The Breakthrough: A complete timeline of the real events
The Breakthrough is a Swedish crime drama series that premiered on Netflix on January 7, 2025. The limited series is inspired by the 2004 double homicide of an 8-year-old boy and a 56-year-old woman in Linköping, Sweden. The murderer was arrested in 2020, 16 years after the incident with the help of advancements in DNA genealogy.
The series comprises four episodes ranging from 35 to 42 minutes, depicting the second most gruesome crime in Sweden's history. The Breakthrough is based on the nonfiction book by journalist Anna Bodin and genealogist Peter Sjölund titled Genombrottet: Så Löste Släktforskaren Dubbelmordet i Linköping (The Breakthrough: How the genealogist solved the double murder in Linköping).
The show's initial reception has been positive. It is being praised for the meticulous portrayal of the investigation process, although some critics believe that the narrative is slow and stretched.
The director of the show is Lisa Siwe and the scriptwriter is Oskar Söderlund.
Breakdown of the real events following the 2004 double homicide in Linköping, Sweden
As stated above, The Breakthrough is based on the 2004 double homicide in Linköping, Sweden, where an 8-year-old boy and a 56-year-old woman were stabbed to death. The tragic case was the second largest in Swedish history and left the community in shock.
DNA evidence was recovered at the crime scene in 2004, which hinted that the culprit was from Northern Europe, had blonde hair, and used cigarettes and snus. Police believed at the time the suspect was in his 20s and probably struggled with mental health issues.
Despite this, the perpetrator could not be caught as there was no match in law enforcement databases.
In 2010, police revealed a potential sketch of the suspect, and on the sixth anniversary of the murders, the case was broadcast on the crime show Veckans Brott.
Another sketch based on the suspect's DNA profile was drawn in the Netherlands in 2018. Despite receiving multiple tips based on the sketch, the police were unable to find the killer.
16 years after the incident, the investigator on the case collaborated with a genealogist to capture the killer with the help of DNA genealogy technology. After he was identified and arrested, the accused gave a short confession.
He stated that there was a voice in his head that was telling him to kill two people. He was found guilty and sentenced to psychiatric care indefinitely.
In the series, Detective John Sundin ( Peter Eggers) collaborates with genealogist Per (Mattias Nordkvist) two weeks before the unsolved murders are deemed a cold case.
Using DNA genealogy technology, the duo trace the killer’s family tree through public DNA databases, ultimately leading to the arrest of the killer.
Who are the real-life counterparts of the characters in The Breakthrough?
In The Breakthrough, most of the characters are based on real-life individuals connected to the murders. The real-life victims of the incident were 8-year-old Mohammed Ammouri and 56-year-old Anna-Lena Svensson who are portrayed as Adnan Abbas and Gunilla Pairson in the series.
Mohammed was stabbed on his way to school on October 19, 2004 in broad daylight, and Anna-Lena, another resident of the same street, was attacked when she tried to intervene.
The lead investigator on the case at the time was Jan Staaf, who searched for the killer for 16 years. Although the character is similar, his name is changed to John Sundin in the series.
Similarly, Peter Sjölund, the genealogist whose expertise was instrumental in solving the case, is fictionalized as Per Skogkvist.
Sjölund made use of public genealogy databases like GEDmatch and FamilyTree to trace the suspect's family line and eventually identify the killer. The murderer, Daniel Nyqvist's name is changed to David Nilsson in the series.
Journalist Anna Bodin, the co-author of the book Genombrottet on which the series is based, inspired the character Stina Eriksson. However, Stina’s familial relationship with Daniel is fictionalized, as there is no official account of a personal connection between the two of them in reality.
The series has maintained the key elements of the case while fictionalizing certain aspects for dramatic effect.
The Breakthrough is now streaming on Netflix.
