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00:02:10
18-year-old Gudmundur Einarsson took a
final swig from his bottle of brandy.
00:02:16
He looked once more around the
packed nightclub for his friends.
00:02:21
Located in the small fishing town of
Hafnarfjordur, 17 kilometers south of
00:02:26
Gudmundur’s home in Blesugrof, Iceland,
the nightclub was buzzing for a Saturday.
00:02:33
Most of the town’s younger population were
present, dancing and drinking their night away.
00:02:40
Gudmundur had been partying all day
and when it was time to leave the club,
00:02:44
his friends were nowhere to be seen.
00:02:48
Assuming they had deserted him for the company
of a group of girls, Gudmundur left the bar.
00:02:54
Inebriated, Gudmundur was escorted outside by an
older man he had befriended earlier in the night.
00:03:03
The weather changed considerably from the time
Gudmunder entered the nightclub to his exit in
00:03:08
the early morning of Sunday January 27 1974.
The light drizzle of rain had given way to
00:03:16
a furious snowstorm. Wind howled through the
streets and the temperature dropped to below
00:03:24
freezing as snow blanketed the
footpaths and the roads turned icy.
00:03:30
Iceland was short on nightlife so Gudmundur had
walked to get to the club. He was now facing
00:03:37
the prospect of a three hour return
trip at 2AM in hazardous conditions.
00:03:44
Gudmundur’s companion was wearing a bright yellow
shirt that stood out amongst the white snowfall.
00:03:51
The pair decided to try their luck at
attracting a vehicle to hitchhike home.
00:03:59
Elínborg Rafnsdóttir and her friend Sigridur
Magnusdottir drove past the men. Elinborg
00:04:06
recognised Gudmundur in his checkered
jacket, green pants, and brown shoes.
00:04:12
She pulled over to offer him a lift. As she
slowed her vehicle, Gudmundur’s new friend
00:04:18
threw himself onto the bonnet of their Volkswagen
in a drunken state. Deterred by his behaviour,
00:04:25
the two women changed their
mind and refused to let them in.
00:04:31
A few hours later, a driver passed Gudmundur
walking on the main road out of Hafnarfjordur
00:04:37
towards his family home in Blesugrof. He was alone
and stumbling, almost falling in front of the car
00:04:44
as it drove by. The man passed Gudmundur
and kept his concentration on the road ahead
00:04:51
as it continued to snow heavily. Following
this sighting, Gudmundur Einarsson vanished.
00:05:28
Initially assuming he was staying
with friends, Gundmundur’s father
00:05:32
was unconcerned by his son’s absence. When
two days passed with no word from his son,
00:05:39
his feelings changed and he
reported Gudmundur missing.
00:05:44
In 1974, the population of Iceland was just
over 215,000 people. Homicide was nearly an
00:05:53
unheard of event. Given the inclement weather
on the night of Gudmundur’s disappearance
00:06:00
combined with his clean police record,
police were quick to rule out foul play.
00:06:06
Rather, they assumed that Gudmundur
had either gotten disorientated and
00:06:10
lost or had injured himself, perhaps
fatally, on the journey home.
00:06:17
A barren expanse of lava fields, the landscape
outside of Hafnarfjordur was covered with
00:06:23
craters and crevices. Some reached a depth of
30 metres. Due to the snowstorm, 60 centimeters
00:06:32
of fresh snow had fallen in the past few days
further concealing the fissures in the ground.
00:06:40
Over 200 people searched for Gundmundur
in the less than favourable conditions.
00:06:46
Some waded waist deep in snow, while a
helicopter circled the lava fields from above.
00:06:52
Isolated roads leading to his friends'
houses were checked as well as sheds and
00:06:57
outhouses in case Gudmundur had sought shelter
during the storm. Those who had seen Gudmundur
00:07:05
on the day of his disappearance could do
little to shed light on his whereabouts.
00:07:13
A week after Gudmundur disappeared, the snow
began to melt. The search party returned
00:07:19
to the lava fields to continue scouring
the landscape. There was no sign of him.
00:07:27
The man in the yellow shirt who left the
nightclub with Gudmundur was never identified.
00:07:34
Weeks and months passed by. It was not
uncommon for people to go missing in the
00:07:40
unforgiving terrain of the Icelandic lava fields
00:07:44
or accidentally drown in rough seas
off the country’s rocky cliff faces.
00:07:49
As time went on, Gudmundur’s family came
to terms with the fact that he was yet
00:07:55
another person who went missing amongst
the unforgiving Icelandic wilderness.
00:08:01
With no leads to go on, detectives also reached
this conclusion and the case was closed.
00:08:12
In December 1973, a month before Gudmundur’s
disappearance, 18-year-old Erla Bolladottir
00:08:20
attended a house party in Reykjavik. A free spirit
enthralled by the recent hippie influences that
00:08:27
had reached the shores of Iceland, Erla often
visited the communes around the area to party,
00:08:33
dance, smoke cannabis and listen to
rock music with like minded teens.
00:08:40
At the party, Erla was drinking a glass
of cola when she began to feel strange.
00:08:46
She realised her drink had been spiked with
the hallucinogenic drug - LSD. Erla explored
00:08:54
the house, looking for somewhere quiet to rest
until the effects of the drug had worn off.
