Marie Johansson’s sister, Birgitta Borén, is calling for a change in the law so that murders committed by perpetrators under the age of 18 are not subject to a 15-year statute of limitations as they are currently. After the police received a DNA hit on the suspected murderer of Marie Johansson, the investigation had to be closed due to the suspect being under 18 at the time of the crime and therefore unable to be interrogated. Birgitta Borén believes that these rules need to be changed. The murder took place at Marie’s place of work, a fabric store in central Gothenburg, almost 18 years ago. The police were able to secure DNA evidence from the suspected perpetrator, a woman captured on a blurry surveillance image. Despite the police conducting DNA tests on around 700 individuals and following numerous leads, including the creation of a new composite image using modern technology, no breakthrough occurred until last winter, when a couple was caught at Ikea for not scanning all their items. The woman suspected of the murder was subsequently subjected to a DNA test, and after 17 years, the police finally obtained a match. Birgitta Borén and her family received the positive news but were soon met with disappointment when they learned that the investigation had to be closed. The suspect was only 17 years old at the time of the crime, and in such cases, the statute of limitations is 15 years. As a result, the murder, which would never have been subject to a statute of limitations if committed by an adult, had become time-barred nearly two years earlier. Prosecutor Ulrika Åberg, who received the case when the match was found and later had to close the investigation, was uncomfortable with the decision. Birgitta Borén shares the same opinion and believes it is outrageous that her sister’s suspected murderer cannot even be interrogated. Both Birgitta Borén and the family, as well as the prosecutor, believe that the rules need to be changed, at least regarding the most serious offenses, to allow for investigations to be conducted. The issue has been under review before, and Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer, a member of the Moderate Party, has stated that the government is not opposed to making a change. The latest episode of the podcast ”Aftonbladet Krim” discusses the murder in the fabric store and how close it came to being solved in the end.
