Sigvard Thurneman
Encyclopedia
Sven Emil Sigvard Nilsson-Thurneman, (born November 14, 1908 in Sala
, Sweden
. died July 11, 1979 in Bromma, Sweden), was the leader of the so called "Salaligan" (The Sala
gang) during the first years of the 1930's. Thurneman, a young office clerk, formed his assumed name upon an anagram from the English word "manhunter".
, which had a great influence on the gang members, who called themselfes Den magiska cirkeln("The magical circle", abbreviated "DMC"). Thurneman had his fellow accomplices inhale incense
from different herbs, claiming this to make them cold hearted and "willing instruments of murder" ("villiga mordredskap"). Thurneman claimed the murdering of a human not to be an unjust act, but rather an act imposing a transition of the person's physical state.
with two bullets in the back of his head, in order to get Eriksson's car. The wallet of the taxi driver, containing 250 kronor
, was left unstolen.
On the night of November 5 1933 Axel Kjellberg and his maid Karin Holmberg were killed in Kjellbergs house in Kölfors, Enåker parish, Uppland
, Sweden
. They were shot, whereafter the hous was set on fire.
1934 Erika Mathilda Blomqvist in Hällby outside Västerfärnebo
was killed in a way that afterwards has been described as the perfect crime
. This being because the police at first wrote off the incident as an accident. The gang drove a stolen car to the isolated cabin in which the woman lived, backed the car towards the house wall, whereafter the exhaust fumes from the car were led through a rubber hose, inserted in a hole in the cabin wall that the gang had drilled. When the victim was not moving, the felons broke in to the house and looted it and set it on fire. The Police thought the woman was deceased in a self-caused arson, and the crime was not uncovered until the confession of the gang, following upon its arrest.
The fifth and last murder was perpetraded on June 19, 1936, when the bank courier Edvard Pettersson was assaulted, robbed and murdered.
During the last years of his life, Thurneman worked as a translator in a suburb
outside Stockholm
, where he eventually passed away short after his turning 70. In accordance with his last will, he was buried in his birth city of Sala
.
Sala
- Geography :* Sala Municipality, Sweden - a municipality in Sweden* Sala, Sweden - a city in Sweden, seat of Sala Municipality* Sala municipality, Latvia - a municipality in Latvia* Sala, Latvia - a village in Latvia, an administrative centre of Sala municipality...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. died July 11, 1979 in Bromma, Sweden), was the leader of the so called "Salaligan" (The Sala
Sala
- Geography :* Sala Municipality, Sweden - a municipality in Sweden* Sala, Sweden - a city in Sweden, seat of Sala Municipality* Sala municipality, Latvia - a municipality in Latvia* Sala, Latvia - a village in Latvia, an administrative centre of Sala municipality...
gang) during the first years of the 1930's. Thurneman, a young office clerk, formed his assumed name upon an anagram from the English word "manhunter".
The Sala gang
Apart from Thurneman, the Sala gang consisted of Bror Hedström, Åke Rangvald Lindberg, Roland Abrahamsson and Karl Herbert Jansson. The gang perpetrated robberies with murder. When discovered in 1936, Salaligan had committed five murders. Thurneman was interested in mysticismMysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, which had a great influence on the gang members, who called themselfes Den magiska cirkeln("The magical circle", abbreviated "DMC"). Thurneman had his fellow accomplices inhale incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
from different herbs, claiming this to make them cold hearted and "willing instruments of murder" ("villiga mordredskap"). Thurneman claimed the murdering of a human not to be an unjust act, but rather an act imposing a transition of the person's physical state.
The murders
The first homicide was committed on November 15 1930. Thurneman shot the taxi driver Sven Eriksson from VästeråsVästerås
Västerås is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm...
with two bullets in the back of his head, in order to get Eriksson's car. The wallet of the taxi driver, containing 250 kronor
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
, was left unstolen.
On the night of November 5 1933 Axel Kjellberg and his maid Karin Holmberg were killed in Kjellbergs house in Kölfors, Enåker parish, Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. They were shot, whereafter the hous was set on fire.
1934 Erika Mathilda Blomqvist in Hällby outside Västerfärnebo
Västerfärnebo
Västerfärnebo is a locality situated in Sala Municipality, Västmanland County, Sweden with 472 inhabitants in 2005....
was killed in a way that afterwards has been described as the perfect crime
The Perfect Crime
The Perfect Crime is the second studio album by English punk rock band the Anti-Nowhere League. The sound of the band changed a great deal from their debut album We Are...The League album. The Perfect Crime features a blend of 1980s rock with a light punk sound...
. This being because the police at first wrote off the incident as an accident. The gang drove a stolen car to the isolated cabin in which the woman lived, backed the car towards the house wall, whereafter the exhaust fumes from the car were led through a rubber hose, inserted in a hole in the cabin wall that the gang had drilled. When the victim was not moving, the felons broke in to the house and looted it and set it on fire. The Police thought the woman was deceased in a self-caused arson, and the crime was not uncovered until the confession of the gang, following upon its arrest.
The fifth and last murder was perpetraded on June 19, 1936, when the bank courier Edvard Pettersson was assaulted, robbed and murdered.
Trial
The Sala gang was disclosed when an acquaintance of Hedström got in touch with the police after having read about the fifth murder in the newspapers. Hedström had asked the man to join the gang in a robbery, but the man refused. The members were found guilty om February 22 1937, and sentenced to life time imprisonment with hard labour. All of the members were released after having served between seven to ten years. Thurneman was pardoned and diagnosed as mentally ill, and imprisoned at the Asylum of Säter, and released in the 1960s.During the last years of his life, Thurneman worked as a translator in a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
outside Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where he eventually passed away short after his turning 70. In accordance with his last will, he was buried in his birth city of Sala
Sala
- Geography :* Sala Municipality, Sweden - a municipality in Sweden* Sala, Sweden - a city in Sweden, seat of Sala Municipality* Sala municipality, Latvia - a municipality in Latvia* Sala, Latvia - a village in Latvia, an administrative centre of Sala municipality...
.