October of 1987
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when they met again while in custody for what police called a
24:48
confrontational interrogation. This was organized by officers
24:53
with the hope that the men would disclose incriminating
24:55
information to one another, but neither of them ever did.
24:59
In fact, both seemed completely clueless and genuinely concerned
25:04
as to why police believed they were guilty of these atrocious
25:08
crimes. Never once did they convey
25:12
anything that implicated their guilt or involvement in any way.
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On January 22nd, 1988, the coroner and the General
25:22
practitioner would face charges of homicide and the sexual abuse
25:27
of a child in court. The atmosphere resembled a lynch
25:31
mob. Instead of a courtroom.
25:33
There were angry, hostile residents, protesting feminists
25:39
and a massive media presence that were solely bent on
25:44
portraying these two defendants as sadistic female hating
25:49
pillars. The prosecution presented their
25:52
key witness, the ex-wife of the General practitioner Thomas
25:56
Algin, who provided testimony as communicated by their daughter.
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Mind you, the child was under 2 years old at the time of these
26:06
alleged events. Her testimony was backed up by
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the professional examination that was conducted by the
26:12
aforementioned mental health. Experts.
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Child psychiatrist Frank Lindblad and psychologist
26:19
Margarita Erickson, the courtroom listened with bated
26:24
breath as this mother shared the most horrific and shocking
26:29
details of the grisly dismemberment as told to her by
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her small child. The faces of the jury members
26:37
went white. They were appalled.
26:40
Disgusted. And revolted by the disturbing
26:43
words that were sent by a child. According to the child's story,
26:49
the lady, meaning Katrine, had a diary that shared the wild
26:55
sexual acts between her and the doctors and acts between them
27:01
all while the toddler was there. It was told by the child that
27:06
Katrine had been a quasi babysitter to the girl,
27:10
according to her mother, as communicated in the courtroom.
27:14
The child said the following statements.
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In the beginning she was whole, but then she was torn into
27:19
pieces. When she had no head, she could
27:23
not talk. They drilled and drilled.
27:26
They drilled off their heads. They threw it into the waste
27:30
paper basket. Then she became pulp.
27:33
The mother testified to the court and the jury that her
27:37
daughter told her about these ritual murders, cannibalism
27:42
including the ingestion of the eyes, homosexual intercourse
27:46
that happened between her father and the coroner, and witnessing
27:50
the two men grilling heads. Amazingly, these grotesque,
27:56
shocking details were never challenged in court or
27:59
questioned as fact or fiction in the media.
28:04
For some reason, everyone just bought this child's stories,
28:08
documented by a mother who blatantly hated both defendants
28:14
and whose credibility was backed up by child healthcare
28:20
professionals. What is particularly strange
28:23
about these professionals assessments of the mother and
28:26
child being taken at face value, is how the child was never
28:30
interviewed by the police department's own legal experts.
28:35
The mother's statements were hearsay in the purest form.
28:38
She had questioned her child, guiding and directing her
28:42
daughter to make incriminating statements against her father
28:46
and the coroner, whom the mother had open resentment and biased
28:50
toward. This woman was not an expert or
28:53
professional of any kind, and she would record statements
28:57
summarizing what her child revealed to her.
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The following is one of the mother's statements.
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I have drawn conclusions of what she has said and I have woven
29:10
pictures of what can have happened and I have some time,
29:14
so to say, been half a step ahead of her and sort of
29:17
understood what she was aiming at now and then and she has
29:21
eventually arrived there herself.
29:24
Critical analysis later done on the case revealed that when it
29:28
comes to a mother recalling what their children say to them,
29:32
their memories were not only inaccurate, but what a child
29:35
says versus what they mean to say can be impossible to
29:40
distinguish. First of all, the little girl
29:43
was 17 months old and only a few years older when she began
29:48
talking about. All of these.
29:50
Horrific, unbelievable events. How could anyone believe these
29:56
stories? Not only were they obscene,
29:59
outlandish and grotesque, but a child wouldn't understand what
30:03
any of those things meant, much less communicate.
30:07
Witnessing such events. They wouldn't have the words or
30:11
the intelligence to form such thoughts.
30:14
This is just one of the reasons why most child witnesses are
30:18
considered invalid. Why is it that almost everyone
30:22
believed these asinine statements claimed to be made by
30:26
a child? Secondly, why was it not clearly
30:29
obvious that the mother had coached her to recall in
30:33
explicit detail what her father and the coroner had done in
30:38
front of her? Thirdly, she never said any of
30:41
these things to the psychiatrist or the psychologist, nor the
30:44
police officers. She never once implicated that
30:47
her father sexually abused her, much less killed and cut up
30:52
Katrina Acosta. They all simply chose to listen
30:56
to this angry mother's paranoid, insane claims and ignore the
31:02
fact that the child had never said anything regarding these
31:07
issues or events to anyone other than her.
31:11
It would be too easy to. Label the jury members as both
31:14
uneducated and gullible. But even that would be too
31:19
simple, because it was also the police, the courts, the media
31:23
and the community at large who bought into this.
31:27
Absurd nonsense. As if they were legal fact.
31:32
The media, in large part at the vengeful direction of the
31:36
coroner's former mother-in-law, who as aforementioned was an
31:42
employee at the Swedish tabloid Expression, spread hatred and
31:47
undue bias against the two doctors every chance they got.
31:53
The case of a child's horrendous stories that pointed blame at
31:59
two young medical professionals became prime material for the
32:04
press. And they were.
