Bio 

Mijailo Mijailović was born on December 6, 1978, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was born to Serbian immigrant parents. He later attended school in Sweden but did not finish high school. Mijailović had a history of family conflict and mental-health problems. In 1997, he was convicted of assault after stabbing his father with a kitchen knife. His father survived. Mijailović said he had been trying to stop an argument between his parents, but he could not clearly remember the attack.

After that case, he was sentenced to probation. A psychiatric evaluation said he needed mental-health treatment. Before Anna Lindh’s murder, Mijailović also had other criminal records. These included illegal weapons possession and threatening phone calls to two women.

His mental health became an important part of the later murder case. His defense said he heard voices telling him to attack Lindh. However, the courts later ruled that the killing was murder, not manslaughter.

Murder Story

On September 10, 2003, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was shopping at the Nordiska Kompaniet department store in Stockholm. She did not have bodyguards with her at the time. Shortly after 4 p.m., Mijailo Mijailović attacked her in the women’s clothing department. He stabbed her several times in the chest, stomach, and arms, then ran away from the store.

Lindh was taken to Karolinska Hospital. Doctors performed emergency surgery and tried for hours to save her. She had serious internal injuries and heavy bleeding. She died on September 11, 2003, one day after the attack. The murder shocked Sweden. Lindh was a well-known political leader and was seen as a possible future prime minister.

After the attack, police began a major search for the killer. Surveillance images from the department store were released. Police also found items believed to be connected to the crime, including clothing and a knife. Mijailović was arrested on September 24, 2003, after evidence connected him to the attack. At first, he denied being involved. On January 6, 2004, he confessed to stabbing Anna Lindh.

His trial took place in January 2004. During questioning, Mijailović said he had been depressed and claimed that voices in his head told him to attack. He also said he had carried a knife and a bulletproof vest when he went into Stockholm that day. His defense argued that he did not intend to kill Lindh and should receive psychiatric care. The court rejected that argument. On March 23, 2004, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

On July 8, 2004, an appeals court changed the sentence and ordered him to receive closed psychiatric care instead of prison. The court accepted findings that he had serious mental-health problems at the time of the attack.

The prosecution appealed again. On December 2, 2004, the Supreme Court of Sweden gave the final ruling. It sentenced Mijailović to life imprisonment and overturned the psychiatric-care decision.