He locked up his son for 28 years and was rescued malnourished and with almost no teeth

Experts and security forces worked on the scene / AP

STOCKHOLM

Swedish authorities yesterday announced the arrest of a septuagenarian, suspected of having locked up her son for nearly 30 years, discovered in her apartment on the outskirts of Stockholm, with infected wounds, malnourished and almost toothless.

“The mother is suspected of unlawful deprivation of liberty and bodily harm,” police spokesman Ola Österling said.

According to the Expressen and Aftonbladet newspapers, the mother kept him locked up for 28 years, after taking him out of school at the age of 12.

The son, now 40, “was locked up for a long time” in the Haninge family’s apartment near Stockholm, according to the police spokesman.

The events took place in a yellow brick building in the modest Handen district, about 20 kilometers from the center of the Swedish capital.

STUPEFACT NEIGHBORS

“The alert was given by a member of the family, after seeing the son,” the prosecution confirmed in a statement.

According to Swedish media, the man had infected wounds on his legs, could barely walk or speak, and had virtually no teeth.

Police did not confirm these details, but said the son had to be hospitalized.

“There was urine, dirt and dust. It smelled musty. No one has cleaned in years, ”said the woman, a family member, who discovered it, quoted anonymously by Expressen.

Piles of garbage barely allowed entry into the apartment, he said. “I am surprised, upset, but at the same time relieved. I have been waiting for this day for 20 years because I realized that she was completely in control of her life, but I never imagined this magnitude, ”he said.

“She stole her life and manipulated the people around her to keep her secret,” he added. “I am thankful that she gets help and that she can survive.” No hypothesis has been made on the mother’s motives.

For Don Somboon, a 25-year-old engineer who lives on the same street, “it was a bit of a surprise to hear the news, when you realize what is going on so close,” he said. declared.

“It’s scary, but mostly sad,” said Tove Boman, a 24-year-old who lives in the building next door. “I grew up here so I always knew who I was, kinda weird,” she said of the mom.

MYSTERY COVER

The exact conditions in which the son was locked up have not yet been clarified.

A neighbor told Aftonbladet newspaper that she met him at the supermarket a few months ago. “I know who you are, you are my neighbor,” the lonely son reportedly told her, pretending to recognize her for having seen her through the window.

But most of the residents quoted in the press say they haven’t seen it for years. “They hardly ever went out, they never opened the windows,” a neighbor told Aftonbladet.

How did this son and his mother escape social services? The neighbors are stunned.

With the mother, “they talked about unimportant things, as usual,” said another neighbor. “Sometimes he would ask questions about the boy, he would tell me he was fine, he never spoke of him.

Yet it was strange to him that his window was never open. (AFP)