Black Ice

The prelude to the atrocity that led to the death of Svavar was that Svavar and Lóa, his common-law wife, had been out partying the night before the horrific event. Thráinn Hleinar Kristjánsson had also done so, along with his friend Margrét. Svavar and Lóa had been at Hotel Esja, while Thráinn and Margrét were at Hotel Borg. The people had all had alcohol on hand that evening. Svavar and Lóa had come home shortly after Þrán and Margrét. The two apartments were on the same floor and there was a shared bathroom on the floor. After Svavar and Lóa came home, Svavar had a drink, but Lóa went to the bathroom. When she came out, she met Þrán and they started talking. Svavar then came out and accused Lóa and Þrán of having a date in the bathroom. Some exchange of words followed, but eventually Lóa went into Svavar's apartment and went to sleep. Svavar followed her shortly after and fell asleep. Þrán and Margrét, however, stayed awake and did not sleep at all night.

On April 1, 1979, a 56-year-old man was murdered in his home at Hverfisgata 34. The deceased's name was Svavar Sigurðsson. He had been stabbed to death with a kitchen knife. The police were notified a few hours after the murder, but it was the murderer who turned himself in. His name was Þráinn HleinarKristjánsson and he was 36 years old. Þráinn also lived in an apartment in the building at Hverfisgata 34. Svavar had been stabbed in the abdomen, side and neck, but the cuts were both long and deep. It was believed that Svavar had died soon after the injuries were inflicted. As previously stated, Svavar had been dead for several hours when the police were called. It was immediately considered a matter of investigation why neither Þráinn nor Svavar's common-law wife, Lóa Fanney Valdimarsdóttir, had contacted the police earlier.

By 2017 he was in his 60s. He had serious convictions of fraud behind him. All sorts of victims including widows. A man was about to be killed because of his activity.

Reykjavik early 1980s. The wind of the bay is sharp. The houses are quiet. Inside one of them lives a man who helped shape Iceland‘s financial conversation at the national level. A young man will one day be convicted of defrauding his widow of millions.

Björgvin Thor, who was called the most dangerous criminal of Iceland, said he could not believe he would break into a house, threaten a woman to kill her two sons and then rape her violently. Yet a Couple months later he showed he could commit a violent crime and was about to do it again. 

In 1999, I went to the main prison in Iceland and sat across from the so called ´most dangerous criminal of Iceland!” Now that may not sound so scary to someone in the UK or the US, where there are many dangerous criminals. However, In Iceland, this experience evoked a profound sense of apprehension.  In 1992 a young man was given this not so positive title by the Icelandic media. He had then in a short period of time attacked women in different parts of the country in the most brutal way one can think of. 

Two bank robberies in 1995 were talked about as the perfect crimes, but were they?

The first time anyone one was shot dead in a police operation in Iceland was in December 2013. A 59-year-old man had been firing a shotgun from inside his Reykjavík apartment. When special forces broke into the man’s apartment, he fired at them and the police responded equally. This was one of the most read and shared stories on BBC that December because it was an unprecedented incident in Iceland.

A lorry driver comes across a young woman covered in blood trying to get away from a man and a car in south Iceland. She comes running and screaming in a panic towards the driver. "He tries to kill me" the young woman shouts repeatedly. A minute later the lorry driver ignores the woman and drives off.

In the summer of 1982, two friends, sisters, set out to explore the raw beauty of Iceland. A land, then untouched by mass tourism. What began as a carefree adventure through glaciers and black sands spiralled into terror when they crossed path with a man posing as a policeman.

Gunnar, the taxi driver accused of murdering another taxi driver in Reykjavik 1968, denies being involved, even though the murder weapon, Wesson 32 calibre pistol was found in his car. The police are certain they got the killer but can't make him confess he did it. 

Early in the morning of January 1968 a 43-year-old taxi driver was found shot in the back of the head in his car in Reykjavik. A shockwave went through the society and taxi drivers in this small capital were terrified. Who could have done such a thing in this small peaceful city?

A Black Ice Special: Interview with Dr Gisli Gudjonsson.

1996 was a lifechanging year for me. Not only had I realised the seriousness of the case of the two disappearences in 1974, how badly the police and justice system in Iceland had failed. But, that year, I also lost my mental health, became paranoid, as I lost my faith in justice.

Six young people were sentenced for the involvement of the disappearances of Gudmundur and Geirfinnur 1974 in Iceland. Without any tangible evidence, but the court verdicts were based on their own testimonies, which were withdrawn before court, except one, who withdrew his testimony in my TV documentary in 1997.

Two disappearances hurl six people into murder cases where they are used as a ploy in a grander scheme by the authorities. Five defendants were acquitted 38 years later, but the sixth, a woman, is still considered guilty of making false statements instead of the state facing its own grave mistakes.

Welcome to Black Ice. The first of a new series of podcasts on Icelandic crimes. We introduce our hosts, Sigursteinn Masson, an investigative journalist with extensive experience investigating crime in Iceland. And, Byron Russell, a true crime enthusiast, asking the relevant questions you want the answers to.