Niklas Lindgren
| Niklas Lindgren | |
|---|---|
Lindgren in custody.
|
|
| Born |
Kurt Niklas Lindgren June 26, 1972 Umeå, Sweden |
| Other names | Hagamannen |
| Criminal penalty | 14 years imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Released (2015-07-28) |
| Conviction(s) | Nine counts of sexual assault |
Kurt Niklas Lindgren (born June 26, 1972, in Sörmjöle, Umeå Municipality), known in the media prior to his arrest as Hagamannen ("The Haga Man"), is a convicted Swedish serial rapist. Lindgren was convicted of nine counts of sexual assault in 2006, two of which were labeled attempted murder, in relation to attacks in the city of Umeå from 1998 to 2005. The attacks were all made outdoors, involved physical violence and in some cases attempts to kill his victims. The nickname "Hagamannen" refers to the area in Umeå named Haga where Lindgren made his first assault.
Lindgren was identified and arrested by the Swedish police after they received a tip from the public on March 29, 2006. His DNA matched the DNA previously secured from the victims. On April 22 Lindgren confessed to six of the assaults. On July 19 he was convicted of eight assaults by the Umeå District Court and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Lindgren appealed to the Upper Norrland Court of Appeal, which on October 2 upheld the district court's sentence plus one case of rape in 2000. Lindgren's appeal to the Supreme Court was not granted.
Lindgren was released on July 28, 2015 and is now on probation after nine years served.
On August 22, 2015 he was hit in the head with a golf club. On 13 November 2015, the three attackers were found not guilty of Lindgren's assault.
The investigation to find Hagamannen was one of the largest ever in Sweden. More than 30 policemen worked full-time to catch the serial rapist, but the investigation met some setbacks. For example:
According to media reports, there are several facts in the case which indicate that the man which the police had in custody was the perpetrator:
In response to a tip from the public regarding Lindgren’s resemblance to the facial composite, the police approached him for a voluntary DNA sample. Lindgren refused, but was compelled to provide the sample in accordance with a new law after being interviewed by police.
On 29 March 2006, police learned that the DNA sample matched those taken from the crime scenes. Two plainclothes officers were sent to Lindgren’s place of employment. They arrived during his lunch break; Lindgren failed to return to work after lunch. Later that afternoon police released a media report indicating that they had arrested a suspect in relation to the attacks.
...
Wikipedia