"Cop killer" Östberg fails in parole bid

The Local ^ | June 1st. | Andy Butterworth

[Bushwacker777]

"Annika Östberg was left "extremely disappointed" as a Los Angeles parole board for the third time turned down her request for clemency. She was found guilty in 1981 of being an accessory to two murders, including that of a policeman, and sentenced to "25 years to life imprisonment".

She asked the Board of Prison Terms for a fixed sentence and to be able to serve the remainder in Sweden."

...

"Östberg has been the subject of high-level representations from prime minister, Göran Persson, and justice minister, Thomas Bodström. She's also received assistance from the Swedish consulate in Los Angeles and consul-general, Tomas Rosander, was extremely disappointed after the hearing.

"She had good references, but they were completely ignored. It was as if they didn't exist.""

[goldstategop]

Riiiiiiiiiight. Of course in all the talk of "good references," the little fact of murder of a human being is overlooked. We mustn't let that stand in the way of her release. She's been punished enough and nothing she does will make up for it. Besides, it happened 25 years ago and its time to move on.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Route101]

Hey you Swedish skank!...get back to making license plates!

[Slings and Arrows]

[Wormwood]

Böö-Höö

[raybbr]

"She had good references, but they were completely ignored. It was as if they didn't exist.""

References from people that can't possible know her since she's been in jail for 24 years? I say ignore them.

[commonasdirt]

And if her referances are from people she's met in prison over the past 24 years, like social workers or prisoner advocates, they are REALLY worthless referances.

[Route101]

"She had good references, but they were completely ignored. It was as if they didn't exist.""......Gag me an L.O.L.!!!

[doubleA]

Kill a cop....go to jail.

[gridlock]

Sgt. Richard Helbush
Lake County Sheriff's Department


Date of Birth:
Date Appointed:
End of Watch: May 2, 1981

---

On May 2, 1981, a sergeant for the Lake County Sheriff's Department was shot and killed, after he stopped to assist what he believed to be two stranded motorists.

Sgt. Richard Helbush, a 13-year veteran of the department, was returning to the main office shortly after midnight when he observed a vehicle with a flat tire along the roadway in an isolated area. Stopping to see if he could help, Helbush discovered Robert Cox, 39, and Annika Deasy, 27, both of Stockton. As Helbush returned to his vehicle, he was shot three times in the back by Cox. Unknown to Lake County authorities, Cox and Deasy were suspects in a homicide in Stockton.

Taking Helbush's wallet and revolver, Cox and Deasy left the scene in the sheriff's patrol vehicle. When dispatch could not contact Helbush, other units responded for back up, finding him dead at the scene.

Another deputy located the stolen patrol vehicle, and went in pursuit, which ended when the stolen vehicle crashed into a tree. A gun battle followed, with Cox wounded in the arm, and Deasy taken in custody without injury.

More than 300 uniformed peace officers attended the funeral for Helbush, 34, who was interred at Kelseyville Cemetery.

Helbush, was the second officer of the Lake County Sheriff's Department to be killed in the line of duty in recent times, the other being a court guard in 1967.

On October 21, after being bound over for trial by preliminary hearing, Robert Cox hung himself in his cell at the Lake County Jail.

[gridlock]

Sgt. Richard J. Helbush

[Route101]

...A gun battle followed, with Cox wounded in the arm, and Deasy taken in custody without injury....To bad that Cox did'nt catch a bullet in the head....although he did have the decency to hang himself......

[gridlock]

Deasy/Östberg sat there while Helbush took three rounds in the back. I don't really care if she has changed. Rehabilitation is nice, but punishment has it's place, as well.

She's just lucky she went on her crime spree in California. If she had been in Texas, this matter would have been long since resolved.

[gridlock]

I am not a big fan of the Death Penalty, but I am a tremondous fan of Life Without Parole for such cases. Why the release of this person is even a question to be considered I can not understand.

[Charles Henrickson]

Ping to the Swedish Ping List.

Read the linked article from Sweden and see how slanted it is. Not surprising.