The Murderer and Cannibalist: Lennart Persson

Scandinavian Crimes (w/ Devante & Delila)

Year(s) of Incident: March 30, 2005
Location: Sweden
The Murderer and Cannibalist: Lennart Persson
Victim(s):  2
Method: Murder, Cannibalism

 In 2005, Lennart Persson, a 29-year-old Swedish man, confessed to the murders of two sisters, Camilla Lifvendahl, 34, and Anna Norell, 19. The first killing occurred in March 2004, when Persson murdered Anna Norell. He subsequently killed her sister, Camilla Lifvendahl, in December of the same year. The case garnered significant attention in Sweden due to its particularly gruesome nature.
 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:36 Story - The Day of The Murder
• 2:54 Story - Investigation
• 6:06 Story - Anna’s Background (The Foster Family)
• 7:54 Story - Camilla’s Background and Continued Investigation
• 10:18 Story - The Confession of the Murders
• 12:18 Story - Trial and Aftermath
• 14:09 Discussion Section
• 23:29 Conclusion/Outro

Transcript

Welcome to Scandinavian Crimes. My name is Devante and say hello to my lovely co-host Delila. Hi. And on this podcast, we talk about famous Scandinavian criminals who made their mark throughout Scandinavian history. So in this episode, we're going to be exploring a chilling case from our favorite place, Sweden, involving brutal murders, a wrongful accusation, and a twisted mind of a killer. We will discover how the police pieced together the puzzle, uncovering the true perpetrator and his horrifying confessions.



 So you already know what to do.



 Grab your tea, grab your snacks.



 If you're on your way to work, tuck yourself into your nice little corner on the train or the bus.



 Because this is the story of Leonard Perdison, the cannibal.



 (Music)



 On the morning of March 30th, 2005, the emergency center received a call regarding an ongoing knife attack in an apartment in Setra, Jevla. The caller was 20-year-old Tommy Karim, reporting that his 18-year-old partner, Anna Norell, had been attacked. When the police arrived at the scene, they heard noises coming from the stairwell as they approached the address.



 Tommy emerged, incredibly shocked, and spoke quickly, saying, "She's up there, she's up there, you have to go up."



 The commanding officer instructed the colleague to accompany Tommy to his father's apartment in the same building for more information, while the others went upstairs to investigate Anna's situation.



 They announced themselves as police and called out, but received no response.

 (Dog Barking)

 A Rottweiler aggressively approached the door, growling and barking, preventing entry.



 One officer hurried downstairs to fetch Tommy's younger sister, who managed to calm the dog.



 With the dog secured, the police searched for the perpetrator. In the apartment, they found Anna's body in the kitchen near the refrigerator.



 Despite attempting first aid, her severe upper body injuries confirmed. She was dead.

 (Music)

 The forensic technician arrived on the scene and noticed unusual wounds on Anna's body, with pieces missing.



 Normally, wounds could be stitched together, but they were a triangular area with tissue loss, which was very unusual. Despite the severe injuries, the blood pattern was not extensive, suggesting there should have been way more blood present.



 The police interrogated Tommy and his family, learning that Anna lived with Tommy and their three-year-old son in the apartment.



 That night, their son had slept in Tommy's father's place, a few floors down.



 Tommy recounted waking up to Anna's screams from the kitchen, shouting, "No, no, stop!"



 Initially thinking the dog was being aggressive, Tommy opened the bedroom door to see Anna on the floor with someone bent over her, holding a bloody knife. Panicked, Tommy fled to his father's apartment and called "112."



 For those of you who are not in Sweden, 112 is like America's version of 911.



 Just minutes before the police arrived, Tommy and his sister saw the perpetrator exit the building and walk away. They described him as a tall man wearing a red and black plaid shirt. The police immediately began searching the nearby area for the man. When they drove off, they expected to catch him quickly, thinking someone must surely have seen him.



 But no one had. Despite being early morning with people out walking their dogs, going to daycare and heading to work, no one had seen the alleged perpetrator. There were plenty of people around, but no one had seen him. The next day, the police returned, knocking on doors throughout the neighborhood, determined to speak to everyone in search of this perpetrator. However, no one had seen anything.



 The tall man in a red plaid shirt seemed to have vanished, making the police skeptical of Tommy's account. They decided to take Tommy to the police station for a more thorough interrogation.