32:06
More than happy to mislead the public about the evidence in
32:11
exchange for selling papers, the media wrote about the defendants
32:17
and their crimes as if they were truth.
32:20
The child's stories were beyond horrific and graphic.
32:26
They included detailed acts of ritual abuse, cannibalism, and
32:31
sex with a prostitute, as well as between the two accused, all
32:35
of which a child who was only 17 months old at the time had
32:41
allegedly witnessed. That it was 2 doctors, members
32:45
of a field which was considered the elite of Sweden, made the
32:50
tales made the tales even more sensational, and society
32:55
couldn't get enough. The media didn't hold much
32:58
respect or value toward the police or the prosecutor, nor
33:03
did they offer any semblance of privacy or respect shown toward
33:08
the accused. Whether the media was uneducated
33:12
or they simply didn't care, they spread that the child stories
33:17
were collected by expert child psychologists and psychiatrists,
33:20
which the public believed to be true, when in fact the only
33:25
individual who would ever heard these child stories was her
33:31
mother, a leading psychologist. Holgerson asserted that the
33:36
child stories as conveyed by the mother were not at all credible.
33:42
This resulted in a vicious backlash against the doctor.
33:47
The Union of Psychologists formally denounced his
33:52
contribution as a witness psychologist.
33:54
After these statements were made that refuted the child's
33:58
stories, no one seemed to even entertain the possibility that
34:03
the child's stories were made-up by the mother.
34:06
Next came the testimony given by one of the defendant's mentors,
34:11
Yvonne Rice, who had performed the autopsy on Katrina Costa.
34:17
Dr. Rice, during the criminal trial, testified as to how the
34:21
exact cause of death couldn't be determined based on the absence
34:25
of physical evidence, in particular her internal organs
34:30
and her head. However, Doctor Rice strongly
34:34
believed that based on the way the body was caught up, the
34:38
methods indicated that the individual or individuals were
34:43
skilled and experienced at human dismemberment.
34:46
These details within the autopsy report implicated and supported
34:52
the theory that tit harm was one of the primary perpetrators in
34:58
the murder and dismemberment. When the prosecution asked
35:02
Doctor Rice if the dismemberment of a body is rarely not preceded
35:07
by the act of murder, the doctor concurred this to be true.
35:12
However, although the cutting up of a corpse is not evidence of
35:18
homicide, however, some believe it is, since otherwise what
35:23
would be the purpose of performing such a task if not to
35:28
conceal the crime of killing? Nevertheless, dismemberment and
35:33
the concealment of a body does not equate to intentional
35:36
homicide in the eyes of the law. It was later criticized that the
35:41
coroner in particular seemed to be persecuted and was tried for
35:45
his character and not on any evidence of his literal guilt.
35:51
The prosecution presented him as a disturbed, sadistic man who
35:56
frequently had sex with prostitutes, loved violent
36:01
horror films, and was highly invested in his work as a post
36:05
mortem dissector. They presented this information
36:09
as if it equated to his being guilty of murder.
36:13
Teeth harm's interests and characteristics were not
36:16
necessarily unique, but together, especially for the
36:21
time, established the personality, the character of a
36:25
man who could be capable of committing murder and
36:30
dismemberment. Interestingly, the prosecutor
36:34
never asked the multiple prostitutes who allegedly knew
36:40
the coroner as a client, specifically a client of the
36:44
deceased, to testify. Some of these women claimed to
36:49
have even seen the defendant with her.
36:52
In response, the prosecutor stated it since they were
36:56
prostitutes, they were unreliable witnesses.
37:00
He didn't want any of them on the stand, as their credibility
37:04
as witnesses would have inarguably been challenged by
37:08
the defense. Yes, this stance is judgmental
37:12
and wrong, but in matters of the law, the credibility of a
37:17
witness is critical to establishing their testimony
37:22
with the jury. Although this was highly
37:25
criticized, it is not at all surprising that the prosecutor
37:29
chose to exclude these women's testimony, regardless of how
37:33
significant it may have been. However, many people believed
37:37
that how the prosecution dismissed them and how the trial
37:41
was overall conducted was a dark reflection of the societal
37:46
extent of violent male oppression over females.
37:51
When it came to the defense counsel, they didn't have much
37:54
to present or even challenge. In the Swedish justice system,
37:58
defense attorneys are known for being inadequate and
38:02
ineffective, especially when it comes to questioning expert
38:07
testimony of witnesses such as psychologists and psychiatrists.
38:11
It was noted how in this particular case, an employee of
38:16
one of the defense counsel believed the defendants to be
38:20
guilty and even publicly stated so.
38:22
The accused men couldn't even rely on their own attorneys to
38:27
believe in them enough to question the credibility of the
38:31
child's stories or the testimony of these experts, so why would
38:36
anyone else? Before the jury could read their
38:38
verdict, the defendants were transferred to have a forensic
38:41
psychiatric examination conducted.
38:44
Meanwhile, a few of the jurors had previously agreed to do
38:48
interviews with the media. They expressed confusion and
38:52
hesitation around the guilt of the defendants because the
38:56
evidence was in arguably weak, but they were willing and ready
39:03
to convict them for murder because the men were perverse
39:07
and most likely guilty. Needless to say, their actions
39:11
were completely unethical and illegal.
39:14
It was set within jury rules and restrictions the refrain from
39:19
talking to anyone, especially the media, about the trial while
39:26
it was still going on. In addition to these actions,
39:30
the chairperson of the court missed a critical meeting on
39:34
March 9th, 1988. These two events led to a
39:39
mistrial. Chief Prosecutor Haylett knew he
39:42
was facing a losing battle and was ready to dismiss the case.
