Latest news with #KristinEnmark
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Yahoo
Clark Olofsson, Notorious Criminal Who Helped Inspire the ‘Stockholm Syndrome' Phrase, Dies at 78
Clark Olofsson, one of the criminals who inspired the 'Stockholm syndrome' phrase, died on June 24, 2025, at 78 Olofsson died in a hospital in Sweden after a prolonged illness Olofsson rose to worldwide infamy in 1973 when he helped hold four people hostage in a bank in Stockholm and seemingly gained the sympathy of his captorsClark Olofsson, the notorious Swedish criminal who partly inspired the phrase 'Stockholm syndrome,' has died. He was 78. Olofsson died after a prolonged illness at Sweden's Arvika Hospital on June 24, according to his family, per Swedish news outlet Dagens ETC. Olofsson rose to worldwide infamy in 1973 when he helped fellow criminal Jan-Erik Olsson hold four people hostage in a bank in Stockholm for six days. Olsson initiated the robbery and kidnappings alone, but then demanded that police bring him his friend Olofsson, who at the time was imprisoned for an unrelated crime. Olofsson later maintained that authorities had told him he would receive a reduced sentence if he helped keep the hostages safe — a promise he said was ultimately not honored, per the BBC. Over the course of the week, the hostages seemingly began to sympathize with their captors and even defended their actions to authorities, according to the outlet. One of the hostages, 23-year-old Kristin Enmark, spoke to the Swedish prime minister during hostage negotiations and asked that she be allowed to leave the bank in a getaway car with the bank robbers. "I fully trust Clark and the robber ... They haven't done a thing to us,' she said during the call, per the BBC. "On the contrary, they have been very nice ... Believe it or not, but we've had a really nice time here." When police stormed the bank with tear gas, the hostages refused to leave Olofsson and Olsson for fear that authorities would shoot them, per the BBC. Years later, Enmark criticized the Stockholm syndrome theory — which was coined by Swedish psychiatrist Nils Bejerot — saying that she was merely trying to survive. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "It's a way of blaming the victim. I did what I could to survive,' she said on the BBC's Sideways podcast in 2021. Olofsson was raised by a single mother in Gothenburg, Sweden, per ETC. He began working on a cargo ship at age 15. By 19, he was involved in a police shooting after escaping prison. He was convicted of numerous crimes over his lifetime, including drug trafficking and a high-profile art heist, per the outlet. Several projects have been made about Olofsson's life, including a 2022 Netflix series — titled Clark — starring the actor Bill Skarsgård. Read the original article on People
ABC News
27-06-2025
- ABC News
'Stockholm syndrome' bank robber Clark Olofsson dies aged 78
The Swedish bank robber who held four people hostage for six days in a 1973 bank siege that led to the term "Stockholm Syndrome" being coined has died aged 78. Clark Olofsson, one of Sweden's most notorious repeat offenders, died in hospital after a lengthy illness, his family told news site Dagens ETC. He had a slew of convictions including robbery, attempted murder, drug dealing and assault, and spent more than half of his life in prison. He was best known for his role in the August 23, 1973 siege of Kreditbanken in central Stockholm. Another robber, Janne Olsson, had stormed the bank waving a submachine gun, taking three women and one man hostage as police swarmed the building. Olsson was agitated and demanded that Olofsson, who was in prison for bank robbery at the time, be brought to the bank. Sweden's government agreed. One of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, later wrote that when Olofsson arrived, she saw him as her saviour. "He promised that he would make sure nothing happened to me and I decided to believe him," she wrote. She spoke on the phone to authorities several times during the hostage drama, shocking the world when she defended her captors. "I'm not the least bit afraid of Clark and the other guy, I'm afraid of the police. Do you understand? I trust them completely," she told the prime minister at the time, Olof Palme, in one phone call. "Believe it or not but we've had a really nice time here," she said, adding that they were "telling stories" and "playing checkers". "You know what I'm afraid of? That the police will do something to us, storm the bank or something," she said. The crisis ended on the sixth day when police sprayed tear gas inside the bank, forcing Olsson and Olofsson to surrender and freeing the hostages. The hostages later refused to testify against their captors. Experts have since debated whether "Stockholm Syndrome" is an actual psychiatric condition. Some argue it is instead a defence mechanism to cope with a traumatic situation. AFP