00:09:01
In a darkened room, she tripped over a man
lying on the floor. He introduced himself as
00:09:07
18-year-old Saevar Ciesielski. He was also riding
out an LSD trip after his drink had been spiked.
00:09:17
Together, the two lay in the
darkness and spoke about their lives.
00:09:23
Saevar was a child of an American/Polish father
and an Icelandic mother. His foreign sounding name
00:09:31
combined with his slight frame and short stature
made him a target for bullies during his school
00:09:36
years. With dyslexia and ADHD, Saevar had
trouble concentrating at school. When he was 14,
00:09:46
a psychiatrist recommended that he be sent to a
home for delinquent boys. At the home, the boys
00:09:53
were expected to do farm work, complete schooling,
and return to their parents completely reformed.
00:10:02
After a few years, Saevar went
back to his family in Reykjavik.
00:10:07
The home did little to transform Saevar. Although
very intelligent, he spent his late teen years
00:10:14
committing petty crimes such as theft and
drug smuggling with his friend Kristjan.
00:10:21
Years later the boys home Saevar attended
was shut down amid allegations from past
00:10:27
students about physical abuse and rape
that had occurred behind closed doors.
00:10:37
Erla was drawn to Saevar as he spoke of his
history. She found his foreign look with
00:10:44
shoulder length brown hair, intense brown eyes,
and delicate features mysterious and attractive.
00:10:52
Erla also opened up about her life. She was the
middle child of three. As a child, her family
00:10:59
lived in New York where her father worked as a
station manager for Icelandair at Kennedy Airport.
00:11:07
Her family returned home to Iceland when Erla
was 7 and she spent her childhood years at
00:11:12
the local school. On school holidays
she was sent to various farms around
00:11:18
Iceland to assist as a farmhand - a common
tradition for Icelandic families at the time.
00:11:26
After being touched inappropriately by a
farmer, Erla returned home a changed girl.
00:11:33
She became withdrawn from her family and rebelled
against her parents. Erla’s parents divorced,
00:11:41
and as a teen, after a fight with her mother about
curfew times, Erla went to live with her father.
00:11:49
Erla empathised with Saevar and found his love of
the arts, particularly film, music, and painting
00:11:56
fascinating and exciting. They spoke until
morning. Erla later commented in the documentary
00:12:05
“Out of Thin Air”: “After that night, there
was no other way to go forward but together.”
00:12:15
Erla’s mother was less than impressed
that her daughter was dating a former
00:12:19
student from a home for delinquent boys
and forbade him from entering her house.
00:12:26
Despite warnings from her family that Saevar
was a dangerous man, Erla quickly fell in love.
00:12:35
Saevar and Erla were inseparable. Saevar
often spent time at Erla and her fathers
00:12:42
house in Hafnarfjordur - a small white and
red roofed apartment on Hamarsbraut Road.
00:12:50
At the time, Erla worked for the
telegraph service as a clerk.
00:12:55
Shortly after moving in with her father in early
1974, he had a stroke and was hospitalised,
00:13:02
leaving Erla to live alone for the first
time in her life. Working long hours, Erla
00:13:09
became profoundly depressed and lonely. Saevar
would disappear for days at a time, refusing to
00:13:17
explain his absences to her when he returned.
She was certain he was seeing other women.
00:13:26
Erla spent her time off work lying in bed staring
out the window for the entirety of the day.
00:13:33
Her weight plummeted and her long blonde hair
00:13:36
accentuated her pale face
and dark undereye circles.
00:13:42
When Saevar was around, he spoke constantly
about wanting to pull off the perfect
00:13:48
crime. He boasted about the joy he
would get from the Icelandic authorities
00:13:54
not being able to figure out who did it.
Bank robberies, petty theft, smuggling drugs,
00:14:01
and introducing LSD into the water supply
were some of the crimes he fantasised about.
00:14:10
Easily led by Saevar and wanting to impress
him, Erla and Saevar hatched the perfect plan.
00:14:18
Erla’s work at the telegraph
service gave her a thorough
00:14:22
knowledge of the procedures in Iceland
for transferring money over the phone.
00:14:28
Saevar obtained a fake woman’s I.D with a
false name and photograph. Erla and Saevar
00:14:34
then picked apart the telephone receiver at
her house, shoving a cloth into the mouthpiece.
00:14:42
When Erla then phoned the National Phone Company’s
telegraph reception centre with a fake name,
00:14:48
her voice was muffled, giving the impression that
the phone call was being placed from far away.
00:14:55
She told the operator that she was from a post
office in the southwest of Iceland and was placing
00:15:01
a money order on behalf of a customer there.
In a few days time, a female friend of Saevar’s
00:15:08
went to collect the money with a fake I.D showing
the name Erla had given the telegraph centre.
00:15:16
Together Erla and Saevar made off
with just under half a million kronur,
00:15:22
or approximately 5000 Australian
dollars in today’s currency.
00:15:27
Pleased with themselves, they repeated the
scam. Erla dared to collect the money herself,
00:15:34
applying heavy makeup so she resembled the photo
I.D she held. With shaking hands, she gave the
00:15:42
I.D to the post office clerk. After a few moments,
the clerk smiled and went to retrieve the money.
00:15:52
Again, the pair had netted themselves
just under half a million kronur.
00:15:57
Unsure of what to do with the money, they
stashed it in a cupboard in Erla’s bedroom.
