Episode Twenty One | Karina Holmer: The Case That Haunts Boston with Emily Sweeney of the Globe

Updated: Jun 5, 2023

On the evening of June 21, 1996, 20-year-old Karina Holmer went with friends to her favorite Boston club to celebrate summer solstice - a big holiday in her homeland of Sweden. She was reported missing by friends and it was discovered that she was the woman found mutilated in the trash. Her gruesome murder remains unsolved. What happened from the last time she was seen in the early morning of June 22 until she was discovered by a man collecting bottles and cans from a dumpster behind an apartment building remains a mystery.

I’ve been planning on doing this case for a long time. It has been at the top of my list of those that have most impacted me, one that troubles me. Her story is particularly sensitive because it remains unsolved.

June 22 marked 25 years since Karina was seen alive. She has been gone longer than she lived. I always remember her because June 22 is my birthday, and it was the summer before I started college in Boston. Karina's identity was pushed in the press as "The Swedish Nanny," she was the girl in the dumpster. It is a terrifying story.

Today, we are no closer to learning who did this and why. I’d settle for who. The why. Who knows. Motive is far less important now. We would like to know. Of course. But 25 years in, the likelihood that her case is cracked is slim.

June 22, 1996. The last time Karina Holmer was seen alive.
I want to see her case solved. And I have a plan to try.

Photo Gallery for more about this case

Crime of the Truest Kind
Hosted by Anngelle Wood
Online: crimeofthetruestkind.com
@crimeofthetruestkind

Thank you, Emily Sweeney of the Boston Globe

Music in this episode by Joe "onlyone" Kowalski and Andrew King

http://onlyone.bandcamp.com

Promo for Murderific Podcast
http://murderific.com

Thank you for listening.

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The Boston Police Department Unsolved Homicide Unit continues to review the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident and is asking anyone with information relative to this investigation to contact (617) 343-4470.
Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to assist this investigation in an anonymous manner.

Photos:
Photos of Karina Holmer (this is really Karina, some sites post someone entirely different)

The entry of what was known as "the alley" on Boylston Place - Likely the last place she was seen alive

The dumpster behind the apartment building on the corner of Ipswich and Boylston Streets
The area she was found recently

View of the Estate in the Alley that was Zanibar

Source Links

Boston Globe - Who Killed Karina Holmer? Twenty-five Years Later, Swedish Nanny’s Grisly Murder Remains Unsolved

by Emily Sweeney, June 22, 2021

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/22/metro/who-killed-karina-holmer-twenty-five-years-later-swedish-nannys-grisly-murder-remains-unsolved

Front Page Detectives - 25 Years Later, The Gruesome 'swedish Nanny's' Murder In Boston Remains A Mystery

by Nate Homan, JUne 15, 2021

Https://Www.Frontpagedetectives.Com/P/Boston-swedish-nanny-karina-holmer-killed

Boston Herald Editorial: Time to solve ’96 murder of Karina Holmer

June 16, 2021

https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/06/16/editorial-time-to-solve-96-murder-of-karina-holmer

Caught In Dot - Community Alert in Karina Holmer Murder

https://caughtindot.com/community-alert-bpd-investigators-seek-the-publics-help-to-solve-the-murder-of-karina-holmer/

WBUR Boston - Remembering Karina Holmer By Name
by Philip Martin, June 24, 2019
https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2019/06/24/remembering-karina-holmer-by-name-not-just-by-the-crime-that-killed-her

Billy Jensen - Karina Holmer and Elizabeth Short by Billy Jensen (who I had NO Idea worked for the Boston Phoenix!), October 17th, 2013

http://billyjensen.com/black-blonde-hideous-sorority-hollywoods-black-dahlia-bostons-swedish-nanny

True Crime Daily - The Brutal Unsolved Murder of Karina Holmer

https://truecrimedaily.com/2015/08/07/the-brutal-unsolved-murder-of-karina-holmer

Murder In New England - Karina Holmer, The Swedish Au Pair Case -unsolved

Https://Murderinnewengland.Org/2021/01/25/Karina-holmer-the-swedish-au-pair-case-unsolved

AP - Swedish Nanny Killed In Boston, Body Cut In Half, By Carolyn Thompson, June 26, 1996

Https://Apnews.Com/Article/7e59b03dc3452d9998087d7f440a0e2b

South Coast Today - Swedish Teen Found Slain In Boston Trash, by Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press, Jun 26, 1996
https://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/19960626/news/306269941

https://apps.bostonglobe.com/true-crime/half-a-body/