39:46
However, an article written in Daganzinihater Sweden's a
39:50
leading daily newspaper at the time, by psychotherapist Hannah
39:55
Olson had ignited outrage and protests.
39:59
She claimed that both men were guilty, but they were being
40:04
protected by a male oppressive society built around privilege
40:09
and class. And the continued acceptance of
40:12
the sexual exploitation and violence of females, in
40:16
particular through acts of prostitution.
40:20
Dr. Olson addressed how the victims, fellow prostitutes who
40:24
wanted to testify against the defendants, were oppressed
40:29
because they were perceived as being worthless, unreliable and
40:34
the very bottom of society. It would be impossible to deny
40:39
that if the victim had been of an upper class and had not been
40:45
a struggling, drug addicted, homeless prostitute, the legal
40:49
system would have fought much harder for justice.
40:54
And it didn't sit well with much of Sweden that the accused
40:57
killers were both of an elite class.
41:01
But this was only the beginning of the doctor's persecution,
41:06
even though their trial had ended in a mistrial.
41:09
Society, the media and fellow forensics members, as well as
41:15
the legal system they wanted these men to pay.
41:19
Many believed they were guilty and in the very least should not
41:23
be permitted to practice medicine ever again.
41:27
Initially, the trade union of medical doctors, which hold high
41:32
value and influence in Sweden, came to the men's defense and
41:36
supported their right to continue treating patients.
41:40
However, there was a major divide amongst the members of
41:43
the union, in particular from a large group of female doctors
41:48
who felt the crime and the trial had been anti female.
41:52
The Health and Medical Services Responsibility Board reviewed
41:56
this information within the judgement and decided to take
42:01
action against the doctors on May 23rd 1989.
42:06
They would give in to the outrage of many citizens and
42:11
revoke the men's rights to practice medicine.
42:15
Both defendants immediately appealed.
42:18
But in 1990, the men would face their destinies in Criminal
42:23
Court once again. The appeals court, in a rare and
42:27
shocking move, instructed the District Court judge that a
42:31
murder conviction was not likely to be upheld.
42:36
Entering the second trial. The atmosphere had now
42:39
transformed itself into a political circus.
42:43
The prosecution faced mounting pressure from Bok Akshonen, Moot
42:48
Pornography, which is also known as the People's Campaign Against
42:52
Pornography, and at least 70 feminist women's organizations.
42:59
They had written to the prosecutor demanding that the
43:02
two graphically violent sex films owned by Teed harm to be
43:08
shown in the courtroom, Speaking of prejudicial bias.
43:13
But they were shown during their trial.
43:16
During the trial, many of the same witnesses from the first
43:19
trial testified against the defendants.
43:22
But this time there was a prostitute who allegedly had the
43:27
diary of the victim, Katrina Picosta.
43:31
She read detailed excerpts from the diary that mirrored the
43:36
child's stories, however, it was believed to be a forgery.
43:42
The woman had been interviewed by Sfarier's television, in
43:46
which she described how the victim, Katrina Acosta, had been
43:50
subjected to violent sex games in the presence of a small
43:56
child. Yet when the police interviewed
43:58
the same woman, she had given them a completely different
44:02
story. The Swedish National Board of
44:05
Health and Welfare was given the task of determining the victim's
44:10
official cause of death, but performing a new autopsy on
44:14
Katrine Dacosta. Since the victim had been
44:17
decapitated and her internal organs were missing, there was
44:21
no way to ascertain the way she had been killed.
44:25
This led to the defendants being acquitted of her murder.
44:30
The two men were also acquitted on the count of sexual abuse of
44:34
a child. However, the court did believe
44:37
that the men were guilty of cutting up the body beyond a
44:41
reasonable doubt within the reasons of the verdict.
44:44
The court stated that the doctors had dismembered her
44:48
corpse at the forensics department during the Whitsun
44:52
weekend. This legal statement also
44:55
specified that the general practitioner's daughter was
44:59
present during these events. However, since the doctors were
45:04
never charged on account of dismemberment of a body, and the
45:09
possibility of this charge had since expired, they couldn't be
45:14
held criminally liable. Now, claiming that the doctors
45:18
were responsible for cutting up the victim, it wasn't much of A
45:22
leap to assume that one, if not both of them had been
45:28
responsible for Katrine Dacosta's death, but they had to
45:32
be acquitted on the charges based on lack of evidence.
45:36
Not only did this alleged evidence, in particular the
45:39
child's story, not meet the legal requirements of guilty
45:43
beyond a reasonable doubt, but there wasn't even enough to
45:47
support reasonable suspicion, also known as the minimum
45:51
requirement for an arrest. The SVIA Court of Appeal later
45:56
declared that the trials contained procedural errors and
46:00
a conflict of interest. The court declared that both
46:04
defendants be released from custody given the weak evidence
46:08
against them. It was considered to be
46:11
hypocritical and ironic how the Court of Appeals played a
46:15
critical role in depriving the suspects of any right to appeal.
46:21
Even though the men had been formally acquitted, their
46:24
verdict was structured under the law so that they remained guilty
46:30
but were also ineligible for an appeal.
46:34
This was because reasons within the judgement didn't hold any
46:38
legal effect and therefore can't be appealed.