00:16:04
However, it wasn’t long before the missing
money was noticed and reported to authorities.
00:16:15
Tuesday November 19 1974 marked 10 months
after the disappearance of Gudmundur Einarsson.
00:16:24
That day, 32-year-old Geirfinnur Einarsson
finished work and headed to his home in
00:16:30
Keflavik: Iceland. A small fishing community,
00:16:35
Keflavik lay approximately 40 kilometres
west of where Gudmundur was last seen.
00:16:42
Although both men shared the surname Einarsson,
they were unrelated and had never met.
00:16:49
Unlike Gudmundur - the 18-year-old
apprentice carpenter who loved to party
00:16:54
and whose friendly nature never left him short
of friends, Geirfinnur was much more reserved.
00:17:02
Fourteen years his senior, Geirfinnur was a
quiet man who worked hard as a manual labourer
00:17:08
and enjoyed spending spare
time with his young family.
00:17:13
Returning home, Geirfinnur and his
family ate dinner together. Geirfinnur,
00:17:19
tired from a hard day's work, went to bed to
read a book. His wife went to the library.
00:17:27
She returned home at approximately 8:30 to
find Geirfinnur in the company of his friend
00:17:33
Thordur. Both men were watching
television and drinking coffee.
00:17:40
Geirfinnur told Thordur that he had some people to
meet and asked if he could get a ride. He wanted
00:17:47
to go to a cafe near the Keflavik docks. The pair
departed at around 10PM. Geirfinnur was quiet
00:17:57
during the car ride, declining to elaborate on
who he was seeing or the purpose of the meeting.
00:18:04
As they drew nearer to Geirfinnur’s destination,
he remarked to Thordur that he should be armed.
00:18:12
His friend took the comment as a joke and dropped
Geirfinnur at the doors of the near deserted cafe.
00:18:22
Geirfinnur scanned the few patrons seated inside.
The people he was looking for weren’t there.
00:18:32
Walking home in the cold, crisp air,
Geirfinnur opened the front door and
00:18:37
heard his son pick up the ringing telephone.
It was 10.15PM. The deep male voice on the
00:18:47
line asked to speak to Geirfinnur and
his son dutifully handed over the phone.
00:18:54
Geirfinnur explained to the caller
that he had already been to the cafe
00:18:59
before sighing and replying that he
would return once again. Geirfinnur’s son
00:19:06
asked if he could accompany his father
who abruptly denied the request.
00:19:12
This time driving himself, Geirfinnur parked his
red Ford Cortina 200 metres from the entrance.
00:19:20
He turned the engine off and left the keys in the
ignition, before making his way back to the cafe.
00:19:29
His unlocked car was found the
next day in the same position
00:19:33
by detectives after Geirfinnur’s
wife had reported him missing.
00:19:39
The investigation offered little more in the way
of clues than Gudmundur’s disappearance had 10
00:19:45
months prior. However, unlike Gudmundur, Keflavik
police believed immediately that Geirfinnur
00:19:53
had met with foul play due to his unexplained
disappearance following a mysterious meeting.
00:20:01
Police appealed for those who had arranged
to meet with Geirfinnur to come forward but
00:20:07
their requests went unanswered. A tracking dog
latched onto Geirfinnur’s scent but stopped
00:20:14
abruptly outside the cafe, indicating that he
had travelled in a car to another location.
00:20:26
Patrons in the cafe at the time of
Geirfinnur’s disappearance were questioned.
00:20:31
Several noted a man making a call from a phone
booth inside the cafe at approximately 10:15PM.
00:20:39
Normally, this would not have
drawn anyone’s attention.
00:20:43
However, everyone in Keflavik knew one
another and this man was an out-of-towner.
00:20:51
Investigators speculated that this was the
man who had called to arrange the rendezvous
00:20:56
with Geirfinnur. The man in the phone
booth was described as 180cm tall, slim,
00:21:03
wearing a fake leather jacket, and light coloured
pants. A bust was made out of clay depicting the
00:21:10
physical attributes of the unknown man. It
was shown on national T.V and soon Keflavik
00:21:18
police were inundated with people reporting
those who resembled a likeness to the image.
00:21:25
Meanwhile, detectives worked on the
theory that Geirfinnur might not have been
00:21:30
as reserved and innocent as people suspected.
00:21:34
In 1974, beer greater than two and a
quarter percent in alcoholic strength
00:21:40
was banned throughout Iceland and alcohol
in general was very expensive. As a result,
00:21:47
beer and spirits would often be smuggled in. The
most common exchange would take place offshore.
00:21:55
Watertight plastic containers
were thrown from large ships
00:21:59
into small boats who took it back to the mainland.
00:22:03
A person who knew Geirfinnur confessed that he
was involved in smuggling alcohol into Iceland.
00:22:11
This theory was further bolstered when someone
rang the police to say that a man they knew
00:22:17
resembled the clay bust. The man was
local nightclub owner, Magnus Leopoldsson.
00:22:25
He had been seen speaking with Geirfinnur at
his nightclub, Klubburinn, a few days prior to
00:22:31
Geirfinnur’s disappearance. Rumours circulated
that Magnus also smuggled alcohol into Iceland.
00:22:43
Magnus Leopoldsson was questioned by police
on January 25 1975, however he was free to go
00:22:51
after no association could be made between
him and the disappearance of Geirfinnur.
