Lindh killing suspect 'has record' (original) (raw)

Swedish police were authorised yesterday to hold for a further two weeks a man suspected of the murder of the foreign minister Anna Lindh, as details about his background began to emerge.

Court records show that the man, named by a judge as Mijailo Mijailovic, has convictions for stabbing his father in the back and face, for illegal possession of a gun and for making threatening phone calls to two women.

Mr Mijailovic, 24, who is of Serbian origin, also appears to have a history of mental problems and drug abuse.

A psychiatric report after his 1997 attack on his father concluded that he was "in great need of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic efforts".

The police, embarrassed earlier this week by being forced release another man they had accused of the murder, have declined to say what evidence they have.

But the daily Dagens Nyheter has reported that they have a DNA match between Mr Mijailovic's hair and a few strands found in a baseball cap discarded by the killer.

Mr Mijailovic's friends apparently noticed that he had cut his hair and his eyebrows after the murder and they tipped off the police, who were able to obtain a sample.

A Stockholm court ruled yesterday that there was a risk of him fleeing which could jeopardise the investigation if he was freed on bail.

His lawyer says he is completely innocent.