46:42
The prosecutor was the only person with the authority to
46:46
appeal their sentences, but as he stated, he found it
46:51
meaningless to do so because the Court of Appeals had already
46:55
given its opinion on the matter. The doctors continue to fight,
47:00
losing their medical license, but without any success.
47:04
The Supreme Administrative Court felt pressured by the public to
47:09
uphold the revocation of the men's medical licenses, and in
47:14
1991 it directed the Administrative Court of Appeals
47:19
to do the same. This was at a time in Swedish
47:22
history when the feminist movements and awareness of
47:26
sexual abuse against women and children began to take root in
47:30
society. The sexual liberalism of the
47:33
decades before was something of the past and feminist groups and
47:37
other groups against female violence and child abuse, in
47:41
particular incest, were outraged and they were fed up with a lack
47:47
of concern and accountability. This anti ancest movement rose
47:51
during a transition period in Sweden when women were no longer
47:55
encouraged to be home makers and instead to participate in the
47:59
workforce. It was looked down upon by
48:02
society for females to stay at home with the kids.
48:05
Meanwhile, a high level of trust and social investment in
48:10
psychologist, psychiatrist and social workers was granted.
48:15
This established A newfound sense of expertise in how
48:19
parents raised their children. In other words, parenthood
48:23
became a concept and a reality that could and should be taught
48:28
and directed by these so-called child experts.
48:32
This led to an over dependence on daycare centers with
48:35
specially trained staff who most of society believed were better
48:40
equipped and skilled with kids than their own parents.
48:44
The Swedish government ultimately bought into the
48:47
experts beliefs. Their methods and behaviors were
48:51
not to be doubted as they were based unrespected, proven social
48:57
science. Of course, this wasn't the
48:59
reality. With this new respect and trust
49:02
in these child experts came new powers of influence and control
49:08
over the lives of children, particularly in the courts and
49:13
in matters of social welfare. As a result and a tragic
49:17
outcome, thousands of children in Sweden and across Scandinavia
49:22
were taken away from their families and placed in the
49:27
foster care system. Along with the increase in
49:30
daycare and over reliance on childcare experts came the
49:35
belief that a large number of children, but especially young
49:41
girls, were at a high risk of being sexually abused.
49:45
Influenced by the Satanic Panic and ritual cult abuse events
49:51
occurring in the United States at the time, similar accusations
49:55
and rumors began to spread in Scandinavia.
49:59
Cases of alleged child abuse and neglect, whether proven to be
50:05
false or not, led many children to be ripped away from their
50:09
parents and placed in the system.
50:12
This ultimately gave Psychiatrist, psychologist and
50:16
social workers more authority than the law.
50:20
Similar to the foster care system and the tragic outcome we
50:24
have seen time and time again in the United States, the
50:29
authorities rarely looked in on children once they were placed
50:33
in a home, and when complaints or allegations of neglect or
50:38
abuse would arise, they were never found to be credible, if
50:43
ever investigated at all. What has been coined Kinder
50:47
Gulag, as written in a 1983 article about the Swedish
50:51
welfare state, grew into a crisis with a state
50:55
overextending its authority and taking children away from their
51:00
parents, often on a week unfounded basis.
51:04
The reason this is important and relevant to this case is that
51:08
it's strongly impacted how the expert testimony of the child
51:13
psychologist and psychiatrist were viewed.
51:16
As a result, it heavily influenced the jury's perception
51:20
and thus their decision made in the trials.
51:24
Their expert opinions were considered to be almost
51:27
untouchable and that they weren't challenged or
51:30
questioned. What is particularly bizarre is
51:32
how these child experts bought the mother's statements without
51:37
any question of her credibility, especially considering the
51:41
amount. Of.
51:42
Research that shows how unreliable children are as
51:46
witnesses. For the most part, children are
51:49
not perceived to be reliable, valid witnesses because they
51:54
don't understand what they see versus what they have been told
51:59
what they saw. Their memories are frequently
52:03
guided by either their parents, a child health expert, or
52:07
another adult with authority, such as a police officer.
52:11
That a toddler's stories were believed to be fact was not only
52:15
ridiculous because she was way too young to remember, but the
52:20
line between reality and fantasy, or rather imagination,
52:24
is often too blurry for them to distinguish.
52:28
In the case of the dismemberment trials, this child had been
52:31
guided to remember and recall stories as specifically told by
52:36
her mother over several years, which then became false
52:41
memories. Only the mother knows whether
52:45
she herself truly believed these events ever happened.
52:49
However, it can't be argued that she held a vicious grudge for
52:55
both defendants, which should have been acknowledged in court
53:00
by their defense counsel as a potential strong motive for
53:05
manipulation and thus deceit. It was learned later on that
53:10
allegedly the mother had visited Professor Eva Lundgren and spoke
53:17
with her about wanting a divorce.
53:19
When she inquired with the professor as to how best to deal
53:23
with custody of their daughter, they then discussed how the
53:27
matter could be resolved if she accused her husband of incest.
53:33
If this is true, then it proves that she was motivated to
53:38
concoct this horrific story about child abuse, knowing it
53:44
would likely prevent her husband from having custody or any
53:48
parental rights. Then along the way, she either
53:51
became delusional and convinced herself that her ex-husband was
53:57
involved in the murder and dismemberment, or she had become
54:01
so bitter and vengeful over time that she wanted her former
54:07
husband, Thomas Algin, to pay for the rest of his life.
54:12
Over the next decade, there was continued division and debate
54:16
over this case, with different books and reports analyzing and
54:21
critiquing the trial and the subjects.
