Keillers Park murder

On 23 July 1997, at around 4.30 pm, a sixteen-year-old boy discovered the body of a man, lying face down, at the base of an old water tower in Keillers Park, in downtown Gothenburg. Called on site, the police determined that the man had been shot twice with a pistol. The first bullet hit him in the back and went right through the heart, while the second was fired to his head as he lay on the ground. A bag and a head cap were recovered beside the body. No identification was found on the corpse, but a police officer recognized the man from the Svingeln Square area. In the neighbourhood, a shop attendant told the police that the name of the victim was Josef, and that he was often in the company of a man who looked Finnish. With this testimony, the police identified him as Josef ben Meddour, aged 36, an Algerian national. He had been living in Sweden for about ten years. Meddour was gay, and the other man was his boyfriend. == First leads ==

The police first suspected the victim's boyfriend. The head cap recovered near the body was his, he had no alibi, and the couple was known for their frequent arguments. After twelve days in custody, the boyfriend was released, and he was later cleared of all suspicion. The investigators then learned that on the evening of 22 July, Meddour had been visited by militants from the GIA, an Algerian Islamic organisation. Meddour was known for his opposition to the GIA, so the police considered the possibility of a political assassination. Other people were interrogated, but no suspects emerged. == Arrests ==

in 2005 On 15 December 1997, a 23-year-old woman entered a police station in Stockholm, the Swedish capital. She wanted to file a complaint against her boyfriend Vlad, whom she accused of beating and repeatedly abusing her, and threatening to kill her and her child. She also told the police that Vlad had once confessed to her that he was, along with his friend Jon, the perpetrator of the Keillers Park murder. Observations made at the crime scene matched the woman's account of the events. Vlad was arrested the same day at his home in Stockholm. He was found carrying a loaded 9 mm pistol. Nödtveidt was apprehended in Gothenburg on the morning of 18 December. == Confessions ==

The two suspects at first denied any involvement in Meddour's death, but after he was remanded on probable cause, Nödtveidt eventually made a confession, also naming Vlad in the story. On the night of 21 July 1997, he drank at various pubs and clubs in Gothenburg and used amphetamine along with Vlad and two other friends. In the early morning of 22 July, the two other friends headed home, while Nödtveidt and Vlad roamed the city centre. Next to a park locally known as a meeting place for gay men, they were approached by a stranger, who at the sight of their clothes, asked them if they were Satanists, and told them he wanted to learn about this cult. At first, Nödtveidt and Vlad tried to push back the unknown man, Meddour, but he insisted. The two friends eventually invited Meddour to Nödtveidt's home. Meddour's behaviour and speech made clear he was a homosexual, which made Nödtveidt and Vlad angry and offended. Once they reached Nödtveidt's home, Meddour appeared scared and refused to step in. Nödtveidt and Vlad then suggested continuing their discussion about Satanism at Keillers Park. Before they left, Nödtveidt entered his flat to pick up the pistol and the Taser. Once at Keillers Park, Vlad took the Taser from Nödtveidt, and tried unsuccessfully to immobilise Meddour. Meddour attempted to run away, but his escape was cut short when Vlad shot a first bullet in his back, followed by a second bullet in his head. When faced with his contradictions, Vlad also confessed to the murder. His version of the events was very similar to Nödtveidt's, apart from one significant difference: according to him, Nödtveidt was the one who had held the gun, and who had pulled the trigger twice. == Background ==

Black metal Nödtveidt was the leader of the band, Dissection, that had earned some fame in the small world of early black metal, a subgenre of heavy metal characterised by the occultism and raw violence of its lyrics, and by the extreme behaviour and lifestyle of its followers. In the mid-nineties, the brief history of black metal was already riddled with violent deaths. In 1991, Per Ohlin, the Swedish singer of a Norwegian band called Mayhem, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun. His body was found by the band's leader, Øystein Aarseth, who instead of calling the police immediately, left to buy a disposable camera, and came back to take photographs of the corpse, which were eventually used for the bootleg live album Dawn of the Black Hearts (whose creator, Mauricio Montoya Botero, died in 2002 by suicide). Aarseth also picked up fragments of his friend's skull, which ended up on a display shelf at the Helvete record shop in Oslo. The following year, Bård "Faust" Eithun, a co-worker of Aarseth, stabbed a homosexual man in a park in Lillehammer. Aarseth himself was stabbed to death in 1993 by a Norwegian musician, Varg Vikernes, who was known for his solo project Burzum. Vikernes claims that the murder was in fact an act of self-defense, as Aarseth had allegedly planned to murder him. Vikernes—who was also accused of burning three churches—was sentenced in 1994 to 21 years in prison. Satanism When the arrests were made on 15 and 18 December 1997, the police discovered satanic altars in the homes of the two suspects. A human skull was also found at Vlad's place, for which he was charged with possession of human parts. Nödtveidt and Vlad were members of a satanic organization called Misanthropic Luciferian Order (MLO), of which Vlad was one of the founders, and that, according to the police, never had more than a handful of followers. These plans led to the defection of some members of the MLO, who did not want to take part in any assassination, or who feared for their own lives. As a result, when the arrests were made, the number of active members was down to three: Nödtveidt, Vlad, and his girlfriend. == Trials ==

During the trial, the motives of the murder were not made clear. Whether it was a satanic crime, one of the human sacrifices that the MLO members had talked about, or a hate crime. According to criminal inspector Lars Ohlin, who led the police investigation, Nödtveidt stated during interrogation that the murder was a "sacrifice to Satan", but later retracted the statement. According to Ohlin, Nödtveidt and Vlad's acts were in the tradition of Satanism, but homophobia was a major factor, and the Keillers Park murder was registered as a hate crime by the Swedish police. On 6 July 1998, Nödtveidt was sentenced by the to eight years in prison for accessory to murder and illegal possession of a firearm. Vlad was sentenced to ten years for murder, violence against his girlfriend, illegal possession of a firearm and possession of body parts. All three parties appealed the verdict. The Court of Appeal for Western Sweden gave its verdict on 25 September 1998. Nödtveidt was this time sentenced to ten years in prison, the same as Vlad, whose sentence was confirmed. == Aftermath ==

Nödtveidt and Vlad were released in 2004, after spending seven years in prison. Nödtveidt committed suicide in 2006. His body was found at his home, surrounded by a ring of candles, a ritual book by his side. Josef ben Meddour's body was repatriated to Algeria. He was buried in the national capital, Algiers. == In books and films ==

• • Keillers Park (2006), film directed by and written by . == Notes ==