Swedish Killer: I Faked Insanity to Avoid Prison

After Mijailo Mijailovic murdered Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh in 2003, he claimed voices in his head drove him to kill. But now he tells Sweden’s Expressen tabloid, “I didn't hear voices. That was nothing but empty talk.” In actuality, he adds, “I felt a hatred for politicians. I blamed them for all of my failures.” The “nonsense” excuse of voices in his head was an attempt to avoid prison, he says.

And it worked, initially: An appeals court sentenced him to psychiatric care instead of prison, the AP notes, but the Swedish Supreme Court overturned that and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Mijailovic, now 32, has a history of psychiatric problems, the AFP reports. (More Anna Lindh stories.)