The Iraqi migrant found guilty of murdering and beheading Swedish teen Wilma Andersson has launched an appeal over his conviction to Sweden’s supreme court.
Tishko S., 23, has challenged the 18-year-sentence handed down to him by a Swedish court after he was convicted in July of killing 17-year-old Andersson. Initially, he had been sentenced to life, but a court reduced his term to just 18 years.
According to a report from broadcaster SVT, the Iraqi submitted a hand-written note for his appeal which stated: “My soul is torn between hopelessness and despair. You’re my last hope. I’m innocent.”
The Swedish Supreme Court registrar told the broadcaster that such hand-written appeals are not uncommon from convicts.
Tishko S. was initially arrested in November 2019 after investigators found the severed head of 17-year-old Wilma in a suitcase in the Iraqi’s apartment.
Wilma had gone missing on November 14th, and an investigation consisting of around 5,000 police and volunteers had attempted to find her.
While her head and traces of her DNA were found in his apartment, the Iraqi, who had been a former boyfriend of the teen, denied any involvement with her murder.
The 23-year-old continued to profess his innocence after his conviction in July and the rest of Wilma’s remains have not been found.
Peder Schillerström Bruun, chairman of a voluntary organisation in Sweden, has vowed to search for the rest of the teen’s remains, saying: “What motivates us to continue looking for Wilma is her family, who should be able to have a whole body to bury.”
The murder bore a similarity to that of Italian teen Pamela Mastropietro, who was murdered and dismembered by a Nigerian drug dealer in 2018. He had stuffed her remains into suitcases which he left by the side of a road.
Innocent Oseghale was later found guilty of the murder in May 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.