 Initially, evidence pointed to Tommy as the obvious suspect. Relationship murders were not uncommon, and the story of an unknown man committing the crime seemed highly unlikely at the time. Despite the harsh questioning, Tommy steadfastly insisted on his innocence. His lawyer was present, ensuring his rights were upheld and he could stop the interrogation at any time. However, Tommy was pressured to confess even being shown pictures of his deceased partner to sway him, but he did not relent.



 The prosecutor believed there was enough evidence to charge Tommy with Anna's murder, though. The police remained convinced of his guilt, and after the interrogation, Tommy was arrested and charged for Anna's murder. A few weeks later, the DNA test results from the blood at the crime scene left the police stunned. The results revealed that the blood was not Tommy's, but a mixture of Anna's and another person's, leaving the police surprised.



 Despite the DNA findings, the police were still convinced Tommy was lying. Even Tommy began to doubt his own story, thinking he might have committed the murder in a psychotic state without any recollection.



 The police's relentless interrogation displaying close-up images of Anna's murder deeply affected Tommy. He began to fear that he might have committed the crime. However, despite his doubts, he maintained his innocence. When Tommy's interrogation made no progress, the investigators turned their attention to Anna's background. They discovered that Anna had been placed in foster care with the Parson family at seven and lived with them until she was 14.



 Anna's foster mother mentioned that Anna formed connections with several other children in the foster home. They traced everyone who had been in the foster home but found no leads. However, the unknown DNA traces found in the apartment revealed that the DNA profile matched one already in the police database. The DNA had been collected from letters containing explicit sexual harassment sent to Camilla Liefendau, who had grown up in the same foster family as Anna. The police contacted Camilla, who believed a former partner was behind the harassment. However, DNA tests on the suspect ruled him out. On May 27, 2005, after nearly two months in custody, Tommy was released. Although the prosecutor stated he was not fully clear of suspicion, DNA evidence pointed to another perpetrator. At the time, collecting DNA samples from individuals was legally restricted to suspects in serious crimes. Even though this was not legally supported during Anna's murder investigation, the prosecutor decided to pursue DNA testing inspired by a successful case in Oribro, where over 300 men were tested to find a perpetrator, which was a case if I remember correctly we covered. However, six days before the scheduled DNA swabbing of the Parson family on October 25, 2005, a new tragedy occurred. Camilla was found murdered in her home with over 60 stab wounds. Around 6.30 pm, the police were called to the apartment in Skutscher where they found Camilla. This marked the second murder of a woman from the same foster family, shifting the investigation to a new level. Camilla had a tumultuous upbringing due to her alcoholic father, but Camilla and her sister had a close bond.



 Camilla's rebellious behavior running away, skipping school, and shoplifting resulted in her placement in foster care. The sisters kept in touch through calls and letters, and they spent a lot of time together as adults.



 Their relationship was really strong, with Camilla being both a sister and a best friend.



 Camilla's sister had fond memories of spending weekends and holidays with the foster family, finding it a calm and caring environment.



 However, the family eventually became more isolated, moving to Fudevik and leading a reclusive life. Lynette Person, 28, was adopted by a foster family at seven months old and lived alone in a small cottage on a foster family's property. Very reserved, he spent most of his time reading and watching films, rarely joining the family for meals. He struggled to keep a job and had a lonely childhood seen as peculiar from a young age.



 During the investigation into the DNA traces at Anna's murder scene and explicit letters sent to Camilla, Lynette became a key person of interest in the investigation.



 When asked if one of the Person brothers could have been involved, Camilla dismissed the idea, stating it wasn't possible.



 The police interviewed the brothers, and Lynette seemed unimportant, appearing calm and expressing sympathy for Anna's death. However, they still planned to collect DNA from the family, regardless.



 Before they could proceed, Camilla was brutally murdered in a similar fashion to Anna, heightening the suspicion of Lynette. After the murder, an investigator saw Lynette burning clothes on his property. Later, the investigator watched Lynette carrying a metal bucket in the dark. Concerned, the police approached him and Lynette claimed to have drunk cleaning fluid. He was then taken to the hospital for treatment.



 Lynette was arrested at the hospital on suspicion of murdering Camilla and placed in custody. Just before detention hearing, the National Forensic Center, SKL, informed the police of new DNA findings. The analysis revealed Lynette's DNA was present at both murder scenes. When the lead interrogator met Lynette, Lynette requested a recorder to ensure his statement was documented. With the interrogator and his lawyer present, he provided a clear account of the crimes and confessed to everything.



