John Ausonius
| John Ausonius | |
|---|---|
John Ausonius in the projection booth of the Astoria movie theater in , 1986.
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| Born |
Wolfgang Alexander Zaugg 12 July 1953 Lidingö, Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Other names | Lasermannen ("the Laser Man") Cykelrånaren ("the Bicycle Bank Robber") |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated at Österåker Prison |
| Motive | Racism |
| Conviction(s) | One count of murder, ten counts of attempted murder, nine counts of robbery |
John Wolfgang Alexander Ausonius (born Wolfgang Alexander Zaugg, 12 July 1953), known in the media as Lasermannen ("the Laser Man"), is a Swedish convicted murderer, bank robber, and attempted serial killer. From August 1991 to January 1992 he shot eleven people in the and Uppsala area, most of whom were immigrants, killing one and seriously injuring the others. He first used a rifle equipped with a laser sight (hence, his nickname), and later switched to a revolver. He was arrested in June 1992 and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 1994.
Ausonius was born Wolfgang Alexander Zaugg in Lidingö, northeast of , Sweden. He is the son of a Swiss father and a German mother, both of whom had emigrated to Sweden. He grew up in Vällingby, a working class suburb of Stockholm. According to newspaper reports, he was bullied as a child because of his non-Swedish background, which manifested in him being teased for having very black hair and brown eyes. As an adult, he bleached his hair blonde, used blue contact lenses and legally changed his name. Initially, he changed his name to John Wolfgang Alexander Stannerman, and later to John Wolfgang Alexander Ausonius. He went to the German School in Stockholm, a private school, but dropped out before graduating. He later completed his secondary school education in an adult education programme. Ausonius was accepted into the Royal Institute of Technology, but dropped out after a couple of years of unsuccessful study.
In 1986, following the Olof Palme assassination, Ausonius, then named John Stannerman, was one of the police's initial suspects. However, Stannerman could not be linked to the murder as he was incarcerated at the time, serving a sentence for multiple counts of assault committed. In prison he became an acquaintance of Miro Barešić, a member of Croatian National Resistance, a Croatian émigré anti-communist organization created by members of the fascist Ustaše movement. Barešić was imprisoned for the 1971 murder of Vladimir Rolović, the Yugoslav ambassador to Sweden.
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