Assassination of Olof Palme — the full case file

Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot dead walking home from a cinema without bodyguards. Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot dead on a Stockholm street on 28 February 1986 while walking home with his wife; despite one conviction later overturned on appeal and a 2020 prosecutorial conclusion naming a deceased suspect, the case remains legally unsolved and was closed in 2020, with the main suspect's designation later withdrawn in 2025. On February 28, 1986, Olof Palme is fatally shot and Lisbeth Palme wounded on Sveavägen, Stockholm, while walking home from a cinema without bodyguards. On March 1, 1986, Olof Palme is pronounced dead at Sabbatsberg Hospital at 00:06. On March 15, 1986, Palme's funeral is held at Stockholm City Hall, attended by dignitaries from 125 nations, followed by a public procession to Adolf Fredrik Church. In December 1988, Christer Pettersson is arrested for the murder. In 1988, Pettersson is convicted of the murder after being identified by Lisbeth Palme in a police lineup. In 1989, Svea Court of Appeal acquits Pettersson, citing failure to produce the murder weapon, lack of motive, and lineup irregularities. In September 1996, Former South African police colonel Eugene de Kock gives evidence alleging apartheid-era South African involvement in the murder. On September 29, 2004, Christer Pettersson dies, legally innocent of the assassination. In May 2007, Swedish forensic laboratory concludes tests on a recovered revolver (the 'Mockfjärd gun') cannot confirm whether it was used in the assassination, due to rust. In 2018, Journalist Thomas Pettersson publishes findings naming Stig Engström, the 'Skandia Man,' as a suspect; Lisbeth Palme dies the same year. On June 10, 2020, Chief Prosecutor Krister Petersson names Stig Engström as the most likely suspect and formally closes the investigation, as Engström had died in 2000. At a press conference, authorities announce Stig Engström is no longer considered the main suspect, but the investigation will not be reopened. The case is recorded as cold and remains unsolved. This case file is kept in memory of Lisbeth Palme and Olof Palme. The full sourced case file, with every fact cited, is at casepin dot org.

Transcript from the video’s narration track. For every source, open the case file.