 Lynette confessed that on the night of March 30th, he had disturbing nightmares about blood and death. Waking up in an aggressive state, he armed himself with a knife and went to visit his foster sister Anna. He claimed that he had no intention to kill her when he knocked on her door.



 He simply wanted to visit her and see her new baby, but the situation escalated uncontrollably. Once she invited him inside, he attacked her with extreme violence, stabbing her 40 times. Afterward, covered in blood, Lynette calmly traveled to Skucher cleaning himself at the library, cycling home and burning his clothes.



 During this time, Lynette's behavior became increasingly erratic. Six months later, during his interrogation, his mind had snapped again. Experienced another violent episode and driven by bloodlust, he set out with the intent to kill. He cycled around Skucher near daycare centers wanting to target a child as easy prey to drink their blood, but was deterred by the presence of adults. Eventually, he decided to visit Camilla knowing she had a daughter. He knocked on her door, expressed his love for her, and then stabbed her 60 times. He stabbed wildly, then went to the bathroom to wash off the knife and returned to continue stabbing her.



 Lynette recounted being covered in blood, which was confirmed by the witness living in the same building. The witness noted the striking red color of Lynette's jacket, though Lynette claimed it was originally beige, almost white, but was soaked with blood. The extreme violence of the act was confirmed by Lynette himself.



 Questions arose about Anna's case when the forensic pathologist noted missing body parts suggesting cannibalism, Lynette admitting to drinking Anna's blood and even eating parts of her. He also drank Camilla's blood revealing the brutal nature of both murders. There were signs Lynette intended to eat parts of Camilla but didn't succeed. On January 26, 2006, Lynette's trial at Yevle District Court garnered great media attention. He left the courtroom after an hour, and his confession along with technical evidence made the proceedings brief. Lynette didn't speak during the trial, and it was largely a conversation between the prosecutor and the defense lawyer.



 Following a forensic psychiatric evaluation, Lynette was found to have several mental disorders and sentenced to psychiatric care with a special discharge review.



 Four years later, during a call from Satin, he admitted, "I am a cannibal. I can't help it. I still feel the bloodlust every day." His condition remained unchanged. Lynette admitted he was always afraid to seek help believing he could manage by isolating himself. He is still receiving treatment, and his risk of reoffending remains high. Doctors are concerned about his constant bloodthirst, but Lynette feels there's nothing he can do about it. He doesn't feel he's improving and describes himself as both a vampire and a cannibal feeling bloodlust daily.



 Three months after his conviction, Lynette's request to visit his family was denied, and he has an axe to leave the hospital since. He feels he's doing fine there, enjoying the company of other patients after spending the first year in isolation. He maintains daily phone contact with his family, who sometimes visit him. Lynette believes there's no high risk of reoffending or attacking others. His doctors disagree, maintaining he is mentally ill, as when he committed the murders and risks serious relapse without secure care. In 2022, the administrative court decided to continue his forensic psychiatric inpatient care, which Lynette agreed to.



 But I wanted to mention regarding the Tommy situation, the boyfriend of Anna.



 So initially, he was detained for the murder, which, you know, it's not uncommon for,



 you know,



 what's it called abuse at home or like it turning into deaths and murder because of that.



 So that I can be like, okay, fine. But the DNA analyzes from the crime scene and then to find another person, which basically matches with the story that there was some other man on top of Anna as he escaped,



 which is like a bit strange to me how they were like, we still can't trust you.



 And he was in the custody of like two months before they were like, okay, you can be free. And I just felt like the police kind of ignored other leads. And maybe they were super cautious. But I don't know, I just felt that that was very weird. And he was never cleared of suspicion.



 And okay, yeah, yes, the mom team.

 This is also why I say in sweetie, I need to sue more often.



 That's a little bit more jokingly, but yeah, he shouldn't have been held up for two months when there was evidence that DNA,

 which is like a story

 that confirmed his story that there was somebody else there because, because initially it's like they found out about the DNA evidence that was that didn't even match to him. Then they just ignored it at first and was like, oh, we still think it's. Yeah, I thought he was in jail for two months.

 Yeah.

 He was in jail for two months. Like I hope they gave him some form of restitution.

 And then he started second questioning himself too. I was like, oh my God, that is like almost borderline forcing him to like confess to something he wasn't aware about.