54:25
In a 700 page book Death Is a Man, written by author Pierre
54:30
Lindbergh, possible new clues were even introduced.
54:34
He claimed that Katrina Costa was known by reliable witnesses
54:40
to have been alive after the date she was allegedly murdered.
54:46
A man had claimed he spoke with Katrine on 2 separate occasions
54:52
after his birthday, which was on June 10th.
54:56
This would have been after the Whitsun weekend.
55:00
It was recorded that the child had been with her father, Thomas
55:04
Algin for several hours alone on June 9th, 1984, the day the
55:10
prosecution stated Katrine Dacosta had been murdered.
55:15
It was also observed that the the victim had injected
55:18
narcotics on the Sunday before her alleged murder occurred and
55:23
yet no drugs were found in her autopsy that confirmed the
55:28
stated day of her death. Allegedly, this testimony was
55:34
ignored or forgotten about because the police and the
55:38
prosecution were faced with an extremely high amount of
55:42
pressure ever since Prime Minister Olaf Palm had been
55:47
killed in 1986, and that case remained unsolved.
55:52
It was also learned that an error was made in the filing of
55:57
one of the testimonies regarding Katrina Acosta's whereabouts,
56:01
which led to its exclusion. Slowly, many people in society
56:07
began to believe that the former doctors may in fact have been
56:12
innocent. In three separate articles in
56:15
June 1999, a reporter claimed that the police were convinced
56:21
that the doctors were innocent of the crime and were working
56:25
diligently to locate a new suspect.
56:29
In 1999, the two defendants filed an appeal with a supreme
56:35
administrative A court with the hope of having their cases
56:39
reopened. In 2001, their hopes were
56:42
destroyed when it was determined that the new evidence about
56:47
another possible perpetrator wasn't strong enough and any
56:51
technical legal arguments were rejected.
56:54
Since an acquittal can't be appealed.
56:57
The European Court later denied their admission to appeal their
57:01
cases. Journalist Lars Borgnos
57:04
published Sun and Jin are in Salacinth Ghast translated into
57:10
Truth is Rare Guest, which posited that Katrina Dacosta was
57:16
murdered by a serial killer in 2003.
57:20
New technology was employed to locate traces of fingerprints
57:26
that have been found on the bags that contained her dismembered
57:30
corpse. Criminal analysts found
57:33
fingerprints, but they didn't match either the General
57:38
practitioner or the coroner's. A new appeal to reopen the case
57:43
was filed after this discovery. Surprisingly, the police decided
57:50
to reopen the homicide case for a few days.
57:54
Another suspect was held in custody and arrested for murder,
57:59
but soon he was released and the case returned to being cold.
58:04
In 2005, a DNA analysis was performed on a towel that was
58:09
found within one of the plastic bags.
58:12
There were hairs discovered on the towel.
58:15
When they were tested and examined, it was determined with
58:20
100% analytical certainty that the hairs didn't belong to
58:27
either Teed Harm or Tamisalgine. That same year, Teet Harm and
58:33
Thomas Algin sued for 40 million kroner, which equates to around
58:38
4.1 million in U.S. dollars, on the grounds of lost wages and
58:45
character defamation. The Chancellor of Justice, who
58:49
handled questions of voluntary damages, ruled that the courts
58:54
should determine such a large financial claim.
58:58
In 2007, the men's attorney registered to claim for 35
59:03
million kroner with the Atunda lower court.
59:07
In November 2009, the trial against the Swedish state began.
59:12
In February 2010, the District Court agreed that multiple
59:17
errors had been committed in the men's trials, but it didn't
59:22
warrant the state being liable for the damages.
59:27
Earlier in June 2009, Katrina Costa's murder case was
59:31
officially shut due to the crime having a 25 year maximum
59:38
statute. Ironically and tragically,
59:42
Sweden changed this law in July 2010 and abolished the Statute
59:49
on Murder, Genocide and Crimes against humanity.
59:54
Although the legislation was retroactive, meaning that it
59:58
could be applied to cold cases older than 25 years, it didn't
1:00:03
apply the Katrina Costa's case since it had already been
1:00:10
statute barred. The expiration of the
1:00:13
prosecution of a crime, also known as the statute of
1:00:16
limitations. It's a very interesting and
1:00:20
controversial topic in criminal law.
1:00:22
Imagine how many murderers, especially cold case serial
1:00:27
killers such as the Golden State Killer, would walk free if there
1:00:33
was a statute of limitations on homicide.
1:00:37
However, what about all the other violent crimes?
1:00:40
Should the ability to prosecute them expire, specifically in the
1:00:45
case of rape or sexual assault? The statute of limitations in
1:00:51
the United States, for example, varies from state to state.
1:00:55
Many states no longer have an expiration date on such crimes,
1:00:59
but in some states, for example, like Florida, it's only three to
1:01:02
four years. Fortunately, in most cases of
1:01:06
child sexual abuse or child rape, there are no statute of
1:01:11
limitations. In many other states.
1:01:14
It all depends on the evidence. In particular, if DNA was
1:01:19
collected and a match is found, then there is no time limit on
1:01:25
criminal prosecution. In Sweden, the time limit for
1:01:28
such a crime is currently 10 years, although there has been
1:01:32
legislation pushing for any crimes committed against
1:01:36
children to be excluded from this.
