The Breakthrough, a crime show on Netflix, has captivated viewers all over the world with its gripping story and haunting depiction of a double murder investigation in Sweden. The show starts with a terrible crime; an 8-year-old boy and a bystander are brutally stabbed. This starts one of Sweden’s toughest criminal investigations. The question on everyone’s mind is: How much of this show is true?
The Breakthrough Plot
The Breakthrough is a dramatization of the events leading up to a double murder in 2004 in the quiet Swedish town of Linköping. The story is about Detective John Sudin (Peter Eggers), a police officer who is looking into the killing of Adnan, a young boy, and Gunilla, a woman who tried to stop the killing. At first, the case seems simple, but it quickly turns into a 16-year mystery that tests the limits of police work, technology, and people’s ability to keep going.
The show isn’t just a crime show. What a deep look into the mental and emotional toll the case takes on everyone, from the families of the victims to the investigators. The fact that The Breakthrough is based on real events makes it even more interesting, as it shows those events with great accuracy while also making some creative choices.
The True Story Behind “The Breakthrough”
Yes, The Breakthrough is based on real events. A groundbreaking case in Swedish criminal history is used as inspiration for the series. The nonfiction book Genombrottet: Så Löste Släktforskaren Dubbelmordet i Linköping (The Breakthrough: How the Genealogist Solved the Double Murder in Linköping) goes into more detail about this case. The book, which was written by journalist Anna Bodin and genealogist Peter Sjölund together is about how advanced DNA genealogy helped solve the murders of Mohamad Ammouri, 8, and Anna Lena Svensson, 56, in 2004.
Mohamad was walking to school that terrible October morning when he was attacked by someone with a knife. Anna Lena Svensson—a bystander who tried to help—was also hurt. The killer ran away—leaving a crime scene that investigators couldn’t figure out for years.
The Challenges of Solving the Case
The first investigation didn’t turn up many good leads. Detectives found the murder weapon and the killer’s cap but DNA testing showed that there were no matches in police databases. Witness accounts, like that of a woman who saw the killer run away, were not clear. The police tried hard but they couldn’t figure out who did it.
The case grew into Sweden’s second-biggest police investigation as the years went by. Detectives did everything they could from putting out sketches of suspects to working with the FBI and other international agencies. But a breakthrough didn’t happen until 2020, which was 16 years after the murders.
The Role of DNA Genealogy
The case took a big turn when genealogist Peter Sjölund used cutting-edge DNA genealogy methods on it. Using DNA evidence from the crime scene, Sjölund made a family tree for the person who did the crime but has not been identified. He narrowed down the suspects to just one man, Daniel Nyqvist, by looking at genetic matches and family ties.
It was in June 2020 that Nyqvist was caught, and his DNA matched the evidence perfectly. During his confession, Nyqvist said he didn’t know any of the people he hurt personally. He said he did what he did because of obsessive thoughts and picked his targets at random. On later review, the court found that Nyqvist had killed the people while suffering from a severe mental disorder.
Even though The Breakthrough is based on real events, the show makes up some things to make the story better. For example, the investigation is shown through the dramatic lens of the fictional detective John Sudin and his personal problems. To keep the pace steady, the show also shortens timelines and makes complicated investigation processes easier to understand.
The balance between fact and fiction was emphasized by screenwriter Oskar Söderlund. Söderlund said, “This story is a trauma that has changed the people of Linköping.” “We wanted to show how strong people were who wouldn’t give up, even when the odds were against them.”
There’s more to The Breakthrough than just telling the story of a cold case again. It shows how investigative technology has changed over time and how it can be used to solve old mysteries. Not only does the show show how tragedies affect the people who are affected but it also shows how they affect the community as a whole.
So, is The Breakthrough based on real events? The answer is that it has a unique mix of reality and story. The show is based on true events and sticks to the most important parts of the case but it also makes up some things to make the story more interesting. The Breakthrough is a powerful look at justice—resilience and the never-ending search for the truth because it is a mix of fact and fiction.
The Breakthrough is a gripping story that stays with you long after the credits roll—whether you like true crime or stories about people who don’t give up.
The Breakthrough: A Real-Life Double Murder Case—Where Is Daniel Nyqvist Now?
