Search Results - Roger Karlsson

Roger Karlsson

Lars Roger Karlsson (born 24 June 1968) is a Swedish man who committed a series of three murders in Gothenburg in January–February 2001. He grew up in a stable, middle-class environment, performed well in school, and was described as calm, kind, and reliable. After studying natural sciences and spending time as an exchange student in the United States, he built an early career in the restaurant industry and became well known within Gothenburg's nightlife scene. Despite this outward stability, Karlsson later described years of inner turmoil, self-destructive behavior, substance abuse, and increasing emotional instability. His plans to open his own restaurant collapsed after failed business ventures and bankruptcies in the late 1990s, leaving him financially ruined, deeply embittered, and psychologically fragile.

Between 29 January and 1 February 2001, during a period of heavy alcohol and amphetamine use, Karlsson killed three people who were all personally close to him: his former girlfriend Maria Domingues, whom he strangled and bludgeoned at Albatross Golf Club; another former partner, Cecilia Berglund, whom he killed with an axe in her apartment; and restaurateur Lars Hansson, whom he attacked with an axe in broad daylight on a central Gothenburg street.

After the third killing, Karlsson surrendered to police without resistance. He confessed to all three murders but claimed fragmented memory and was unable to give clear motives, particularly for the killings of the two women. Psychiatric evaluations concluded that he had been suffering from a severe psychotic disorder at the time of the crimes. In June 2001, found him guilty of three counts of murder but sentenced him to compulsory forensic psychiatric care rather than imprisonment.

Karlsson responded quickly to treatment. Within little more than a year, his condition was considered significantly improved, and courts began granting him increasing degrees of freedom. Already in late 2002 he was allowed to move freely within the hospital grounds, and in early 2003 he was granted unescorted leave outside the hospital. Despite objections from the prosecutor, appellate courts ruled that his treatment had been highly successful and that the risk of reoffending was considered low. By the autumn of 2003—less than three years after the murders—Karlsson was effectively living in the community on continuous leave under strict conditions, while formally remaining under psychiatric care.

Medical assessments concluded that Karlsson had suffered an acute psychotic break at the time of the killings, exacerbated by long-term substance abuse and fixation on perceived betrayals. He later expressed remorse, acknowledged the suffering he caused, and stated that he wished to live a quiet, ordinary life away from Gothenburg, accepting that he would remain under long-term psychiatric supervision. Provided by Wikipedia