Sweden jails man for crown jewel heist

Nicklas Backstrom was found guilty of stealing two 1611 gold burial crowns and an orb

STOCKHOLM: A Swedish court on Friday jailed a 22-year old man for four and a half years for stealing 17th-century crown jewels from a cathedral in broad daylight in July.

The Eskilstuna district court found Nicklas Backstrom guilty of stealing two 1611 gold burial crowns and an orb from a locked display in Strangnas Cathedral, located 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Stockholm, fleeing the scene in a motorboat.

The items, valued at 65 million kronor (6.3 million euros, $6.9 million), were originally interred with King Carl IX and his wife Queen Christina, but were later exhumed and put on display.

Backstrom's trial opened in January, and was briefly suspended when the jewels suddenly turned up in a dumpster outside Stockholm. One of the crowns had been damaged, the court said in its verdict.

Backstrom's DNA was found on the items, and he confessed to the robbery.



He was also found guilty of attempted robbery for three other royal objects left behind in the cathedral valued at 26.5 million kronor, though he denied those charges.

The prosecution had called for the maximum sentence of six years, while Backstrom's lawyer had pushed for three years.

On July 31, 2018, two thieves nabbed the crown jewels in broad daylight and dashed from the cathedral toward a motorboat waiting on Lake Malaren.

Two other people — friends of Backstrom's, according to Swedish media —have been arrested in the case and are under investigation for possession of stolen goods, but so far Backstrom is the only one to have been tried.

The Strangnas cathedral is home to the remains of King Carl IX and his two wives, Princess Marie and Queen Christina.

In 2013, the burial regalia of King Johan III, who reigned during the 16th century, was stolen from Vasteras Cathedral. It was recovered several days later in a garbage bag left on a countryside road, following an anonymous tip.