The True Story Behind ‘The Breakthrough’

If you thought genealogy was all about tracing your family tree and finding lost cousins, think again. In Netflix’s latest true crime series, The breakthroughthis seemingly innocent hobby turns into a life-saving investigative tool. Based on a shocking yet fascinating true story, this four-part Swedish mini-series dives headfirst into one of Europe’s most baffling criminal cases: the Linköping double murder in 2004. Here’s the true story of The breakthrough.

The true crime series is about more than just catching a killer. It is a tribute to those who refused to give up and continued to pursue the ‘cold case’ despite a lack of leads and new developments. This includes detectives, genealogists, victims’ families and more.

The series is not a documentary. Instead, it’s a crime-thriller series that dramatizes the events surrounding the investigation and the final, long-awaited titular breakthrough that changed everything. If you’ve ever wondered how family trees could solve murders, this series shows exactly how.

From Cold Case to Justice: The Incredible True Story of The breakthrough

A cold case that refused to rest

It was October 2004. In the city Linköpingan eight-year-old boy was brutally murdered by a masked man as the child went to school. Anna-Lena Svensson, 56 years old, witnessed this violent assault, and in the process of saving the boy, she was killed. It became a crime that shocked the nation and even all of Europe. And despite their efforts, the killer’s identity eluded law enforcement. No one could find out who was behind the murders. It became what is known as a ‘cold case’. Many wondered if it would ever be resolved.

Enter Forensic Genealogy

For 16 years, investigators struggled to find the killer, pouring over evidence and chasing leads that seemed to go nowhere. Just as the case teetered on the brink of being permanently dropped, an unlikely hero stepped in. Armed with nothing but a deep understanding of family histories and genetic patterns, a genealogist cracked the case wide open. It was the first time in European history that a murder was solved through genealogy.

The technology was already quite common, but not widespread, in the United States. For example, a high-profile case solved in America using genealogy (or forensic genealogy, as it is called in criminology) was that of Joseph James DeAngelo or the Golden State Killer, a California serial killer and rapist who was finally apprehended 44 years after his first known crime in 2018 using the technology. It was a brand new technology that was already being used by ordinary people to trace their ancestry and find lost relatives. It was the first time in Europe that it was used to solve a crime.

Who was the killer?

The genealogist was Peter Sjölund, who followed the DNA trail back over 200 years to the murderer. Slow and careful work helped the detectives build a family tree of the killer, and the final link brought them face to face with the killer. The man the police eventually arrested was called Daniel Nyqvist, who was 37 years old. His DNA matched 100 percent. He was not long in confessing.

On 1 October 2020, Nyqvist was found guilty and sentenced to indefinite psychiatric treatment for the murder of two people. He confessed in court that the murders were unprovoked. Additionally, he claimed to have heard voices ordering him to kill.

The crew of The breakthrough

The cast of The breakthrough has Peter Eggers and Mattias Nordkvist in the lead roles.

Is there a trailer for it The breakthrough?

Clock The breakthrough trailer here:

Clock The breakthrough on Netflix.

(Hero image: Courtesy of Netflix; Featured image: Courtesy of IMDb)