The World - News from July 21, 1989

A court in Stockholm reached a verdict in the trial of the man accused of fatally shooting Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in February, 1986, but did not disclose it. The defendant was ordered to remain in custody, indicating a conviction. Had Christer Pettersson, 42, been found innocent, he would have been freed immediately. He was ordered held until publication of the verdict July 27. Pettersson was tried by a panel of two judges and six jurors, each with an equal vote on his innocence or guilt. The prosecution built a circumstantial case relying on the testimony of Palme’s widow, Lisbeth, who identified Pettersson as the man she saw standing a few feet away after the shooting. Pettersson maintains he is innocent.