00:22:59
Weeks went by. Desperate for a break in the case,
a detective flew to Jordan with Geirfinnur’s wife
00:23:06
to visit a psychic who claimed he could
help solve the case. The week-long trip,
00:23:12
funded by taxpayers, turned out
to be a waste of time and money.
00:23:19
Whilst police in Keflavik continued to
investigate the disappearance of Geirfinnur,
00:23:24
police in Reykjavik were busy tracing
leads in an elaborate fraud involving
00:23:30
money transfers to local post offices. Officers
questioned employees at the telegraph centre
00:23:38
and learned that one of their workers, Erla
Bolladóttir, was dating Saevar Ciesielski.
00:23:45
He was well known to police for his past
criminal history which included smuggling
00:23:50
cannabis from Denmark. Another time he had
been arrested for stealing a large fish from
00:23:56
the wharves and parading around town with it.
Saevar’s connection with the telegraph service
00:24:03
through Erla was an immediate red flag and
investigators searched for their whereabouts.
00:24:10
The couple had spent a brief time in Copenhagen
before moving into a flat on the outskirts of
00:24:16
Reykjavik. The now 20-year-old Erla was thrilled
when she found out she and Saevar were expecting a
00:24:24
child. She told Saevar that her days of committing
fraud were over and from now on she wanted
00:24:31
to live a life free from any crime. The most
important thing to her now was being a mother.
00:24:43
Erla and Saevar’s daughter was born in September.
00:24:48
Three months later on December 12, Saevar was
arrested on suspicion of embezzlement regarding
00:24:54
the money transfer scam. He was taken to Sidumuli
prison in Reykjavik for questioning. The next day,
00:25:04
Erla was also arrested for questioning.
In disbelief that they had been caught,
00:25:10
she handed her 11-week-old daughter
to her sister to care for her.
00:25:15
On the way to prison she told the police that she
had to be back soon because her baby needed her.
00:25:23
…
00:25:24
Iceland’s Sidumuli prison was an historic building
located in Reykjavik’s main shopping district.
00:25:31
The exterior, built centuries ago
from large irregularly shaped rocks,
00:25:36
housed the few prisoners in the Icelandic
justice system. From the street,
00:25:42
it could have been any other building with
no signage or fencing to indicate otherwise.
00:25:50
Erla was taken through the front
wooden door and led down a corridor.
00:25:54
The bright ceiling lights reflected off
the linoleum floor. To either side of her,
00:26:01
Erla could see the white bars of cell doors
and inside the cells, the walls were painted
00:26:07
a bright green. Each cell contained a concrete
bed with a thin rubber mattress and a stool.
00:26:17
Erla was led into an interrogation room for
questioning. The room was tiny and cold and
00:26:23
a small ceiling light shone onto the table
where Erla was seated. Three detectives sat
00:26:30
opposite her. In the corner sat a policeman at
a typewriter, documenting Erla’s every word.
00:26:39
Detectives told her that Saevar had
come clean about the money fraud scam
00:26:45
but had implicated Erla as the
sole perpetrator in the crime.
00:26:51
Erla sat in silence. The detectives
encouraged her to confess.
00:26:58
Desperate to see her baby, Erla
admitted her role in the crime.
00:27:04
She signed a statement outlining her
participation in the money fraud.
00:27:10
Confident the interrogation was over,
Erla straightened in preparation to leave.
00:27:16
A detective then flashed a photograph in her face.
00:27:21
It was of a young man with long black hair
and dark eyes. He asked if she had known him.
00:27:30
Erla recognised the man in the photo - it was
18-year-old Gudmundur Einarsson. She had met
00:27:38
Gudmundur at a party years ago and remembered
him because he was friendly and handsome.
00:27:45
The detectives latched on to this information
and the questioning continued for hours.
00:27:52
Eventually Erla gave up a
secret she had been holding
00:27:56
onto since the night of Gudmundur’s
disappearance nearly two years prior.
00:28:06
Erla remembered the night of
Gudmundur’s disappearance.
00:28:10
She was in the midst of a depressive episode.
A friend invited her to a party and Erla went
00:28:17
reluctantly. Afterwards, she returned home to
her father’s apartment. The violent snowstorm had
00:28:26
blanketed the ground outside the building in thick
white snow - she remembered the scenery vividly.
00:28:34
Certain that Saevar was out seeing another
woman, Erla lay in bed trying to get some sleep.
00:28:42
Later that night she heard voices outside her
window. They were whispering but she could
00:28:49
recognise two of them. One was Saevar and the
other was Saevar’s friend Kristjan Vidarsson.
00:28:59
Erla was intimidated by Kristjan.
00:29:02
He was a petty criminal with a large, well-built
frame and a reputation of being a tough guy.
00:29:10
As Saevar only weighed 50 kilograms, the
brutish Kristjan acted as his bodyguard.
00:29:17
Erla didn’t recognise the third voice but was
then startled when all the men came inside.
00:29:26
After hours of questioning, Erla was exhausted
and struggled to collect her thoughts.
00:29:33
Detectives ceased the interrogation, offering
Erla a night’s reprieve in a prison cell,
00:29:39
to resume questioning the following morning.
