A 16-year-old girl has appeared in court accused of luring a taxi driver into the woods, before ‘hanging him in revenge for raping her’.
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The girl, alongside her four brothers – aged between 16 and 18 – stand accused of the murder of the 26-year-old man on March 24, after his body was found hanging in a wood near Uppsala, Sweden.
The taxi drivers body was discovered near the Hjälstaviken nature reserve six days after his vehicle was found abandoned, around 65km north-west of Stockholm.
The four brothers all deny all charges, according to local newspaper Fria Tider, but the girl admitted to luring the man to a secluded area of the reserve in the knowledge he would be beaten.
The court heard how the girl allegedly texted the unnamed taxi driver, arranging to meet her with a bottle of vodka in a nearby car park.
After the pair met, the court heard how the four brothers allegedly then strangled the man with equipment they had brought with them, before hanging him from a tree with a noose.
The taxi driver’s vehicle was discovered on March 26, covered in snow and with the taxi’s meter still running.
His body was discovered six days later on April 1, located 500-meters away in a forested area of the reserve.
Prosecutors told the court his death was likely to have caused severely suffering during his final moments.
The court heard how the boys had previously bought rope, masking tape and clothes in preparation for the murder.
Police discovered plans for the murder being discussed in a group chat the day before the driver’s death,
“They are going to meet my rapist. THIHIHI”, wrote the girl.
The girl is said to have later sent a message to an acquaintance saying that her rapist was dead.
Evidence presented in court included phone signals and traces of DNA from both the driver and the brothers which was found on a jacket.
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