Bio

Christer Pettersson was born on April 23, 1947, in Solna, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up in a middle-class family. As a child, he showed promise in the arts and attended Calle Flygares teaterskola, a theatrical school. His teachers noticed his talent, and he was thought to have a bright future ahead of him.

However, Christer's life changed when he suffered a serious head injury. This injury had a lasting effect on him and led to a period of substance abuse. As a result, he struggled to continue his education and eventually dropped out of school.

In 1970, at the age of 23, he was involved in an incident that led to the death of a man, which became known as the "bayonet murder" in the Swedish press. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to prison. After he served his time, he continued to engage in petty crimes to support his alcohol and drug habits.

Murder Story

On February 28, 1986, Olof Palme, the Prime Minister of Sweden, was shot and killed as he walked home from a cinema in Stockholm with his wife, Lisbet. The couple had been enjoying a night out when they were attacked on the street. A man approached them from behind and shot Palme at close range. Lisbet also sustained injuries but survived.

Christer Pettersson was later accused of the murder. He had a troubled background, including a history of substance abuse and previous convictions for violence. Following an investigation, Lisbet Palme picked Pettersson out of a police lineup, which led to his arrest. He was convicted of Olof Palme's murder in 1988 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

However, the conviction was overturned on appeal in 1989. The appeals court cited various factors, including the lack of a murder weapon and concerns about the reliability of Lisbet's identification. As a result, Pettersson was acquitted and awarded compensation for wrongful imprisonment.

Despite being cleared, Pettersson's life remained tumultuous. He later claimed in interviews to have killed Palme, but many did not take his statements seriously. The police were never able to find the gun that was used in the assassination, and the case remained officially unsolved.

In the years following the acquittal, Pettersson generated media attention, discussing the case and his supposed involvement. He lived a life marked by further struggles with substance abuse until he fell into a coma in September 2004 after suffering a head injury. He died on September 29, 2004.

Pettersson's connection to the Palme assassination continued to spark interest and speculation long after his death, with various theories surrounding both the murder and his involvement.