Tore Hedin

Tore Hedin (7 January 1927 – 22 August 1952) was a Swedish mass murderer and serial arsonist who killed nine people in a spree killing in Skåne County, Sweden, on the night of 21–22 August 1952. The killings, known as the Hurvamorden ("Hurva murders"), were the deadliest instance of mass murder in Swedish criminal history until the 2025 Risbergska school shooting. Hedin, who worked as a police officer, had committed a murder in the year prior to the spree killing, taking part in the investigation and being prominently featured in news reports, particularly due to his employ of a medium, itself unique for a Swedish homicide investigation.

Early life Tore Hedin was born in , a locality in Kävlinge Municipality, Scania, to Per Alfred Hedin and Hulda Marie Hedin. In 1928, when Hedin was one year old, his parents moved to a farm in Annelöv, which they had purchased for 11,500 kronor. Hedin was described as a diligent, but listless student by his elementary school headmaster Nils Emmertz, who noted that he appeared "weak and languid" and rarely played with other children. His parents were physically abusive, reportedly slapping Hedin whenever he would cry. Hedin was considered a loner and spent most of his free time helping his father during carpentry.

Throughout Hedin's adolescence, the family farm suffered financially due to frequent horse deaths from starvation, exacerbated by supply shortages during World War II. In September 1943, Hedin broke into the local Gustavshills brewery to steal some oats to feed the horses. To avoid detection, he caused a fire in the stables of the brewery to hide his crime, partially destroying the building's stables, causing 36,000 kronor in damages; this was a method he used later to cover his tracks when he committed far more serious crimes. In 1944, Hedin's father sold the farm and moved the family to Kvärlöv, where he had found work as a construction worker.

Hedin's weighted-down body was later found in Bosarpasjön. His corpse was transported to the Institution of Anatomy at Lund University. It was stored at the institution until 1974, when it was cremated.

Hedin's suicide note was widely republished by newspapers. Despite the admission that Hedin sought revenge for his rejection by his former fiancée, there was speculation by the press if Hedin was affected by mental illness. Following the reveal of Hedin's guilt in the murder of Allan Nilsson, medium Olle Jönsson, who had moved to the United States by this point, was widely mocked in Swedish media. Jönsson himself would claim later in life that he had positively identified Hedin as the killer and that Hedin committed the spree killing because he knew he was about to be exposed by Jönsson.

Victims Hulda Hedin, 57, Hedin's mother Per Hedin, 74, Hedin's father Agnes Lundin, 54 Ulla Östberg, 23 Bengta Andersson, 85 Elna Andersson, 82 Nils Larsson, 84 Maria Nilsdotter, 69 Marie Petersson, 80 John Allan Nilsson, 32