Father of Swedish girl murdered in Paris hopes justice will be served

Bruno Cholet, a 55-year old unlicenced taxi driver, is on trial for kidnapping and killing 19-year old Sussana Zetterberg, who was studying and working in the French capital.

She was last seen leaving a nightclub, and during a taxi ride, she called a friend to say she was in a “strange” taxi.

Her partly-burnt body was found in a forest north of Paris later that day.

She had been shot at least four times in the head, and her hands were tied behind her back with a brand of handcuffs sold in sex shops.

The state of her body made it impossible to establish whether she suffered a sexual assault.

On Thursday, Zetterberg’s father, Carl Zetterberg, told the court: “I would rather not be here. But now that I am here, I feel certain that justice will be served.”

“The solid work carried out by the police during the investigation, everything that I have seen, heard and experienced here in court, assures me that the person who took my daughter’s life will pay for their actions,” he said through an interpreter.

When asked whether he would like to address the accused, Zetterberg told the court: “No, I don’t think so.”

The young woman’s mother, Asa Palmqvist, said “the most difficult thing” was not knowing “what happened to her before she died.”

Cholet, who was arrested six days after the murder, has denied any involvement and accused police of fabricating evidence against him.

As well as having been charged five times for operating an illegal cab, the accused had a string of serious convictions, including three for rape and one for armed robbery.

The court is due to deliver its verdict on Friday.