The former club profile Gudmundur Mogensen, 41, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the Social Democrat Kristina Bah in Akalla. Two accomplices receive long prison sentences for assisting him on the planned day of the murder – when another woman was also on the list of intended targets.
It was on October 22 last year that 63-year-old Kristina Bah, active in the Social Democrats and engaged in the church politics of Spånga-Kista parish, was shot dead in her apartment on Sibeliusgången in Akalla. She was found lying on the hall floor – dead for several hours.
Kristina Bah had an adult son, known within the criminal network Husbys hyenas. According to the investigation, she was murdered as part of a gang settlement where the perpetrators targeted relatives of rivals.
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The 41-year-old Gudmundur Mogensen, who in police interrogation called himself Johan Svensson, eventually admitted to the deed and then gave the appearance of feeling strong remorse:
– I have killed a person, a mother. It is unforgivable. There are no excuses for this.
An ordered execution
According to the verdict in Solna District Court, Mogensen had contact with gang criminals via the encrypted app Signal in the weeks before the murder. He was offered payment to carry out various missions – to “blow up or shoot at gates” – and was enticed by the prospect of quick money.
The day of the murder started early in the morning. Mogensen had been drinking with his then-girlfriend Maja Pern, 31, who assisted him with clothes, shoes, a car, and a hotel room. She also arranged transportation and later made a fake call to SOS to mislead the police.
Together with 52-year-old Robert Ingesson, who acted as a driver and weapon transporter, Mogensen set out on what the prosecutor calls a “murder tour” through Stockholm. He had a list of six addresses linked to people with gang connections.
At the first address in the western suburbs, the woman became suspicious and did not open the door, thus avoiding being shot dead. The second woman on the list – Kristina Bah – did not have the same vigilance and luck.
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At 3:25 PM, three shots were fired in the hallway of her residence. Shortly thereafter, the red getaway car drove away from there. Several hours later, around seven in the evening, the body was discovered by a neighbor who had noticed that the door was ajar.
Evidence against the perpetrators
The police were quickly able to narrow down the murderer. Mogensen had used a special mobile phone during his missions – a phone that was traced through several cell towers. Surveillance images showed him with the phone in hand at McDonald’s on Södermalm the evening before the murder.
DNA on a cartridge case and witness observations in the area further strengthened the evidence. When Mogensen finally confessed in March this year, he described the deed as something he “could not understand”:
– It’s eating me up inside, because I don’t understand. This is not me, he claimed in interrogation.
The verdict in the district court
Solna District Court states in the verdict that Gudmundur Mogensen planned and carried out the murder on behalf of a criminal network. He is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Kristina Bah and the attempted murder of another woman on the same day.
His accomplices also receive long sentences: Maja Pern, 31, is sentenced to 11 years and 10 months in prison for aiding and abetting murder and attempted murder. Robert Ingesson, 52, is sentenced to 13 years and 10 months in prison for the same charges.
All three have changed their names during the remand. Pern and Ingesson deny the charges, and their defense attorneys have announced that the verdict will be appealed.
– We are surprised by the verdict. We will appeal and expect a different outcome in the court of appeal, says Maja Pern’s lawyer Elsa Andersson.
A murder that shocked Järva
The murder of Kristina Bah sparked strong reactions in the Järva area. She was described as a caring and committed person with a strong social commitment – but her son had long been deeply involved in Stockholm’s gang environment.
According to the police, the murder is an example of the new violence strategy in the ongoing gang conflicts, where perpetrators target relatives of rivals when the actual targets cannot be reached.