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Yahoo
Criminal who helped inspire 'Stockholm syndrome' theory dies
One of the two charismatic criminals involved in the kidnapping that gave the world the term "Stockholm syndrome" has died aged 78, his family has said. Clark Olofsson - who rose to global notoriety in 1973 following a kidnapping and bank robbery in the Swedish capital - died following a lengthy illness, his family told online media outlet Dagens ETC. During a six-day siege, Olofsson's hostages began to sympathise with him and his accomplice, defending their actions while growing more hostile to the police outside. The incident lends its name to a theorised psychological condition whereby kidnap victims develop affections for their captors. What is Stockholm syndrome? The notorious bank siege was instigated by another man, Jan-Erik Olsson. After seizing three women and a man hostage, he demanded Olofsson - who he had previously befriended in prison - be brought to the bank from jail. Swedish authorities agreed to his demand, and Olofsson entered the bank, which was surrounded by police. Years later, in an interview with the Aftonbladet newspaper, he claimed he was asked to work as an inside man to keep the captives safe in exchange for a reduced sentence, but accused officials of not honouring the agreement. Olofsson persuaded one of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, to speak to the Swedish prime minister on the phone on behalf of the robbers. She begged to be allowed to leave the bank in a getaway car with the kidnappers, telling him: "I fully trust Clark and the robber... They haven't done a thing to us." She went on: "On the contrary, they have been very nice... Believe it or not but we've had a really nice time here." Over the course of several phone calls, Enmark said she feared her captors would be harmed by police and repeatedly defended their actions. In her memoir, she said of Olofsson: "He promised that he would make sure nothing happened to me and I decided to believe him. I was 23 years old and feared for my life." The hostage situation ended after six days when police officers broke through the roof and used tear gas to subdue the pair. Initially, hostages refused to leave their captors over fears they would be shot by police. The hostages also later refused to testify against Olofsson and Olsson. Experts have since debated whether Stockholm syndrome is an actual psychiatric condition, with some arguing it is a defence mechanism to cope with traumatic situations. The term was coined in the aftermath of the siege by Swedish criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot to explain the seemingly irrational affection some captives felt for their hostage-takers. The theory reached a wider audience the following year when Californian newspaper heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped by revolutionary militants. Speaking on the BBC's Sideways podcast in 2021, Enmark rubbished the concept of Stockholm syndrome, saying: "It's a way of blaming the victim. I did what I could to survive." Olofsson was a repeat offender and spent much of his life in prison. He was released for the last time in 2018 after serving a sentence for a drug offence in Belgium. In 2022, actor Bill Skarsgård portrayed him in the Netflix drama series Clark. Patty Hearst and the media feeding frenzy
BBC News
26-06-2025
- BBC News
Clark Oloffson: Criminal who helped inspire Stockholm Syndrome term dies aged 78
One of the two charismatic criminals involved in the kidnapping that gave the world the term "Stockholm syndrome" has died aged 78, his family has Oloffson - who rose to global notoriety in 1973 following a kidnapping and bank robbery in the Swedish capital - died following a lengthy illness, his family told online media outlet Dagens a six-day siege, Oloffson's hostages began to sympathise with him and his accomplice, defending their actions while growing more hostile to the police incident lends its name to a theorised psychological condition whereby kidnap victims develop affections for their captors. What is Stockholm syndrome? The notorious bank siege was instigated by another man, Jan-Erik Olsson. After seizing three women and a man hostage, he demanded Oloffson - who he had previously befriend in prison - be brought to the bank from authorities agreed to his demand, and Oloffson entered the bank, which was surrounded