00:29:43
From the book, “The Reykjavik Confessions,” the
detectives listened the next day as Erla recounted
00:29:50
what happened next after the men had made their
way inside her house. The police report read:
00:29:59
“She made her way to the storage
room where she saw Saevar, Kristjan,
00:30:03
and a third man with something heavy between them,
covered in a sheet. Kristjan and Saevar tied each
00:30:11
end of the sheet with a knot. Erla hadn’t seen
what was inside but she thought it was a body.
00:30:19
There was also a foul smell in the room
and a strange wet patch on the floor.
00:30:25
The three men picked up the body, pushing past
her in the doorway and knocking her over.”
00:30:33
Erla recalled: “I couldn’t move. I was cold, but
at the same time, I felt like I was sweating.
00:30:42
Later Saevar took me by the arms and put me to
bed. I said I was going to deny everything.”
00:30:52
Erla told the detectives that the day after,
she went to the garbage bin outside her house
00:30:58
and found a soiled bed sheet inside. It
appeared to have been dumped there after Saevar,
00:31:05
Kristjan, and the third man had
removed the body from the apartment.
00:31:15
Over the course of the next few weeks, detectives
continued to question Erla over the disappearance
00:31:20
of Gudmundur Einarsson. She remained in
Sidumuli prison in solitary confinement.
00:31:28
Saevar was also questioned and
verified Erla’s version of events.
00:31:34
He told detectives that the third man Erla hadn’t
recognised was his friend, Tryggvi Leifsson.
00:31:42
He told detectives that Gudmundur, Kristjan,
Tryggvi, and himself had gone to Erla’s house.
00:31:49
There had been a physical altercation
which resulted in Gudmundur’s death.
00:31:55
Saevar called his friend Albert Skaftason to
pick them up to dispose of Gudmundur’s body
00:32:01
under the pretence of having cannabis for him.
00:32:05
Albert was arrested and confirmed that he had
arrived on the night in question in his father’s
00:32:10
yellow Toyota. He recalled Saevar had asked him
to open the boot of the vehicle. Watching from
00:32:18
the rearview mirror, he witnessed Saevar, Tryggvi,
and Kristjan carry a large bag with difficulty out
00:32:25
of the front door. They pushed it into the boot,
causing the car to rock a little. From there,
00:32:33
they travelled to the lava fields outside
of Hafnarfjordur and dumped the large bag.
00:32:40
Saevar confided to Albert on the drive back
that it contained a body. He said that he
00:32:46
and Kristjan had hacked the body into
pieces to make it easier to dispose of.
00:32:53
Kristjan, who was already serving a six month
sentence in another Icelandic prison for theft,
00:32:59
was brought to Sidumuli for questioning.
00:33:02
He also provided a statement confirming that he
was at Erla’s house on the night of Gudmundur’s
00:33:08
disappearance and that a fight broke out between
Tryggvi and Gudmundur resulting in his death.
00:33:16
Admitting that he was heavily intoxicated at
the time, Kristjan could only recall fragments
00:33:22
of the rest of the night. He did remember getting
into Albert’s yellow Toyota and going to the lava
00:33:29
fields to dispose of the body. After Kristjan
had been questioned at 1:42AM, he was driven to
00:33:37
the lava fields in an attempt to jog his memory
and show detectives where Gudmundur was buried.
00:33:45
They returned to Sidumuli Prison at 3am
having failed to locate Gudmundur’s remains.
00:33:51
Tryggvi Leifsson
00:33:57
was an athletic man. He was kind and gentle
but also known to get into fights when drunk.
00:34:05
As the circumstances of Gudmundur
Einarsson’s death unravelled,
00:34:09
he too was questioned in
relation to his involvement.
00:34:14
He initially denied everything, but
after weeks of solitary confinement
00:34:19
admitted that he had thought a lot about the
case and was ready to talk to detectives.
00:34:25
On January 9 1976 he admitted to his part in
Gudmundur’s death. Although he didn’t know the
00:34:33
man personally, telling detectives: “There was
some disagreement, I’m sure, between Kristjan and
00:34:41
the man with no name. It started by them cursing
each other but ended in a fight. Then the man hit
00:34:49
me, and I think I hit him, and he fell to the
floor. Then I saw Saevar kick him in the head.”
00:34:58
Saevar, Kristjan, Albert, and
Tryggvi were held in custody.
00:35:03
Erla, after it was determined she played
no part in the murder of Gudmundur,
00:35:08
was free to leave to await a court date for
the money fraud case. 10 days after being
00:35:15
arrested, she went to live with her mother,
ecstatic to be reunited with her daughter.
00:35:22
Although Erla was free from the confines of a
jail cell, she continued to be visited regularly
00:35:28
by investigators who came around for coffee and
cigarettes to discuss the Gudmundur case with her.
00:35:35
Over the time of her incarceration,
these men had become Erla’s confidantes.
00:35:41
She felt they were more like friends than
detectives. She became particularly close
00:35:47
to Detective Sigurbjorn Vidir who was young,
helpful and sympathetic to Erla and her ordeal.
00:35:55
One day, Detective Vidir asked Erla a
question out of the blue - if she or
00:36:01
Saevar knew anything about the disappearance
of Geirfinnur Einarsson. She replied: “Maybe.”
00:36:13
Erla confided that she had been receiving
threatening calls at her mother’s house
00:36:18
warning her that she had
said too much to detectives.
