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The Strange Case of Thomas Quick: The Swedish Serial Killer and the Psychoanalyst Who Created Him
In 1991 Sture Bergwall, a homosexual drug addict who had committed an armed robbery so badly planned that he was deemed to be more in need of therapy than punishment, was committed to Sater, Sweden's equivalent of Broadmoor. There, he started psychotherapy. During the course of his therapy he 'remembered' childhood scenes of sexual abuse, and, eventually, confessed to raping, killing and even eating more than 30 victims. Embracing the process of self-discovery, he even took on a new name: Thomas Quick.
Quick was brought to trial and convicted of eight murders. Yet, in 2008, his confessions were proven to be fabricated and the convictions were overturned. His motive seems to have been freely issued prescription drugs, and the unlimited support and affirmation of his therapist. She, and others at the hospital, had come under the influence of psycho-analyst Margit Norell, who had hoped to make psychoanalytic history with her case study of Thomas Quick...
In this gripping book, Dan Josefsson investigates the scandal of 'recovered' memory therapy, and the greatest miscarriage of justice in Swedish history.
Quick was brought to trial and convicted of eight murders. Yet, in 2008, his confessions were proven to be fabricated and the convictions were overturned. His motive seems to have been freely issued prescription drugs, and the unlimited support and affirmation of his therapist. She, and others at the hospital, had come under the influence of psycho-analyst Margit Norell, who had hoped to make psychoanalytic history with her case study of Thomas Quick...
In this gripping book, Dan Josefsson investigates the scandal of 'recovered' memory therapy, and the greatest miscarriage of justice in Swedish history.
515 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 20, 2018
“Paralysed, I observe in the mirror the reflection of a self that does not exist”
The Strange Case Of Thomas Quick is the story of Sture Bergwall, a petty criminal and drug addict botched an armed robbery so badly he was deemed to be more in need of therapy than punishment. During therapy he recovered traumatic memories of abuse he suffered in childhood which lead to brutal murders to which he confessed and took on the name Thomas Quick.
The first part of the book looks into the psychologists that were responsible for Thomas Quick’s treatments and seen by many the cause of his recovered memories and false confessions which got him convicted for over 20 murders. The ring leader as it were was known as Margit Norell who practiced recovered memory therapy as a supervisor to a team of psychologists that administered it on Thomas Quick.
The police spent years via interviews and re-enactment visits to various areas in Sweden to help Thomas Quick remember in detail where the bodies of his victims were. After many years and finally being detoxed from the over use of drugs Sture Bergwall confesses that he didn’t commit any of the crimes and it was due to his drug addiction and therapy he claimed he commited those murders, he felt he belonged and had to perform and become an interesting patient for the group of psychologists in order to stay at the Säter facility.
What’s heartbreaking is that the families of the victims of those 20+ murders never received justice, the murders are still at large.
This is a heavy read as it is very detailed in psychoanalysis and the brutal details of the murders. At times it was quite repetitive when analysing Thomas Quick’s confessions however it was interesting to see the outcome and how the Swedish police handled this infamous fake Serial Killer.
The Strange Case Of Thomas Quick is the story of Sture Bergwall, a petty criminal and drug addict botched an armed robbery so badly he was deemed to be more in need of therapy than punishment. During therapy he recovered traumatic memories of abuse he suffered in childhood which lead to brutal murders to which he confessed and took on the name Thomas Quick.
The first part of the book looks into the psychologists that were responsible for Thomas Quick’s treatments and seen by many the cause of his recovered memories and false confessions which got him convicted for over 20 murders. The ring leader as it were was known as Margit Norell who practiced recovered memory therapy as a supervisor to a team of psychologists that administered it on Thomas Quick.
The police spent years via interviews and re-enactment visits to various areas in Sweden to help Thomas Quick remember in detail where the bodies of his victims were. After many years and finally being detoxed from the over use of drugs Sture Bergwall confesses that he didn’t commit any of the crimes and it was due to his drug addiction and therapy he claimed he commited those murders, he felt he belonged and had to perform and become an interesting patient for the group of psychologists in order to stay at the Säter facility.
What’s heartbreaking is that the families of the victims of those 20+ murders never received justice, the murders are still at large.
This is a heavy read as it is very detailed in psychoanalysis and the brutal details of the murders. At times it was quite repetitive when analysing Thomas Quick’s confessions however it was interesting to see the outcome and how the Swedish police handled this infamous fake Serial Killer.
June 23, 2018
Sooooo.. I'm giving up on this one at about 70%. It is an incredibly interesting story that is very bizarre, but unfortunately, I feel like the author has repeated too much of the information and the book could have done with quite an edit. I can't imagine any new information will come up in the last 100 pages to be honest, it would probably just be the same story but with more details. I'm still counting the book as 'read' because I was close enough to finish it and also.. I can do whatever I want, HA. Okay bye. Tldr; read a summary online or read about the case in general. It's truly fascinating.
