It was in the beginning of August last year that a man – who was in his 70s at the time – was found shot to death in his home in Åstorp municipality. The police quickly arrested two men, but later suspected that more people were involved.
The murder was part of a series of revenge actions directed against the man's son, the court of appeal states.
The district court sentenced a 22-year-old man to 16 years in prison for committing the murder. The man received a shorter sentence because he provided information about other people. As a result, two men, 21 and 38 years old, were sentenced to life imprisonment for instigating the murder.
Now the court of appeal is changing the district court's verdict. The 38-year-old is fully acquitted since no evidence has been presented to prove that he acted in accordance with the description of the crime.
"The 22-year-old convicted of murder has told about the two men in the hope of getting a milder sentence himself. This means that his statements must be assessed with great caution," says court of appeal judge Petter Anefur, according to the press release.
According to Anefur, the 22-year-old convicted of murder has also changed his story on several occasions during the investigation.
The 21-year-old is instead sentenced to 12 years and 10 months in prison for aiding and abetting murder.
