Stig Engström (suspected murderer)

Stig Engström was born in Bombay, India, to Swedish parents who came from Småland.[5][6] His mother, Ruth Engström, was from Nybro; his father, Folke Engström, worked for Ivar Kreuger.[7] In 1926, his father received the opportunity from his employer to move to India to start up production there.[8]

During the couple's time in Bombay, they gave birth to Stig Engström in 1934; his brother was born in 1940 in Calcutta.[9] They grew up in British India and had a nanny, a chef and a gardener. Engström returned to Sweden when he was twelve years old and lived with relatives of the family until his parents also returned a few years later. He attended the same elite school as Palme, but while Engström showed artistic and athletic talent, he did not excel academically and never graduated or went to university.[10] Engström did military service before starting his studies to become a graphic designer. For some time, he worked for the Swedish military on illustrations for field manuals. During the late 1960s, he was hired by Sveriges Radios förlag and later by the insurance company Skandia to do designer work for them in Stockholm, a position which he held until retirement.[8]

Engström married in 1964 but later divorced, and married a second time in 1968. Besides his work as a graphic designer, he was also involved in the Moderate Party in Täby, where he lived. Engström's work for the party included design, print work and advertising. He eventually left the Moderates because of a disagreement with his local party association.

In 1999, his second marriage dissolved and in June 2000, he died in his home, at the age of 66.[11]

The Skandia Building (Skandiahuset), where Engström worked (2010 photo). Palme was shot at the corner, outside the Kreatima shop window.

Engström was one of some twenty people present at the scene when Prime Minister Olof Palme was fatally shot in central Stockholm, late in the evening of 28 February 1986.[12]

It is known that Engström clocked out of work and chatted with security guards at the main entrance to the Skandia insurance company only one or two minutes before the shooting.[13] Some twenty minutes later, Engström returned to the building to tell the guards about what had happened in the street. After that, he is believed to have gone home.[12]

Engström was not interviewed by the police at the scene. When later questioned as a witness on several occasions, Engström gave varying accounts of his movements and events that contradicted those of other witnesses.[14] After initially treating him as a person of interest, the police appear to have grown frustrated at Engström as an unreliable witness and publicity seeker who was making a nuisance of himself. He would no longer figure in the official investigation.[15]

The theory that Engström was the assassin of Olof Palme was first brought up in the Lars Larsson book Nationens Fiende (Enemy of the State) in 2016.[16][17] The allegation also appeared in an article by journalist Thomas Pettersson in the magazine Filter in 2018, and in the book Den osannolika mördaren (The Unlikely Murderer), which was published the same year. In the book, Olof Palme's son Mårten Palme claims that he saw a man who matched the description of Engström in the street near the crime scene as he and his parents parted company shortly before the shooting.[18][19]

Lars Jeppsson, who saw the killing, claimed that it is very likely that Engström was the man he saw running from the scene of the crime.[14] Olle Minell, a journalist for the magazine Proletären, has stated that Engström might have been a part of the murder, but that Engström was not the actual shooter.[20]

Engström changed his recollection of what he was doing on the night of the assassination several times.[21] He stated that he was one of the first witnesses at the crime scene, and that he moved Palme's body so he could breathe more easily. However, other witnesses disagree with his testimony.[22]

Engström appeared several times in the Swedish media before and after the assassination.[23] In 1982, he was interviewed by Svenska Dagbladet about gender in the working environment.[23]

After the assassination, Engström appeared in several Swedish media outlets, and criticized the police investigation and the Swedish police's lack of interest in his testimony. Engström also did a reconstruction of what he was doing on the night of the murder which was broadcast on Sveriges Television.[24]

Engström's final interview about the case was in 1992 for the magazine Skydd & Säkerhet. Engström wanted to give an interview for the magazine, and had contacted a friend of his named Jan Arvidsson, who worked as a journalist for the magazine.[25][26]

On 10 June 2020, Engström was announced as the prime suspect in the murder by the Swedish Prosecuting Authority and the Swedish police. However, as Engström was already deceased, Swedish police did not start a prosecution,[3][27] and also stated the evidence against Engström would have been too circumstantial for a trial.[4]

Engström had a negative view of the prime minister, he also had long running financial problems and a growing problem with alcohol. However investigators still could not tie a weapon to Engström[28], nor had a "clear picture" of Engstrom's motive for killing Palme, Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson said.[29]

• India–Sweden relations