neighbor. The Uppsala District Court found the 32-year old Pentecostal pastor Helge Fossmo guilty of inducing his former housemaid to shoot his wife Alexandra and attempting to murder his next-door neighbor.
Housemaid Sara Svensson, 27, shot his wife as she was sleeping in their house on Jan. 10 in Knutby, 45 miles (72 kilometres) northeast of Stockholm. She also shot Fossmos’ neighbor, Daniel Linde, who survived.
Pastor Fossmo had sexual relationships with Linde’s wife and with the housemaid. She testified during the trial that she had been completely dependent on the pastor. He brainwashed her with bible verses and cell phone text messages into believing that it was "God’s will" to kill his wife, the court heard.
PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT
The court ordered Svensson to undergo psychiatric treatment. The jury was convinced that Fossmo resorted to murder because he was afraid that he would lose his job if his wife filed for divorce. He was however acquitted of the charge of murdering his first wife who died five years ago under mysterious circumstances.
On January 10, 2004, Svensson’s second wife was shot in her bedroom. During the same night an attempt to kill Linde failed. The bullet entered his neck and just missed the main artery.
Fossmo was pastor of the Pentecostal Filadelfia Church in Knutby near Upsala. During the trial church members said the pastor had preached very strict sexual morals. He ordered his wife to sleep in the guest room “for spiritual reasons” while he amused himself with the housemaid, according to court documents.
