Disappearance in Uddevalla
Wilma Andersson was reported missing in November 2019 after she was last seen in the area around the apartment she had shared with her former boyfriend. A major search followed.
The former boyfriend was arrested during the investigation. Prosecutors later charged him with murder and violation of the peace of the grave.
A case built without a complete body
The prosecution relied on a combination of forensic findings, traces from the apartment, witness information and the discovery of part of Wilma's remains. Much of her body was not recovered.
That absence created evidentiary limits. The courts nevertheless concluded that the combined evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had killed Wilma. At the same time, the appeal court said the precise scope of the violence and the exact sequence leading to death were not fully established.
District Court conviction
In July 2020, Uddevalla District Court convicted the former boyfriend of murder and violation of the peace of the grave. The court initially imposed life imprisonment.
The defendant denied responsibility and appealed.
Appeal Court changes the sentence
On October 23, 2020, the Court of Appeal for Western Sweden upheld the murder conviction. It agreed that there was no reasonable doubt about guilt.
The appeal court changed the punishment from life imprisonment to a fixed term of eighteen years. It reasoned that, although the crime involved serious aggravating circumstances, the evidence did not establish enough about the precise violence and course of events to justify a life sentence under the law applicable to the 2019 crime.
Supreme Court refuses further review
Both the convicted man and Wilma's family sought further review for different reasons. The defendant sought acquittal, while the family sought restoration of the life sentence.
On December 15, 2020, Sweden's Supreme Court declined to hear the appeals. The Court of Appeal judgment therefore remained in force.
Timeline
November 2019: Wilma Andersson disappears in Uddevalla.
Late 2019: her former boyfriend is arrested during the homicide investigation.
July 27, 2020: Uddevalla District Court sentences him to life imprisonment for murder and violation of the peace of the grave.
October 23, 2020: the Court of Appeal upholds guilt but changes the sentence to 18 years.
December 15, 2020: the Supreme Court refuses leave to appeal, leaving the 18-year judgment in place.
Current status
Wilma Andersson's murder is solved and adjudicated. Her former boyfriend's conviction is final and the operative sentence is eighteen years. The page does not speculate about portions of the timeline or motive that the courts did not establish with sufficient certainty.