Swedish girl, 16, and brothers ‘lured taxi driver, 26, into the woods before hanging him in revenge for raping her’

A Swedish girl and her brothers have been accused of luring a taxi driver to a secluded forest and hanging him to death in revenge for his alleged rape.

Five teenagers, aged between 16 and 18, are on trial at the Uppsala District Court in Sweden accused of murdering a 26-year-old taxi driver.

The four brothers deny all charges against them, but the girl admitted luring her to a secluded area, thinking they would beat her.

The girl, 16, allegedly texted the taxi driver, who has not yet been named, asking him to meet her with a bottle of vodka at a car park near the Hjälstavikens nature reserve in south-east Sweden, about 37 miles from Stockholm, in March of this year.

After the pair met, the four brothers then allegedly strangled the man and hung him with a noose made of rope they brought with them, the Swedish newspaper reported. Fria Tider reported.

Prosecutors said this likely led to his suffering in the final moments of his life.

The taxi driver was lured to a parking lot near the Hjälstavikens nature reserve in southeast Sweden

Several search parties were sent to find the taxi driver, who was only found weeks later after his car was found hidden in a nearby snowdrift.

Local police said they found the defendants’ DNA both on the victim’s car and on the rope used to hang him.

Furthermore, records revealed that they had transferred money from his bank accounts to their own.

Cops also allegedly found some of his belongings in their home, the Swedish publication reported.

Prosecutors said the main motive for the alleged killing was revenge, after the girl made a report that the driver allegedly raped her in February 2022, which was not followed up on.

The brothers reportedly told some of their friends they were going to kill a rapist and told them they had done so after the crime had been committed.

Andreas Pallinder, head of investigations at Uppsala police, admitted at a press conference that his force should have taken her report of rape seriously.

“If you take it to the extreme, theoretically we could have prevented a murder,” he said.

Prosecutors also believed the killing may have had a financial motive, as money and belongings were missing from his person. This line of inquiry was later dropped as it was deemed ambiguous.

Ebru Tok, a lawyer representing the family of the slain, said earlier: ‘The family is deeply saddened and shocked by the unique situation of such young people who are suspected of murder.

“They hope that the preliminary investigation will clarify the circumstances of the case.