HBO Europe probes Swedish murder case

Martin Johnson and Martin Berg

Premium channel HBO Europe has commissioned a six-part true crime documentary about a notorious murder in a small Swedish village.

Pray, Obey, Kill was created by investigative journalists Martin Berg and Martin Johnson, alongside director Henrik Georgsson.

It focuses on the village of Knutby where a small tight-knit Pentecostal congregation believed Jesus was returning to Earth to marry their leader.

When a young woman in the community was murdered and her neighbour suffered multiple gunshot wounds, the ensuing court case became an international sensation. A young nanny confessed to being the murderer, pressured by text messages she thought came from God, but which were actually sent by a Pastor.

Berg, Johnson and Martina Jacobaeus will be executive producers for the series which will debut in all HBO Europe territories in the spring.

Warner Bros International TV Production Sweden’s Ruth Reid will produce the show for HBO Europe.

“To me, the case and what really happened in Knutby is all about abuse of power – something I find extremely provocative,” said Berg.

“We have accessed material that the police and the justice system has chosen to not make public. This shows that this case is more complicated than we expected at the start of our investigation.”