Beyond All Reasonable Doubt by Malin Persson Giolito

Author:Malin Persson Giolito [Giolito, Malin Persson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Other Press
Published: 2019-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

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The search had resulted in ninety-seven confiscated objects. Six of them were presented during the trial: a roll of electrical tape, a human skull, two videotapes with crudely pornographic contents, and two objects — a dog’s leash and a riding crop — that were described as “sex toys.” The defendant owned neither a dog nor a horse.

Stig Ahlin’s attorney maintained that the court should not consider these objects to have any bearing on the case. The skull was from the research department at Karolinska Hospital. Stig had borrowed it with the aim of using it in his work. He often worked on his research at home. The electrical tape couldn’t be linked to the victim; the videotapes and sex toys were irrelevant. The attorney also objected to the very classification of the objects as sex toys.

One of the witnesses called by the prosecution was a prostitute who had identified Stig Ahlin as a regular client. The idea was that she could attest that Stig Ahlin had shown sexually violent behavior. The prostitute could testify that Stig had wanted to tie her up, that he had bitten her during intercourse on a number of occasions, and that he had frequently wanted to use a variety of sadomasochistic implements.

Stig’s attorney pointed out that Stig Ahlin had not been charged with any crime in conjunction with his previous sexual relationship with this witness. Thus, the woman’s testimony was irrelevant to the case. Furthermore, there was nothing about the woman’s story to suggest that Stig had forced her to participate in sexual acts against her will.

At last, Stig’s ex-wife Marianne was examined. She began by testifying that she had found bite marks on her daughter’s shoulder a few months before the murder.

When the prosecutor asked Marianne to explain how she could be so sure Stig Ahlin was the one who had bitten her daughter, Ahlin’s lawyer interrupted. In a loud voice, his hand moving in angry circles, he objected that the examination of Marianne must be considered to fall outside the narrow scope of what the prosecutor aimed to prove, that it simply had nothing to do with the case at hand. The lead judge nodded reluctantly and said that the prosecutor must refrain from posing questions about the investigation that had been closed. He did not need to further specify what he was referring to. Everyone present in the courtroom had read about that other investigation in the papers.

When the prosecution was finished, Stig’s attorney asked Marianne to tell the court how long she had been divorced from Stig. He asked her to confirm that she had initiated a parental-rights case against Stig Ahlin, in which she demanded sole custody of their daughter. When he asked if she hoped Stig Ahlin would be sentenced to prison, Marianne began to cry.

“I hope so many things,” she said. And already, Stig Ahlin’s attorney realized that he never should have asked. But before he could stop her, she went on. “Most of all, I hope he can never hurt another little girl.

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