 Even though it's 2006, this is basically why the second that DNA evidence is introduced, they can't hold you until they are absolutely sure that, you know, hey, this is what's going on. Even then it's still not a perfect system because we still hear about people who get exonerated or they find out something else happens, you know, so it can still happen. But in reality, this is, I know like usually in cases like this, it can typically be a partner, but sometimes you have to pay attention to all the details. All the details. When you see something, you know, you have to test it, make sure.

 The forensic doctor, he even said like pieces are missing here. And like, this just looks weird. And I feel like,



 I don't know, I just thought it was a bit weird that they were so focused on him. The only reason that could like, the only reason I can think about them thinking is Tommy is maybe they suspected that he was a mastermind and hired a hit man.

 I mean, sure, but

 that's the only thing that made me feel like maybe, but like there's still not a reason to keep him in like in custody for like two months.

 Yeah, even then I'm like, he did everything right. His story never wavered. Even when he doubted himself, he still maintain his innocence.

 He's like, I still don't remember I did that. Maybe like he was just like, I felt so bad for him, honestly.



 And what if like Leonard did not confess? Like, would they still suspect Tommy? They didn't release him until like,

 yeah, until they like, okay, they couldn't avoid the fact that, okay, there's something else going on here.



 And then I'm like, okay, well, even then it's just it sucks because they got caught up in a bias, which is the bias is typically like, oh, it's typically the partner. And sure, that is the case most

 of the time. Statistics because like they were like, yeah, this is so common, you know, abuse at home. They probably were so caught up in that, but I feel like they kind of didn't pay attention to everything else until they had something solid, which is like lucky, but he could have been like, no, I didn't do nothing.



 You know, he could have been free from all that, honestly.

 Yeah, he was not too far from being one of those cases we end up covering where the person could have been in jail for like a year or two. And then, you know, people wouldn't have found out that he didn't even do anything. So hope they will say, thankfully, it wasn't the case. It was only two months, but that's still traumatizing nonetheless when you know you're innocent.

 And there was also something I wanted to say about Leonard.



 Like maybe people think like, oh, what, like, he sounds so weird. And he was so like isolating himself and everything. And like interviewers and also interrogators, interrogators, I mean, detectives or whatever. They asked him, they like, like, like, what did you think about afterwards, after what you did to Anna and Camilla, because you were growing up with them, like you were in the same foster house, you know, what happened?



 Like, why did you do it? Or how did you feel? And he basically says that he thinks about Anna and Camilla. And he considers them as sisters. And he like, he feels regret about it. But he also had this, like, he acknowledged that he has a dark side to himself. And it's a path with no return. And he feels like he wanted to target easy victims. And he felt like it was easy to target them. And he also rationalizes his actions by saying like, yeah, I did it so their souls can also be part of me. So it's okay. So like, I feel like it's a, like, so you guys understand that, you know, he, I feel like it's kind of scary that he been struggling with these mental issues for so long. And he was like, I'm not going to be able to handle it anymore.



 And then he just attacked closest close people like he grew up with.



 And he's rationalizing it because he's like, but I'm a vampire.



 I'm a cannibal. This is who I am.



 Yeah. And I feel like what, what do they see signs like they did see that he was isolating himself.



 They did see that he was never talking to anybody. And even the sister Camilla sister said in the interview as well, that she was like, she was a surprise when she knew it was Leonard.



 Yeah, I think,



 I think probably one of the reasons why, and like, for example, she probably wouldn't have maybe said anything or maybe it was just one of those situations where like, even though he was self isolating, there's multiple reasons you can self isolate. So we know like depression, for example, we can self isolate. He could be someone who just had maybe bipolar depression, you know, maybe he just, that's entirely possible. Or, you know, he can be someone who could experience, you know, anxiety can also be a form of isolation as well. There's different overlaps when it comes to mental illness. But I guess we don't know the details, but I'm pretty sure that there was something since they grew up with him that kind of flickered something that was off.

 Something, so was off.

 Because that's such a,

 even Camilla was like, no, he would never do that. No, he would never do that because he's so quiet and he's so calm and he's so, like, he's always to himself. And like, I feel like they were protecting him or she was protecting him. But even the, when they asked about, could anybody of the brothers have done anything, including Leonard? And she was like, no, that would be super weird. Like, no.

 Yeah.

 So I feel like maybe subconsciously, they could have felt like something was wrong, but because he didn't do anything, they didn't want to think he would do something like that.

 Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they saw something you did while they were growing up that they knew something was off.