September 7, 2022
Sturge Bergwall, a gay drug addict, committed an armed robbery in Sweden. This robbery was so bad that the system decided he needed therapy instead of punishment. Sturge then started his psychotherapy treatments and with them he started to ‘remember’ painful childhood memories full of sexual abuse along with more recent 'memories' full of rape, murder and cannibalism also resurfaced. Sturge then decides that he needs a new identity. Meet Thomas Quick. Thomas is then convicted of eight murders that he confessed to after 'remembering'.
Fast forward to 2008, it is then discovered that all of Thomas’ ‘memories’ are a lie with the convictions eventually being overturned and Thomas goes back to being Sturge. It is discovered that the psychotherapists are prescribing Sturge with a huge amount of prescription drugs and he is also receiving unlimited support from his therapist. His main therapist is a part of Margit Norell’s, a psycho-analyst, inner circle who was hoping to make psychoanalytical history with Thomas’ case. Margit practiced recovery memory therapy and taught her therapists to do the same.
My mind is shocked with this case. The first half of this book goes into in-depth history of Margit and how she created this little group of cronies. Margit would provide therapy to those in her inner circle and she would also surprise them - confliction much? These psychotherapists were in charge of Sturge, including his addiction to prescription drugs, with many people seeing them as being responsible for Sturge's false memories.
The police were involved in these investigations. The really frustrating part is that what Sturge revealed to police didn’t match the evidence found and the police also liked to ask leading questions. Eventually Sturge is detoxed from all of his drugs and he recants his confessions.
The real murderers have never been caught. This book is a heavy read and repetitive but if you are really into psychology and true crime this book is probably right up your alley.
Fast forward to 2008, it is then discovered that all of Thomas’ ‘memories’ are a lie with the convictions eventually being overturned and Thomas goes back to being Sturge. It is discovered that the psychotherapists are prescribing Sturge with a huge amount of prescription drugs and he is also receiving unlimited support from his therapist. His main therapist is a part of Margit Norell’s, a psycho-analyst, inner circle who was hoping to make psychoanalytical history with Thomas’ case. Margit practiced recovery memory therapy and taught her therapists to do the same.
My mind is shocked with this case. The first half of this book goes into in-depth history of Margit and how she created this little group of cronies. Margit would provide therapy to those in her inner circle and she would also surprise them - confliction much? These psychotherapists were in charge of Sturge, including his addiction to prescription drugs, with many people seeing them as being responsible for Sturge's false memories.
The police were involved in these investigations. The really frustrating part is that what Sturge revealed to police didn’t match the evidence found and the police also liked to ask leading questions. Eventually Sturge is detoxed from all of his drugs and he recants his confessions.
The real murderers have never been caught. This book is a heavy read and repetitive but if you are really into psychology and true crime this book is probably right up your alley.
December 13, 2016
It took me a very long time to realise this book is not for me. Having put it down and picked it up several times (not a book to carry around on travel - it's bulky and heavy), I noticed very late how in small letters it says 'true crime' on the back cover.
The basic premise is very interesting. This is the story of a Swedish man who admitted to murdering about 30 people when in fact he had not murdered anybody. The first third is particularly interesting because it is more about psychoanalysis and prominent practitioners in the country a few decades ago. The difficult part comes about halfway into the book where there is a lot of detail about the murders. This is not for me.
The basic premise is very interesting. This is the story of a Swedish man who admitted to murdering about 30 people when in fact he had not murdered anybody. The first third is particularly interesting because it is more about psychoanalysis and prominent practitioners in the country a few decades ago. The difficult part comes about halfway into the book where there is a lot of detail about the murders. This is not for me.
November 26, 2017
This was a “strange” book. It took me a lot longer to process what the author was trying to say about Thomas Quick. The story was an intriguing one, I’m still a little confused by it.. but from what I understand it was a confusing situation.
It’s a good read if you want to explore how power psychotherapy is, and how it can have negative impacts on clients if not used correctly. It is a powerful reminder about the power a professional (psychotherapist, social worker, psychologist, etc..) has in a therapeutic relationship.
It’s a good read if you want to explore how power psychotherapy is, and how it can have negative impacts on clients if not used correctly. It is a powerful reminder about the power a professional (psychotherapist, social worker, psychologist, etc..) has in a therapeutic relationship.
May 27, 2018
Really fascinating book that seems to defy genres. If you enjoy true-crime, science and criminology then this is one for you.
December 4, 2024
DNF. Creepy. Long. Got halfway through. Gave up.
January 14, 2016
An interesting read. I had not heard of this Swedish legal scandal before. This is the (true) story of a young junkie who was persuaded into confessing he had murdered heaps of people over two decades. The book is mainly about the psychotherapy practices in Sweden, and theory of memory recovery which ruined lots of lives. Patients were co-erced into "remembering" sexual abuse etc. Seems to have been translated well in that it doesn't sound clunky to English ears.
July 22, 2024
Tung bok, men veldig spennende
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews