The ‘Serial Killer’ Who Falsely Confessed to Over 30 Murders
All eight of his murder convictions were overturned
“In Sweden, Thomas Quick used to be considered to be the worst serial killer in existence. A predator with his sights set firmly on young boys, who he allegedly sexually abused before stabbing them to death with a knife. He was considered a living demon — evil personified.” — Kristian Gidllund, VICE
Sture Ragnar Bergwall, also known by his alter ego of Thomas Quick, was a Swedish man many previously believed to be a serial killer after confessing to 30 murders. He was incarcerated in a mental institution in Säter, Sweden, and then later convicted of eight of those murders.
However, his confessions were withdrawn and the murder convictions didn’t hold — he was released from a mental hospital in July of 2013. He is now exonerated of all his murder convictions.
The reason why Bergwall was released is simple — there wasn’t much evidence. There was no eyewitness testimony nor forensic evidence to connect him to the crimes.
Elizabeth Day at The Guardian compared Bergwall’s story, once named Thomas Quick, as a “real-life Scandinavian crime novel,” who was once upon a time, not too long ago, Sweden’s the most infamous serial killer. Day first met Bergwall in a…
