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Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson today, Wednesday 10 June, decided to discontinue the investigation into the murder of the former prime minister of Sweden, Olof Palme, which dates back to 28 February 1986 on the grounds that the "suspect is deceased”.

Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson announced his decision during a digital press conference together with the Swedish Police Authority on Wednesday morning. According to Petersson, the killing is believed to have been performed by the lone perpetrator, Stig Engström. “As the person is deceased, I cannot bring charges against him and have decided to discontinue the investigation. In my opinion, Stig Engström is the prime suspect. My assessment is that, after oveer 34 years, it is difficult to believe that any further investigation would provide us with any new details and therefore I believe we have come as far as one could expect”, says Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson. In the investigation, testimonies, statements and witness interviews were all analysed. To a large extent, we have been at the mercy of the police investigative work that was performed closer to the time of the crime. The current Palme investigation has not been able to repeat such investigative work. “This concerns, among other things, the descriptions provided of Stig Engström which correspond well with several witness statements. His own statement concerning his actions during the period of time the crime was committed does not reconcile with statements provided by others. The evidence strongly suggests he was at the crime scene, but in a completely different role than the one he wished to present. All in all, there are a number of circumstances that point to Engström. Had the current Palme investigation group been in charge 34 years ago, Stig Engström would have been remanded in custody had he been unable to provide satisfactory explanations for his movements and actions. My assessment is that there would have been sufficient evidence to have him detained in custody”, says Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson. “At one time we had a reasonable chance of securing the murder weapon as well as other evidence, and to investigate whether he had acted as part of a wider conspiracy. Now this is not possible”, Krister Petersson concludes. Head of Investigation Hans Melander, who also attended the press conference, says that the Palme investigation is one of the world's largest investigations. “It is by far Sweden's largest criminal investigation and is sometimes compared with the murder of JFK and Lockerbie bombing. It has been ongoing since 1986 and contains 22,430 different points of interest. 90,000 people are included in the preliminary investigation of which 40,000 are named. More than 10,000 people have been interviewed, many of them several times. More than 4,000 vehicles were investigated. And 134 people have confessed to committing the murder, including 29 directly to the police”, says Head of Investigation Hans Melander. The prosecutor and police are only available for interviews for those who have pre-registered. The decision translated into English Photo of Krister Petersson     Press Service, +46 10 562 50 20

The Swedish Prosecution Authority and the Swedish Police Authority invite the media to a digital press conference on Wednesday 10 June at 9.30 am. Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson will present his decision in the case and, together with Head of the Investigation Hans Melander, he will provide details concerning the investigation.

The press conference will be held digitally and broadcasted on both the Swedish Prosecution Authority’s and the Swedish Police Authority’s YouTube channels respectively. The press conference will be interpreted into English and broadcasted on this YouTube-channel. There will be the opportunity to conduct individual interviews afterwards. This means that journalists cannot be physically present at the press conference. The reason for this is that we estimate that more than 50 people would be present in the conference room during a physical press conference. Pre-registered journalists will be able to place questions in an open Q&A session via a link directly after the presentations. Individual interviews afterwards Following the press conference, Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson will be available via Skype or telephone. This is due to him belonging to a risk group. Head of the Investigation Hans Melander will be physically present to the media after the press conference. Compulsory registration to question and answer session and individual interviews Journalists who wish to participate in the Q&A session must register in advance. One person per media house will have the opportunity to place questions during the open session. Due to time constraints, each journalist can place only one or two questions. Register at [email protected] by e-mailing a picture of your press credential or a certificate from your editorial client. When you receive confirmation of your registration, you will also receive information on how to connect digitally to the press conference and how the Q&A session will operate. Journalists who wish to interview Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson afterwards must register at [email protected]. Please provide the same information as for the Q&A session, as well as to which e-mail address you wish to receive the invitation. You will receive a time slot in your final invitation. If you wish to interview Head of Investigation, Hans Melander, who will be physically present following the press conference, please send an interview inquiry to [email protected]. All registrations must be received before 3 pm on Monday 8 June. Please note that if there are an exceptional number of questions during the Q&A session on 10 June and/or requests for individual interviews, then due to time constraints we may have to limit the number of journalists who are able to place questions. Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson will also be available for interviews on 11 and 12 June at 10 am–3 pm. If necessary, we will get back to journalists who could not be prioritized on 10 June. Press Contact: Press Service, the Swedish Prosecution Authority, +46 10 562 50 20 Annika Collin, Press Manager, the Swedish Prosecution Authority +46 10 562 50 15 Anna Knöfel Magnusson, Press Officer, the Swedish Prosecution Authority +46 10 562 51 99 Press Service, the Swedish Police Authority +46 10 563 91 70     Press Service, +46 10 562 50 20