Swedish court records to find out if this was a murderer?

+2 votes
224 views

We were notified a couple of years ago that this person (Carl Gustaf Samzelius) was probably beheaded because of murder. Looking at his life history it seems possible that it is the correct person, but the name on the death record is not correct.

Does anyone know in what court to look for such serious crimes? How far in advance before the execution do you think the court decided on the sentence?

I have searched Swedish newspapers online, as I thought it would be mentioned, but found nothing.

WikiTree profile: Carl Gustaf Samzelius
in Genealogy Help by Maria Lundholm G2G6 Pilot (224k points)

4 Answers

+2 votes

The archives from the appropriate häradsrätt would likely have them. If he was sentenced in Rystad that would probably be Banekinds häradsrätt. 

- Elisa

by E Kippner G2G6 Mach 3 (30.7k points)
Thank you!

The correct häradsrätt would be Åkerbo. Only a small part of Rystad belonged to Bankekind.

+2 votes
A person executed for murder in the 1800s would have been put to death following a certain procedure.

First, having aroused sufficient suspicion, the accused would be imprisoned in the nearest suitable jail or prison. Then, a hearing ("rannsakning") would take place in the local courts, with witnesses, evidence etc and the local kronolänsman as prosecutor. If the häradsrätt found the accused guilty, they would as a rule ask the upper jurisdictions to comment : hovrätten or even the king personally.

This means that executions leave a decent paper trail which one can follow. I recommend Justitiekanslerns fånglistor (list of prisoners), sorted by län, as a good first step. The first step in any criminal case is obviously the local court records but the digitisation coverage for 1800s Sweden is still spotty at best. Arkiv Digital are currently digitasing JK:s fånglistor and they should have full coverage for the years in question.
by William Torikka G2G4 (5.0k points)
Thank you William, for explaining!
+4 votes

In Linköpings slottshäkte 1818 for the month of March, there is the following person:

"[This means the date they arrived] 1817 Augusti 29

Drängen Carl Gust. Samzelius

Misstänkt för tillärnadt mord

Stadsfiscal Isaac Unbeck

Sedan Samzelius genom Stadspredikantens åtgärd blifwid beredd till det honom, genom Kongl: Maijts nådiga Utslag af den 15 sistl: februarii för utöfwat Rån ådömda dödsstraff blef Execution deraf den 18 i denna månad wärkstäld å Åkerbo härads Allmänning."

Source: ArkivDigital: Justitiekanslern -1974, Huvudarkivet EIIIcc:498 (1818) Bild: 1480 (Direct link, requires subscription)

Thus, we can conclude that farmhand Carl Gustaf Samzelius was executed on 18 March 1818 in Åkerbo härad after having been incarcerated in Linköping castle's jail since 29 August 1817. He had been sentenced by the local courts and after a final look at his sentence by the king, he was put to death.

by William Torikka G2G4 (5.0k points)
edited by William Torikka
Looking around in the previous lists (there's one list for each month), he was sentenced by Åkerbo häradsrätt on 27 October 1817 in an urtima ting (extra-ordinary court) "att mista Lifwet och halshuggas" ("to lose his life and be beheaded"). There is a note in the October 1817 list that Göta hovrätt will first need to look at the case. Of course, we know now that they agreed with the sentence.

For more personal details on him and why he was sentenced to death, should be in the court record from 27 October 1817. Should be in this volume: https://sok.riksarkivet.se/?postid=Arkis+031423bc-a7bb-11d3-9e55-009027b0fce9&vol=n&ct=50&inc=1&exp=y&s=Balder
Thank you very much William, for looking for this, and finding the records! I had problems knowing where to start.
+2 votes

You will find the protocol from Göta Hovrätt describing the crime at

 https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/40005475_00229

by Jan Nilsson G2G6 (7.8k points)
edited by Jan Nilsson
Thank you very much Jan! Now I know that it was the correct person, and that it was murder.

I wonder if the family were able to quiet this down, as I did not find any trace of this in the press. Carl Gustaf's father and grandfather were pastors.

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