00:36:22
When asked who she thought was making the calls,
Erla suspected it may have been her half brother,
00:36:28
professional basketball player, Einar
Bollason. She also believed some of
00:36:34
his friends were involved, including a man who
ran a nightclub named Klubburinn in Reykjavik.
00:36:42
The man was Magnus Leopoldsson.
00:36:48
Erla was not particularly close to her half
brother Einar. Their relationship had soured
00:36:54
after Erla began dating Saevar, a man Einar
despised for his involvement in petty crimes.
00:37:02
Following this, detectives questioned
Saevar about Geirfinnur. He refused to
00:37:08
comment initially but provided a
statement to police on January 22
00:37:13
1976. He admitted he had seen Geirfinnur
on the night of his disappearance.
00:37:22
He had gone to the Keflavik docks with
Kristjan, Erla, and some other men to
00:37:27
smuggle alcohol into Iceland. One of the
other men met Geirfinnur outside a cafe
00:37:34
and brought him along. Saevar then said
he went for a drive and when he returned
00:37:41
to pick up the men it was immediately apparent
that their smuggling operation had gone awry.
00:37:48
Geirfinnur had fallen off the boat
and drowned in the freezing waters.
00:37:59
Erla shared a similar story. However, she
implicated Saevar further in Gerifinnur’s death.
00:38:07
The police notes taken from Erla’s interrogation
read: “On the night of 19 November 1974,
00:38:16
Erla and Saevar had been at Klubburinn and they
were not having much fun. They decided to leave,
00:38:23
and got into a blue Mercedes with two others,
taking off without a planned destination.
00:38:30
They headed out of Reykjavik… They drove past her
home in Hafnarfjordur and on towards the airport
00:38:37
at Keflavik. Saevar held onto her hand the whole
time, even when she tried to release his grip.
00:38:45
He spoke to the driver, she couldn’t remember
the exact conversation. They were talking about
00:38:52
killing someone by taking him out to sea,
pretending they were going to get something.
00:38:58
It was a last resort, they had
tried to offer this man money
00:39:03
but he wouldn’t listen, they would have to make
him disappear. They were on a mission to murder.
00:39:12
When they reached Keflavik
they stopped by the foreshore.
00:39:16
It was a spooky place at night, littered
with battered trawlers propped up on blocks
00:39:22
waiting to be repaired before
being thrust back into the sea.
00:39:27
When they got out of the car Erla saw the face
of the driver who had been speaking to Saevar.
00:39:34
It was Magnus Leopoldsson from Klubburinn. There
were other men there...Geirfinnur had promised the
00:39:43
men he could get hold of smuggled alcohol being
dropped from a boat out at sea. Erla recognised
00:39:50
her half-brother Einar and Saevar’s friend and
familiar partner in crime, Kristjan Vidarsson.
00:39:59
Geirfinnur was talking to Saevar
and Magnus when a fight broke out.
00:40:05
The others were preoccupied and didn’t
see her inching away and then she ran,
00:40:12
she wanted to get away and hide. She found an
abandoned house which was either still being built
00:40:18
or used for storage. She hid there in a corner,
she couldn’t remember for exactly how long.
00:40:27
As she waited, she felt so bad that she threw up.”
00:40:35
On January 23, Kristjan also confessed
to being at Keflavik that night
00:40:41
and seeing Saevar, Erla, and her
half brother Einar there. However,
00:40:47
being under the influence of drugs for the latter
part of 1974, Kristjan was hazy about the details.
00:40:56
Three days later, Einar and Magnus were
arrested, as was Magnus’ nightclub co-owner,
00:41:04
Sigurbjörn Eriksson, and Valdimar Olsen,
the brother of one of Erla’s friends.
00:41:12
The arrest of these four men sent shockwaves
throughout Iceland. They gained notoriety as
00:41:19
the Klubburinn Four, from the name of the
nightclub owned by Magnus and Sigurbjorn.
00:41:26
Unlike Saevar and his friends who
were involved in petty crimes,
00:41:31
these men were well respected members of the
community. Rumours circulated that these men
00:41:37
were part of an organised crime syndicate and were
being protected from those in positions of power,
00:41:43
including the Minister for Justice.
Despite long stints in solitary confinement
00:41:50
and hours of questioning, the Klubburinn
Four continued to protest their innocence.
00:41:58
In an attempt to calm the public,
police held a press conference.
00:42:03
The Klubburinn Four had been in custody
for two months. The investigation team
00:42:08
felt pressured to reassure the public that they
were doing what they could to solve the case.
00:42:14
With over a year that had passed
since Geirfinnur’s disappearance,
00:42:19
detectives felt that it wouldn’t
be long before the truth came out.
00:42:29
Basketball player Einar Bollason was
sitting in his prison cell at Sidumuli,
00:42:34
where he had been incarcerated for the last
three months. He maintained his innocence,
00:42:41
certain that his half sister, Erla, had
implicated him because of his dislike of Saevar.
00:42:48
As extra punishment by the prison guards, Einar
had been moved into the smallest cell available.
00:42:55
It was barely high enough
to contain his tall frame.
00:43:00
His limbs hung over the hard rubber
mattress that lined the concrete bed.
00:43:08
Einar had a revelation.
00:43:13
The night of Geirfinnur’s
disappearance suddenly came to him.
00:43:18
He had been watching television at home with
his family. It was a documentary about Scottish
00:43:24
men participating in the Highland Games.