1:01:39
What many people failed to realize at the time of their
1:01:42
criminal trials was that Heat, Harm and Thomas Algin were not
1:01:47
the only strong possible suspects and Katrina Acosta's
1:01:52
murder. Instead of taking these
1:01:55
alternate suspects seriously, the police chose to ignore these
1:02:00
men and focus on making the evidence fit the narrative that
1:02:06
the coroner and the General practitioner had committed the
1:02:10
crime. One day after Katrina, Acosta's
1:02:14
dismembered remains were located.
1:02:16
The police were given a tip to look into a man named Stanislaw
1:02:24
Ganerka, a previously convicted serial killer who had no alibi
1:02:30
when she was killed. The tip was submitted by most
1:02:35
reputable source, former detective Thomas Gottling.
1:02:39
He told officers that Ganerka now lived in his police district
1:02:45
and saw Italia. It was known that the man
1:02:48
frequently bought meat cuts at different stores in Stockholm.
1:02:53
He dismembered the animal cuts inside his apartment, which he
1:02:58
then sold to some of his acquaintances.
1:03:01
Generica, a Polish butcher who was also once a police officer,
1:03:07
moved to Sweden. He became known as Slack Terran,
1:03:12
the butcher who murdered at least three individuals.
1:03:17
He was even acknowledged during police interviews and visits to
1:03:22
a butcher shop with Doctor Yovan Rice that the dismemberment
1:03:29
could have been performed by someone with expertise in
1:03:34
cutting up animals. This statement was later revised
1:03:39
when he said that it was likely someone who had skills in
1:03:44
dismembering human carcasses instead.
1:03:47
In 1974, Generica had killed and dismembered his first known
1:03:53
victim, Wanda Rodolch. Children playing near a dumpster
1:03:58
found two human thighs wrapped in plastic.
1:04:02
The same claim had been made by another kid the day before, but
1:04:07
their parents didn't believe them.
1:04:10
This time, though, some of the parents found the story
1:04:14
suspicious and decided to contact the local police.
1:04:19
It was recorded that the package containing the thighs was
1:04:23
bloody, but the container was clean.
1:04:27
The body parts themselves were dismembered as if done by
1:04:32
someone with skills. The limbs had been removed from
1:04:36
the body by severing the legs and torso at the knee joints up
1:04:40
to the femoral neck. Like in Katrina Costa's case.
1:04:44
The woman's head was also never found.
1:04:47
Stanishov Ganerka was convicted of aggravated assault and
1:04:52
negligent homicide and was sent to a forensic psychiatric
1:04:58
hospital for treatment. Less than two years later, he
1:05:02
was permitted leave to visit some relatives in Poland.
1:05:06
While he was there, he was arrested for petty crimes and
1:05:11
sent back to Sweden, where he had recently gained citizenship.
1:05:16
While Generica was an estat, he murdered Root Norender and
1:05:21
Arthur Andersen. Again, the courts remanded him
1:05:26
for psychiatric treatment and shockingly, after brutally slain
1:05:33
and dismembering 3 people, he was released in 1983.
1:05:39
This wasn't the only time that the police ignored tips they
1:05:44
received regarding Generica as a suspect in Katrina Costa's
1:05:49
murder. 2 prostitutes. A Mumshelnetz gotten where
1:05:54
Katrina Costa had been walking identified a man that matched
1:05:59
Generica's description. Another man contacted the police
1:06:04
to report that he had dropped Generica off near this area, but
1:06:09
the officer didn't even write down his contact information.
1:06:15
It was confirmed by multiple prostitutes in the area, then a
1:06:19
man fitting his description frequently visited them there.
1:06:24
Another report was made to the police from a person allegedly
1:06:28
close with the suspect, who claimed that something terrible
1:06:32
has happened inside his home. Amazingly, the police never
1:06:38
looked into the situation without any alibi, not to
1:06:42
mention his previously committed eerily similar murders.
1:06:48
Stanislaw Konerka appear to be the prime suspect, but the
1:06:53
police never searched his residence or his vehicle.
1:06:59
Investigators interviewed him on 2 separate occasions, but
1:07:04
Ganerka claimed he was innocent and he never went to see a
1:07:08
prostitute and that was the end of him being a suspect for the
1:07:14
police. For some unknown reason, the
1:07:17
police had decided to place all of their resources into proving
1:07:23
that the two young. Doctors were the culprits.
1:07:27
Forensic pathologist Gerhard Focht, who performed all three
1:07:31
autopsies on Generica's victims, observed how the killer had
1:07:36
anatomical knowledge. He also publicly stated how he
1:07:41
was very confused, quite perplexed as to why the police
1:07:46
had considered him a viable suspect and Katrina Dacosta's
1:07:51
murder and dismemberment. Years later, further
1:07:56
investigation would link Ganerka to the case and although the
1:08:01
prosecutor objected to ADNA test being done in Ganerka, who was
1:08:07
now deceased, the District Court ruled that his tissue samples
1:08:13
could be released. However, the SVIA Court of
1:08:18
Appeals intervened in a shocking determination.
1:08:22
The court ruled against his DNA samples being tested because it
1:08:30
would be incriminating against him.