 Because I just, you know, I think it's weird. I get it. Like sometimes family can show up in the middle of the night, but that typically doesn't happen. Like in the middle of the night, someone just knocks on your door and just like, Oh, you don't want to say, you know, I love you. I appreciate you as a sister. Like that seems weird all for it by itself. But like I said, I know something else is going on. We don't have details.

 So I don't see. He instantly attacked them like instantly.

 Well, the first attack, he did have a conversation.

 Walk into the conversation

 first for at least a couple minutes before and stabbed 40 times. The second time was immediate. So I think once that happened, he was like, I just kind of keep doing this. But I don't know, we're making assumptions at this point. So I can't really say what happened for sure. So take that.

 We had this case was a roller coaster, honestly, because I feel like there was a lot of things, a lot of parts to digest. But eventually they got him.

 So yeah, at least he got the right person.

 And he's still in care.

 Yeah. Yeah. He can't ever come out, basically.



 Well, well, the doctors seems to think that he's not, he's not ready at all currently. So yeah.

 And also, I guess I can, one thing, I'm not praising him at all, per se, but I can acknowledge that even he's not resistant to the care. So he understands that not only what he did to some level was wrong, but he knows what he did wasn't okay.



 Because he's rationalizing it though. He's like, oh, but even though I did it, it's like, I still want to do it. Like it's still like blood. Like he's still like,

 I agree. Like I think it's a part of the psychosis that he's rationalizing it. But then to hear him say like, he's not disagreeing with the

 fact that he can acknowledge what that he has a dark side. Yeah.

 He's not disagreeing with the doctors telling, Oh no, you're not ready. He's not fighting. Cause we've covered, I think another cannibal case where people thought, no, no, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. But then immediately would show, you know, the same tendencies all over again. He's to some level at least acknowledged.

 Oh, he reoffended. Yeah.

 So I'm like, at least he's like, all right, I'm not disagreeing. Like I feel these things. So I think the rationalizing is a part of the psychosis in a reason why he's able to rationalize because I won't be surprised if he's a cannibal, but then also maybe he might be, this is my opinion. I don't have any inkling of, uh, data to support this, but it's possible.



 Maybe he could be sharing that cannibalism with schizophrenia as well. You know, so something convinces him maybe that this is what he has to do.

 Yeah, because he got triggered the second time when the police came to investigate, he said that he got triggered and then he went on a killing spree basically against Camilla. So something, or he wanted to kill a kid first because it was easy prey.

 Yeah. So I'm pretty sure something else is going on in there that we just don't know about, but yeah, you know, it's at least he's agreeing with the treatment and he's not being resistant towards it that I can at least speak to. I think that's a good thing. Everything else, obviously very obviously is bad.

 I think the only thing he was disagreeing about was that he was isolated and wasn't even talking to anybody or the other patients that he did not like that. He thought that he could, you know, deal with other patients.



 Uh, and eventually he was free to do that and get out of the isolation thing. Yeah.

 So I think overall, despite the hiccups in the case, I think for the most part they got the right person. The right person is getting the help they need, or at least is not hurting anyone anymore.



 And I hope the family is able to recover.



 And, uh, yeah, you know, I think despite what happened,



 relatively decent police work



 wasn't perfect, but it wasn't perfect, but it was at least they got the right guy. So that's at least eventually that's a C in terms of a grade you passed. You pass with just enough room for error, but it's not a great grade either.



 Yeah, I would agree with that one.

 So, okay, decent police work. Anyways, as you already know, we'll be doing the podcast as we try to end things on a positive note. So, uh, food.



 What do you have a craving for right now? Tell me my dear, tell me.

 Um,



 well, that's a good question. Actually, it is a really nice, like cheesy toast would be lovely.

 You know what I was craving is cause my aunt had made some and then my dad had brought us up to the house.



 I'm craving the Mac and cheese again.



 I think

 it's funny that we own the same cheese level.

 Yeah. That she's my Mac and cheese was so, so, so, so, so, so, so good.



 That's perfect.



 Perfect.

 Yum, yum.

 Ice cream. Yum, yum. Well, thank you guys for listening to the podcast. Uh, you know, next week, Monday, uh, we will have another episode ready for you guys. And I hope you come and support the podcast or continue to do so. And what if you're new, um, feel free to check out the other episodes as well. Uh, we have like what two years worth so you can go back and listen to a bunch of them and, uh, have a good old time. So we will catch y'all next week.

 Um, happy new year.



 This is not the first episode of



 fuck.

 Nevermind. Just delete this part. Delete this part.

 We will catch you on next week.



 Peace out guys.

 Bye.