by later, in an interview with the Aftonbladet newspaper, he claimed he was asked to work as an inside man to keep the captives safe in exchange for a reduced sentence, but accused officials of not honouring the persuaded one of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, to speak to the Swedish prime minister on the phone on behalf of the begged to be allowed to leave the bank in a getaway car with the kidnappers, telling him: "I fully trust Clark and the robber... They haven't done a thing to us." She went on: "On the contrary, they have been very nice... Believe it or not but we've had a really nice time here."Over the course of several phone calls, Enmark said she feared her captors would be harmed by police and repeatedly defended their her memoir, she said of Oloffson: "He promised that he would make sure nothing happened to me and I decided to believe him. I was 23 years old and feared for my life."The hostage situation ended after six days when police officers broke through the roof and used tear gas to subdue the pair. Initially, hostages refused to leave their captors over fears they would be shot by police. The hostages also later refused to testify against Oloffson and have since debated whether Stockholm syndrome is an actual psychiatric condition, with some arguing it is a defence mechanism to cope with traumatic term was coined in the aftermath of the siege by Swedish criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot to explain the seemingly irrational affection some captives felt for their hostage-takers. The theory reached a wider audience the following year when Californian newspaper heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped by revolutionary on the BBC's Sideways podcast in 2021, Enmark rubbished the concept of Stockholm syndrome, saying: "It's a way of blaming the victim. I did what I could to survive."Olofsson was a repeat offender and spent much of his life in prison. He was released for the last time in 2018 after serving a sentence for a drug offence in 2022, actor Bill Skarsgård portrayed him in the Netflix drama series Clark.
CTV News
26-06-2025
- CTV News
‘Stockholm Syndrome' bank robber Clark Olofsson dies
In this photo released by police, three of the four hostages and bank robber Clark Olofsson, standing right, are seen in a bank in Stockholm, Sweden, Aug. 27, 1973, shortly before the gunmen were overwhelmed by police. (AP Photo, File) Clark Olofsson, a Swedish bank robber who held four people hostage for six days in a 1973 Stockholm bank siege that coined the term 'Stockholm Syndrome', has died aged 78, his family said Thursday. Olofsson, one of Sweden's most notorious repeat offenders and the subject of the 2022 Netflix series 'Clark', died at a Swedish hospital after a lengthy illness, his family told online media outlet Dagens ETC. Olofsson had a slew of convictions including robbery, attempted murder, drug dealing and assault, and spent more than half of his life in prison. He was best known for his role in the August 23, 1973 seige of Kreditbanken in central Stockholm. Another robber, Janne Olsson, had stormed the bank waving a submachine gun, taking three women and one man hostage as police quickly swarmed the building. Olsson was agitated and demanded that Olofsson, who was in prison for bank robbery at the time, be brought to the bank, and Sweden's government agreed. One of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, later wrote in her book 'I Became the Stockholm Syndrome' that when Olofsson arrived, she saw him as her saviour. 'He promised that he would make sure nothing happened to me and I decided to believe him,' she wrote. 'I was 23 years old and feared for my life.' She spoke on the phone to authorities several times during the hostage drama, shocking the world when she came out in defence of her captors. 'I'm not the least bit afraid of Clark and the other guy, I'm afraid of the police. Do you understand? I trust them completely,' she told the prime minister at the time, Olof Palme, in one phone call. 'Believe it or not but we've had a really nice time here,' she said, adding that they were 'telling stories' and 'playing checkers'. 'You know what I'm afraid of? That the police will do something to us, storm the bank or something,' she said. The crisis ended on the sixth day when police sprayed tear gas inside the bank, forcing Olsson and Olofsson to surrender, and freeing the hostages. The hostages later refused to testify against their captors. Experts have since debated whether 'Stockholm Syndrome' is an actual psychiatric condition, with some arguing it is instead a defence mechanism to cope with a traumatic situation.