1:08:33
They claimed that they don't test the deceased out of respect
1:08:39
for the dead, but there have been several other cases in
1:08:44
which they had. So it left some wondering why
1:08:49
weren't they willing to test generica samples to confirm or
1:08:55
deny his being the perpetrator. It's not as if the man was a
1:09:01
stand up law abiding citizen. He was a psychotic, convicted
1:09:07
serial killer who most likely had been behind other unsolved
1:09:15
murders. Former police Inspector Ola
1:09:18
Torgay and A Ling SaaS believe that Teet Harm and Thomas Algin
1:09:24
were innocent of the crimes and that Ganerka was the true
1:09:29
killer. Officer Torgay was so committed
1:09:33
to proving the truth that he went so far as to try to obtain
1:09:39
DNA from Ganerka's relatives on his own so he could compare the
1:09:45
hairs on the towel. In addition to the General
1:09:49
practitioner and the coroner and the serial killer Stanishov
1:09:53
Kanerka, several other men have been suspects of involvement in
1:10:00
Katrina Costa's death and dismemberment over the years.
1:10:04
One of them was referred to as Yane, who was detained for three
1:10:09
days in 1999. Police Professor Leif Pearson is
1:10:15
among those who is convinced that Yani knows how Katrina
1:10:19
Acosta died. Yani had made allegations about
1:10:23
knowing something about her death that the police never
1:10:26
looked into. Police Officer Pearson believes
1:10:30
that Yani knows how she was killed.
1:10:34
He doesn't think he was behind the dismemberment though, noting
1:10:38
his mental fragility. But he thinks he may have had an
1:10:42
accomplice in the process after murdering, possibly by accident,
1:10:48
Katrine. This alleged assistant was also
1:10:53
never investigated. It was confirmed by the police
1:10:57
that Yani did know Katrina Costa.
1:11:00
In fact, one of her earrings had been located at his residence.
1:11:05
However, when his DNA was tested years later with a hair on the
1:11:10
towel, just like the doctors, it didn't match.
1:11:15
Another possible suspect was a man referred to as Vincent.
1:11:20
He was near the scene of the crime on the evening it was
1:11:23
believed that Katrine was killed and he had access to weapons.
1:11:28
His name was also located within Katrine's address book and he
1:11:33
owned a brothel. At the time of the events, the
1:11:38
man known as Vincent also had experience with slaughtering
1:11:43
animals and didn't have an alibi yet.
1:11:47
With all of this promising evidence connecting him to the
1:11:51
crime and the victim, the investigators questioned him
1:11:55
once and then later on had another brief discussion with
1:11:59
him. No searches or forensic tests
1:12:03
were ever performed on Vincent. A witness and man named Bent,
1:12:07
who claimed to be a good friend of Katrine's later came forward
1:12:12
when he saw that the police were reinvestigating her murder.
1:12:17
He stated that he last saw Katrine that Friday evening on
1:12:22
Gamla Borgaten in Stockholm. He said Katrine was accompanied
1:12:27
by middle-aged Swedish man with dark medium length hair,
1:12:33
described the man as being highly stressed and
1:12:36
uncomfortable and he appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
1:12:41
The conversation between him and Katrine was short and they went
1:12:45
their separate ways. There is also the matter of
1:12:49
Professor Yvonne Rice, the senior forensics Doctor Who had
1:12:54
been a mentor and professor to the coroner.
1:12:58
Teeth harm. The doctor appeared to have gone
1:13:01
out of his way to implicate teat harm in the murder and
1:13:06
dismemberment of Katrina Costa. Although Yvonne Rice has always
1:13:12
stood by his accusations and belief in the doctor's guilt, he
1:13:18
also wrote in his book that if he hadn't made the connection
1:13:22
between the doctors and the child's story, and I quote, the
1:13:25
coroner would have come back to forensic medicine, obtained A
1:13:30
doctorate and perhaps succeeded me as professor.
1:13:34
Doesn't that really say all that needs to be said about this
1:13:38
man's possible motivation for helping the police and the
1:13:42
prosecution frame and persecute 2 innocent men in particular,
1:13:48
Teed Harm. Both the coroner and the General
1:13:51
practitioner, also known as Teed Harm and Thomas Algin, still
1:13:56
hold hope that one day they will receive justice for their
1:14:02
wrongful convictions and the revocation of their medical
1:14:06
licenses. The courts could still provide
1:14:09
them with a formal apology and compensation and renew their
1:14:14
licenses, but their trust in justice in Sweden has long since
1:14:20
expired. Many elements and individuals
1:14:24
within the justice and legal system in Sweden collaborated to
1:14:28
unfairly target and punish them without any real evidence of
1:14:34
their guilt. So many years have passed, yet
1:14:37
no one seems willing to come forward and acknowledge the
1:14:42
wrongs, the errors, the defamation and destruction of
1:14:48
these men's lives. What I find very interesting is
1:14:52
how there are many people, true crime bloggers in particular,
1:14:57
that believe these men are guilty and discuss this case as
1:15:02
if it were only a miscarriage of justice because they were
1:15:06
acquitted. I have even come across claims
1:15:09
that Teed Harm was a serial killer.
1:15:11
Based on what evidence are these individuals and websites making
1:15:17
such allegations? I understand and acknowledge
1:15:20
that there were some bizarre circumstances.
1:15:24
Antiet Harm in particular may not have been the most likeable
1:15:29
character, but that doesn't make him a murderer and definitely
1:15:34
does not mean he was a serial killer.
1:15:37
Not only is it dangerous and unethical to print this kind of
1:15:42
so-called journalism because it taints the facts of the case,
1:15:47
but it also erases the importance of still needing to
1:15:52
prove who murdered Katrina Costa and the countless other women
1:15:58
who have been marginalized and dismissed by law enforcement,
1:16:04
the legal system, and society at large, and continue to do so
1:16:08
around the world today. Katrina's tragic story and
1:16:13
horrific murder have been noted as being a source of inspiration
1:16:18
to several authors, including the late fiction.