He informed the investigators about his
00:43:30
memories of the program, who in turn took him
to the television station to review the tapes.
00:43:37
The video was paused and Einar explained what
happened next. He also remembered earlier in
00:43:45
the night that he had been fundraising for his
basketball team. Other team members confirmed
00:43:51
his alibi. As did a babysitter hired to
look after Einar’s children that night.
00:43:59
Upon investigating the other alibis, Magnus
Leopoldsson also had someone to vouch for
00:44:05
his whereabouts. An employee at Klubburinn’s
cloakroom kept a detailed log on the comings
00:44:13
and goings of various staff members. On
the night of Geirfinnur’s disappearance,
00:44:19
she documented that Magnus had been at the
club from early evening until midnight,
00:44:25
meaning he couldn’t have been at the Keflavik
docks at the time specified by Erla and Saevar.
00:44:33
The Klubberinn Four were innocent.
00:44:38
After four months in custody, Magnus Leopoldsson,
Einar Bollason, Sigurbjörn Eriksson, and Valdimar
00:44:45
Olsen were released from Sidumuli Prison.
Aside from the statements made by Erla, Saevar,
00:44:53
and Kristjan there was no evidence to connect
them to the murder of Geirfinnur Einarsson.
00:45:00
The men were placed under police surveillance and
warned not to speak to the media about the case.
00:45:08
Embarrassed, detectives zeroed in on Erla,
00:45:12
certain she had implicated the Klubburinn
Four as a ruse to take the heat off herself.
00:45:20
Now under more pressure than ever to solve the
murder and to recover from the public shame
00:45:26
of arresting and holding four prominent
Icelandic citizens, it was decided that
00:45:32
outside help would be enlisted to solve the
Gudmundur and Geirfinnur disappearances.
00:45:38
In May 1976, the Minister of
Justice hired prominent Detective
00:45:44
Karl Schutz from Germany to assist. He
assembled a team and in brusque German,
00:45:51
told the public through a translator that he
would solve the crimes. Schultz poured over the
00:45:58
case and re-interviewed Saevar, Kristjan,
and Tryggvi who were still in custody.
00:46:05
Albert, accused of driving Gudmundur’s body for
burial in the yellow toyota, had been released.
00:46:15
On May 3, Erla Bolladottir was arrested for
perjury in implicating the Klubburinn Four.
00:46:22
She was morose and detectives were
concerned for her mental health.
00:46:28
Erla sat with Detective Karl Schutz.
Through the help of an interpreter,
00:46:34
he interrogated her as to why
she had named them as suspects.
00:46:39
Eventually, Erla opened up. The confession she
gave to detectives explained her dejected state.
00:46:50
Erla confessed to shooting Geirfinnur
herself at the Keflavik docks with a rifle.
00:47:01
From the book, “The Reykjavik
Confessions,” The police notes read:
00:47:08
“In the murky light Saevar
handed her something heavy.
00:47:12
It was a rifle, although she couldn’t
say exactly what it looked like.
00:47:18
He showed her how to hold it but it wasn't there
as a scare tactic; they intended to use it.
00:47:26
Geirfinnur was brought over and she had
been so close to him she could see his
00:47:31
face, etched with fear and horror as he
realised what was about to happen to him.
00:47:38
They had come up with a solution
for this annoying, unreasonable man.
00:47:44
Erla closed her eyes as she pulled the trigger,
the rifle jolted in her hands as the bullet
00:47:50
flew from the barrel into Geirfinnur’s body.
Saevar immediately took the rifle from her
00:47:57
as they dealt with the man dying on the ground
in front of them, his blood staining the snow.
00:48:06
It was only after the fact that Erla panicked
and in the confusion she was able to sneak
00:48:12
away and hide in a deserted house close
by, where she spent the night. When she
00:48:18
returned home the next day, Saevar was angry.
He wanted to know where she had been all night.
00:48:27
He never mentioned Geirfinnur again and refused
to talk about that night. They would banish it
00:48:34
from their minds, a secret they would keep for
themselves. They would pretend it never happened.”
00:48:46
This confession contradicted Saevar’s who now
said that he had killed Geirfinnur by hitting
00:48:53
him on the head with a wooden plank. Kristjan’s
account recalled he had drowned in the ocean.
00:49:02
It was determined that Kristjan had been the
man who had called Geirfinnur to the cafe.
00:49:08
Detectives were irritated at the
perpetrators' ever-changing confessions.
00:49:14
In desperation, they organised for Erla,
00:49:17
Saevar, and Kristjan to be interviewed together
to find out what had actually happened.
00:49:25
After hours of questioning, a final confession
was agreed upon and signed. Saevar and Kristjan
00:49:33
were responsible for Geirfinnur’s death,
while Erla was an innocent bystander.
00:49:41
Police agreed she was likely trying to protect
the others by taking responsibility for the crime.
00:49:49
A search commenced for Geirfinnur’s body.
00:49:53
Erla showed detectives where she
believed Saevar and Kristjan buried him.
00:50:01
Raudholar, also known as the Red Hills,
on the outskirts of Reykjavik, was a vast
00:50:07
rocky landscape where mounds of red dirt rose
up from the barren ground. It was in this area
00:50:14
that Saevar and Kristjan confessed to burying
Geirfinnur after setting his body alight and
00:50:21
then dumping it in a shallow grave. The area was
excavated thoroughly but Geirfinnur wasn’t found.
