Charges Dropped Against Mother Arrested for Allegedly Locking Son in Apartment for 28 Years

The apartment where a Swedish mother allegedly locked up her son.
The apartment building in Sweden where the mother and son lived. AFP/Getty

Charges have been dropped against a mother in Sweden who was arrested for allegedly locking up her son for nearly 30 years. The son was allowed to come and go as he pleased, a prosecutor says.

Charges have been dropped against a mother in Sweden who was initially thought to have locked her son inside their apartment for nearly 30 years, according to reports. The son was able to come and go as he pleased, a prosecutor said.

The 70-year-old woman denied the charges of imprisonment and grievous bodily harm after the son, now aged 41, was found injured and and living in squalor. She has been freed from custody.

"We haven't found any indications that he has been locked up, tied up or physically prevented from leaving the scene. There are no indications that there have been locked spaces," prosecutor Emma Olsson told Agence France-Presse.

"The man himself has said that it was up to him if he wanted to leave the apartment," she said.

"He's an adult and could go out if he wanted."

The son was found by a relative on Sunday, malnourished and without most of his teeth, according to local reports. 

Olsson told reporters Thursday the man's injuries could not be attributed to violence.

The man and his mother were not identified. 

The unnamed relative who discovered the man said the apartment was filthy. "There was urine, dirt and dust. It smelled rotten," she told Expressen, adding that she had to wade through piles of garbage to reach the man. 

"No one could have cleaned that home for many years," the relative told the news outlet.

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