1:16:21
Writer. Stieg Larsson, the man who
1:16:25
created the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, which centered
1:16:29
around Sweden's criminal underbelly.
1:16:32
It helped to bring to light the darkness of the drug trafficking
1:16:37
and prostitution that was occurring in the red light
1:16:40
district at the time. It likely inspired the Swedish
1:16:44
Sex Act of 1999, which makes it illegal to purchase sex services
1:16:52
but does not make it illegal to provide or sell them, which
1:16:57
helps to protect and empower sex workers.
1:17:02
There are many within the medical community and legal
1:17:05
scholars who not only continue to believe in the innocence of
1:17:10
teeth harm and Thomas Algin in the murder and dismemberment of
1:17:15
Katrina Costa, but also don't agree with her medical licenses
1:17:20
being revoked. Some have even compared these
1:17:23
events to a witch trial. These men were painted as
1:17:28
sadistic monsters based on a child's stories reported by a
1:17:33
vengeful and paranoid mother. These young doctors were viewed
1:17:38
as guilty from the start and as a result, their reputations,
1:17:44
careers, and ultimately their lives were destroyed by rumors,
1:17:50
hearsay, and a misplaced quest for justice. 40 years later, in
1:17:56
2024, a documentary was released in Sweden detailing the horrific
1:18:01
crime and the unfolding of what many now consider to be a
1:18:07
wrongful conviction against the doctors.
1:18:10
To many in recent years, these events are perceived as one of
1:18:14
the greatest legal scandals in Sweden, a case of the ultimate
1:18:19
miscarriage of justice for both the young doctors and especially
1:18:24
for Katrina Acosta and her family.
1:18:26
The injustice doesn't just end with the doctors and the victim
1:18:31
but also for the small child, his daughter who became the key
1:18:35
witness in the state due to the manipulations and accusations of
1:18:40
unproven abuse that four different examinations found no
1:18:44
evidence of. This daughter and father have
1:18:47
been separated from one another for over 25 years.
1:18:53
Based on the unfounded reasons within the verdict, the child
1:18:57
and her mother were legally provided with confidentiality,
1:19:02
leading them to disappear from society, with the father never
1:19:07
knowing where his daughter was. I choose to deal with facts when
1:19:12
I conduct research and discuss a case.
1:19:15
Unless there is irrefutable forensic evidence of their
1:19:19
involvement, their confessions, or even strong circumstantial
1:19:24
evidence, I default to believing these men were innocent.
1:19:28
The star witnesses were a paranoid, possibly mentally ill
1:19:32
mother speaking for her toddler and an aging forensics professor
1:19:38
who viewed one of the defendants as a direct threat to his
1:19:42
position. If there is a significant reason
1:19:46
as to why others who talk about this case believe the defendants
1:19:50
were guilty, then they should state it as such.
1:19:54
Being interested in violent horror films, sadistic
1:19:58
pornography, and paying for sex doesn't mean someone is
1:20:02
necessarily violent or evil, much less a serial killer.
1:20:08
If that were the case, we would be dealing with thousands upon
1:20:11
thousands, if not millions of men killing women under similar
1:20:16
circumstances. It's important that society not
1:20:20
allow personality flaws and character traits to undermine
1:20:24
the truth and derail justice. When an innocent person is
1:20:29
convicted of a crime, it is a matter of double injustice.
1:20:34
Being convicted of a serious offense with little to no
1:20:38
sufficient evidence as a betrayal of legal requirements
1:20:43
and integrity. The convicted is now a victim of
1:20:47
the inefficient, even corrupt system, while the real
1:20:51
perpetrator remains free and the victim of the crime and their
1:20:57
loved ones still await true justice.
1:21:02
Katrina Acosta's mother and sister have expressed
1:21:05
disappointment and anger towards how law enforcement has
1:21:10
continually dismissed them throughout the investigations.
1:21:14
Over the years, they never received any useful, significant
1:21:19
information. Katrina Acosta wasn't just a
1:21:24
marginalized woman, a drug addicted homeless prostitute who
1:21:29
has been forgotten about. Katrine was a mother of two
1:21:32
children whom she loved. She was a daughter and a sister
1:21:38
who was and still is dearly missed by them.
1:21:42
When people who knew Katrine Acosta talked about her, they
1:21:46
described her as being shy, kind, gentle and vulnerable.
1:21:52
She was struggling still with her addiction, but at the time
1:21:56
of her death she had been making strides toward getting herself
1:22:01
off of drugs so she could regain custody of her children.
1:22:06
She was loved and appreciated by many people who knew her, but
1:22:11
her addiction, her demons, held far too much power over her
1:22:17
life. In the end, the darkness
1:22:20
consumed her and someone or multiple persons took advantage
1:22:27
of her vulnerable state and life and preyed upon her to fulfill
1:22:33
their perverse, twisted desires. Thank you so much for listening
1:22:39
to the fascinating legal case of the Coroner and the General
1:22:44
practitioner and the dismemberment trials of Sweden.
1:22:49
If you have any questions, comments, ideas for future
1:22:52
episodes, I would love to hear from you.
1:22:55
Please reach out, you could find my contact information in the
1:22:59
episode description. Until next time, stay safe and
1:23:05
watch every shades of murder happening in the streets next
1:23:10
door, especially inside your own home.
1:23:15
Shades of Murder is created, researched, written and edited
1:23:20
by Alita Caldwell. Original music stranger composed
1:23:25
by stereo code.