An Iraqi migrant has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 17-year-old Swedish girl Wilma Andersson and dismembering her body.
Iraqi-born Tishko S. was found guilty by the Uddevalla District Court on Tuesday. The court stated that there was no reasonable doubt that the 23-year-old had murdered the Swedish teen, who had been his one-time girlfriend.
The court added that Tishko S. must also pay 227,664 (£20,000/$26,000) Swedish kronor to the parents and sister of his victim, Swedish broadcaster SVT reported on Tuesday.
The case dates to November 2019 when the 17-year-old went missing from her home, with Tishko S. being arrested as the prime suspect in the case. Wilma’s severed head was later found in his apartment, but despite this, the 23-year-old continued to deny the murder.
The rest of Wilma’s remains have not so far not been found, but a voluntary organisation has vowed to search for the rest of her body.
“What motivates us to continue looking for Wilma is her family, who should be able to have a whole body to bury,” the charity’s Chairman Peder Schillerström Bruun said. Mr Schillerström Bruun noted that his group would resume their search in the autumn.
The prosecutor in the case, Jim Westerberg, said he was pleased with the speed of the case.
“We are very pleased that the National Forensic Centre has given priority to the case and worked hard to obtain test results that were necessary. The investigating police in the case have also done a very good job,” Mr Westerberg said.
Several non-Swedish media outlets have given details regarding Iraqi-born Tishko S.; however, SVT has not done so. The author released a brief statement at the end of their report, saying: “I do not currently see that there is an irrefutable public interest to publish the identity of the convicted person.”
Swedish media has admitted that asylum seekers and those of migrant-backgrounds are disproportionately involved in aggravated rape attacks, and most of the heads of Stockholm’s criminal gangs also come from migrant backgrounds. However, Swedish media rarely identifies the nationality of criminals in individual cases.