LATER THAT NIGHT, the official casualty count of what would become known as the worst terror attack in Danish history stood at eleven dead and five injured. The debate about the lack of cooperation between the Swedish and Danish police authorities that followed was fierce and protracted.
Of the six people who were poisoned with ricin, only the young boy survived. He had his parents to thank for it. Particularly his mother, who insisted on taking him to the A&E in Malmö the second she realized something wasn’t right. The other five died of severe stomach pains over the course of the next few days.
Kim Sleizner used the press conference held in the wake of the attack to explain that his colleague Jan Hesk and the entire Danish police had, under his leadership, demonstrated an ability to act decisively, coupled with an efficiency few countries could rival. According to him, there could be no doubt the Swedish serial killer would still have been on the loose if not for them.
Fabian Risk was not mentioned once during the almost two-hour-long live press conference. Not a word was said about the role he played during the attack. He did figure in the description of the arrest itself as another Swede accompanying Milwokh, who was shot in the leg when he refused to obey the Danish police’s orders to get on the ground. Later, however, Jan Hesk would clarify that the Swede had turned out to be an officer of the law and was doing well under the circumstances.
In which country Milwokh will be facing trial is still unclear. The forensic evidence against him is, however, so overwhelming there can be no doubt he’s looking at a lifetime sentence.
The extensive work of collecting forensic evidence against Ingvar Molander is well under way. It will be supplemented with interviews with a large number of witnesses, such as Conny Öhman and Fabian himself.
Most signs point to a lifetime sentence for him as well, though it is still not known whether key witness Gertrud Molander will be able to testify. Having been declared dead at the scene, she is now being treated in the intensive care unit at Helsingborg Hospital, where doctors are cautiously optimistic that she will make a full recovery.
The same is unfortunately not true of Irene Lilja’s left hand. After countless complex surgeries, mobility could only be achieved in her thumb and fore and middle fingers. The surgical fusing of her pinkie and ring fingers will forever serve as a reminder of what she endured.
Within days of Sonja’s performance at Dunkers, word had spread in art circles far beyond Sweden’s borders. Art shows, galleries and museums lined up to host a repeat performance.
But even though she’d finally managed to create something meaningful, not just to herself but to everyone who had attended, The Hanging Box was a closed chapter for Sonja. She had emerged from it a new person, more whole and stronger than ever, and she was never climbing back in.
Over the next few days, Fabian, Sonja and Matilda travelled to Helsingør as often as they could to meet with Jadwiga Komorovski and support Theodor while they waited for the trial to resume after the weekend. But that Monday, they received the unexpected news that the trial had been postponed again. This time for reasons unknown.