Arboga, Sweden – March 17, 2008 began like any other cold spring night for 23-year-old Emma Jungåstig. At home with her two young children — Max, 3, and Saga, 18 months — she was cooking dinner and chatting online with her sister, Katarina, about their parents’ upcoming anniversary.

At 7:07 p.m., Emma’s messages suddenly stopped. Katarina called repeatedly, but each call went to voicemail. Alarmed, she contacted Emma’s fiancé, 27-year-old Thorne Hellberg, who was on his way home from work.

When Hellberg arrived minutes later, he found the front door unlocked — unusual for their home — and the living room in disarray. Inside lay Emma, bloodied and barely recognizable. Racing upstairs, he discovered a nightmare: both children lying on the floor, their heads and faces brutally crushed.

All three victims were still alive when paramedics arrived. They were rushed to intensive care, but within hours Max and Saga succumbed to their injuries. Emma was placed in a medically induced coma.

From Young Marriage to a Fresh Start

Born in Stockholm in 1985, Emma had married her high school sweetheart, Nicholas, at 19. The couple had Max and, later, Saga, but their relationship collapsed amid financial stress and constant arguments. The separation was contentious, with court battles over custody and support.

Seeking a fresh start, Emma moved to Arboga, a quiet town of 11,000 residents. There, she met Hellberg online. Despite her concerns about dating as a single mother, he embraced both her and her children. Within two months, they bought a house together and planned a wedding for summer 2008.

A Targeted Attack

Police quickly ruled out robbery — valuables were untouched — and concluded the assault was personal. The brutality suggested a weapon such as a hammer or iron bar, though none was recovered.

Initial suspicion fell on Hellberg, given the short 13-minute window between Emma’s last message and his emergency call. But security footage confirmed he was still driving home at the time.

Investigators then looked at Nicholas, Emma’s ex-husband, given their turbulent history. But he had an alibi and had reconciled with Emma. Interviews with friends and neighbors yielded no clear suspect.

Witness Breakthrough

With no forced entry and little forensic evidence, the investigation stalled. Then a witness came forward: around 7:00 p.m., he had seen a hooded figure dressed in black loitering outside Emma’s home, hesitating before approaching. Ten minutes later, he saw the same figure — whom he believed was a woman — running from the house and into a waiting car.

This was the first indication the attacker might be female.

Emma Wakes — and Remembers

Ten days after the attack, doctors began bringing Emma out of her coma. Initially, she had no memory of the assault. On April 1, however, she recalled answering the door to a hooded woman who identified herself only as “Tina” before striking her with a hammer.

Shown photos of potential suspects, Emma immediately pointed to one: 31-year-old Christine Schürrer, a German national.

The Suspect: A Jealous Ex

Police learned Schürrer had met Hellberg in 2006 while working at a Greek hotel. A brief romance ended when he broke off the relationship, citing her possessive behavior.

Unwilling to accept the breakup, Schürrer bombarded Hellberg with messages and letters, showed up uninvited in Sweden, and once attempted suicide after he refused to reconcile. In early 2008, she re-emerged with an implausible claim that they had a child together — a story Hellberg believed she fabricated to regain contact.

After he cut off communication for good, police believe Schürrer plotted revenge against him by targeting Emma and her children.

Evidence Piles Up

Investigators found Schürrer living in Sweden under the radar. A search of her rented apartment yielded incriminating evidence:

A coat matching the witness’s description.

A shoe matching a print at the crime scene.

Dozens of photos of Emma and her children.

A detailed floor plan of their home with notes on routines.

Internet searches on how to erase crime scene evidence.

A former roommate told police her hammer went missing around the time of the murders. CCTV footage showed Schürrer arriving at and leaving Arboga the day of the crime.

The Trial

Extradited from Germany, Schürrer went on trial in Sweden in July 2008. In court, she appeared unconcerned, waving to spectators and laughing — even when shown crime scene photos.

Psychiatric evaluation found her sane and fully aware of her actions. She denied involvement, and her defense argued the lack of DNA evidence or a recovered weapon created reasonable doubt.

Prosecutors countered with Emma’s eyewitness identification, the roommate’s testimony about the missing hammer, the witness who saw a woman flee the scene, and the extensive evidence from Schürrer’s apartment and laptop.

Guilty on All Counts

The jury unanimously convicted Schürrer of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole and ordered to pay 100,000 Swedish kronor (about $9,000) to Emma. Appeals were denied.

In 2012, she was transferred to a women’s prison in Vechta, Germany.

Aftermath

Emma faced a long physical and emotional recovery. Supported by Hellberg, she eventually rebuilt her life, marrying him in 2010. The couple later had two more children, who grew up knowing about the siblings they never met. Nicholas remarried and had another child.

The murders left an enduring scar on Arboga, a town unaccustomed to such violence. For Swedish law enforcement, it was a rare and chilling example of a calculated, personal attack carried out with ruthless precision — and a reminder that sometimes the greatest danger comes not from strangers, but from those who cannot let go.