Thief confesses to committing Sweden’s royal jewel heist

On February 15th, a 22 year old Swede named Johan Nicklas Backstrom confessed to stealing 17th-century Swedish royal funeral treasures from the Strangas cathedral last year. After Backstrom’s confession, he was convicted and sentenced to four and a half years in prison despite the prosecution’s request for six years.

Backstrom confessed soon after the prosecution claimed that the blood left on the regalia matched Backstrom’s DNA. According to the Washington Post, Backstrom had cut himself while smashing the alarmed glass case during the theft. The treasures were found on February 5 in a garbage bin placed on top of a car in north of Stockholm, but it is unknown how they arrived there.

The stolen treasures were funeral regalia, which are traditionally placed inside or on top of the coffin of a deceased royal to signify their identity and social ranking. According to the Eskilstuna District Court on Friday, the treasures involved in the heist included two crowns and an orb used at the funerals of King Karl IX and Queen Kristina, dating back to 1611, and are estimated to be worth 65 million kronor ($7 million).

The court noticed that the king’s crown was fairly damaged, with various ornamental stones having fallen off. According to Swedish broadcaster SVT, Christofer Lundgren, the cathedral dean, stated, “the regalia need to be repaired as much as possible so a lot of work remains.” Though the mystery of the thief behind the heist was not long lasting, the scandal certainly caught the public’s eye.

Article by MoCo Student staff writer Faith Cheung of Richard Montgomery High School