Suspect Charged in Sweden Assassination

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- The man charged by prosecutors Monday with the murder of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said in his confession that he stabbed her only after voices in his head told him to do it.

Mijailo Mijailovic, 25, said he didn't know who told him to kill Lindh, telling prosecutors "I think it is Jesus. That he has chosen me," according to a transcript of the Jan. 6 confession. In it, Mijailovic said the attack was random.

Lead investigator Leif Jennekvist called the attack premeditated murder.

According to documents filed with the Stockholm District Court, prosecutors said Lindh, touted as a possible future prime minister, was stabbed 10 times in the Sept. 10 attack with wounds on her chest, stomach and arms.

The 46-year-old politician died the next day after doctors worked through the night to save her. "The main proof is the technical evidence, that Mijailovic's DNA is on the knife and that Anna Lindh's blood is on the knife," said investigator Christer Nilsson, who added that Mijailovic knew it was Lindh when he attacked her.

Mijailovic's confession came after nearly four months of denials. His lawyer, Peter Althin, said the attack was not politically motivated.

Althin said he would request a psychiatric screening of his client during the trial, which starts Wednesday in Stockholm's district court.

"I can't really remember when in my 30-year career I have seen a murder charge with such a high level of proof," said Leif G.W. Persson, a criminology professor at the National Police Board.

In his confession, Mijailovic said he buried his clothes in the woods after the attack. They were later recovered by police and had Lindh's blood on them. A baseball cap found near the crime scene also had specks of Lindh's blood on it. Police pulled some of Mijailovic's DNA from the hat.

Mijailovic could be sentenced to between 10 years and life in prison, or to a mental hospital if found not mentally competent. Sweden does not have capital punishment.

The screening of his mental health, which usually takes about four weeks, will determine whether Mijailovic can be sentenced to prison or to psychiatric care, which doesn't have time limits.

Criminals sentenced to psychiatric care are released after doctors deem them mentally fit.

The trial is expected to conclude by Jan. 19, when the verdict will be delivered by two judges and three politically appointed jurors.

Swedes were shocked by the killing of one of the country's rising political stars and most-admired women, who blended foreign affairs and family life with her two children and husband.

Many were concerned the Lindh murder might not be solved, as in the case of the late Prime Minister Olof Palme. He was shot in a Stockholm street in 1986, but his murderer was never found.

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