00:50:32
When asked how his body was transported
to such an isolated location,
00:50:37
all three named 32-year-old Gudjon Skarphedinsson.
00:50:43
He drove them 50 kilometers from the Keflavik
docks to the Red Hills. Gudjon, a former school
00:50:51
teacher and friend of Saevar’s, was placed under
arrest. Given that he was a well regarded school
00:50:58
teacher and older than his counterparts, his
confession was given the most credibility.
00:51:06
Gudjon had no alibi as he was not able to remember
what he had done the night of Gerifinnur’s
00:51:12
disappearance. Initially denying any involvement,
he confessed to Karl Schutz two weeks after being
00:51:20
taken into custody. As well as being the driver
of the car that took Gerifunnur’s body to the
00:51:28
Red Hills, Gudjon also admitted to beating
Geirfinnur to death with Saevar and Kristjan.
00:51:36
From the documentary, “Out of Thin Air,”
Gudjon said: “The three of us fought with
00:51:44
Geirfinnur that resulted in his death. I don’t
remember the body being put into the car,
00:51:51
but on the way back to Reykjavik, I remember
I was sad that I was an accomplice to murder.”
00:52:00
On January 23 1977, Karl Schutz held a
press conference to announce that all
00:52:07
suspects had been detained for the murders
of Gudmundur and Geirfinnur Einarsson.
00:52:14
He explained that even though they had not located
either body, the confessions were 95% of the
00:52:20
evidence and were plausible. Shutz outlined the
attempts that Erla, Saevar, Tryggvi, Kristjan, and
00:52:30
Gudjon had made to complicate the investigation
to shift the focus of guilt off themselves.
00:52:38
He concluded the conference by saying:
“As we criminal investigators like to say,
00:52:45
this case is beyond reasonable doubt...it’s
safe to assume it’s an open and shut case.”
00:52:55
He opined that Saevar was the ringleader
with the street smarts behind the operation,
00:53:00
Gudjon was the brains and Kristjan was the braun.
He painted Tryggvi and Albert as simply stoners
00:53:09
who were easily led by the other three. As was
Erla, who would do anything for Saevar’s approval.
00:53:18
The Icelandic Prime Minister, Olafur Johannesson,
praised Detective Karl Schutz’s work.
00:53:25
He told the public: “The nightmare is over.”
00:53:34
The murder trial began on October 3 1977. Under
the Icelandic system, an inquisitorial system,
00:53:43
the case had already been heard by district
judges. They had returned a guilty verdict.
00:53:51
From there the case went to the Supreme Court,
00:53:54
where instead of a jury, five judges
were left to decide the defendants fate.
00:54:00
After 15 and a half hours of
testimony from the state prosecutor,
00:54:05
Saevar Ciesielski took the stand. Dressed
in a velvet suit with flared pants,
00:54:12
aviator glasses, and his long hair loose, the
thin and gaunt Saevar, professed his innocence.
00:54:20
He pleaded for his statements and those of
his co-accused to be retracted. Kristjan sat
00:54:28
forward in the front row, eyes darting around
the courtroom. Erla, wearing a pinafore with
00:54:36
her hair pinned to the side, looked childlike
and contemplative, her head resting on her hand.
00:54:45
The trial lasted five days.
00:54:49
Just over 10 weeks later, the group
learned their fate. All were found guilty.
00:54:57
For his role in transporting the body of Gudmundur
in his father’s yellow Toyota, Albert Skaftassson
00:55:04
was sentenced to 15 months prison. Although
found innocent of any involvement in the murders
00:55:12
of Gudmundur and Geirfinnur, Erla Bolladottir
was sentenced to 3 years for embezzlement in
00:55:18
the money scam and perjury for implicating the
Klubburinn Four in a crime they didn’t commit.
00:55:26
Gudjon Skarphedinsson was sentenced to twelve
years for his part in the death of Geirfinnur
00:55:32
and transporting the body for burial. Trygvvi
Leiffson was sentenced to sixteen years for
00:55:40
killing Gudmundur and Saevar Siesielski and
Kristjan Vidarsson were both sentenced to
00:55:46
life in prison for killing Gudmundur and
Geirfinnur. This made Saevar and Kristjan
00:55:53
the first people in Iceland to be convicted
of a double murder in more than 100 years.
00:56:01
None of the suspects were present in the
courtroom when the verdicts were read.
00:56:06
They learned of their outcome as they read the
newspaper in their cells the following morning
00:56:11
or being told by prison guards. One by
one they were shipped off to various
00:56:18
prisons around Iceland to serve their sentences,
leaving the confines of Sidumuli Prison behind.
00:56:26
Icelanders rejoiced that those responsible for the
deaths of two of their own were off the streets.
00:56:35
Problem was, they were all innocent.
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01:02:46
Erla Bolladottir was nervous as she
was escorted into Sidumuli prison for
01:02:51
the first time on December 13 1975 after
being arrested for the money fraud scam.
01:02:59
After confessing to the fraud, Erla stood
up to leave. An investigator then waved a
01:03:06
photo in front of her. It was of Gudmundur
Einarsson. She met him at a party years ago.
01:03:15
The detective asked her where she
had been the night he disappeared.
01:03:20
Erla remembered that night of January 27
1974. She had been at a party with a friend
01:03:28
and desperate to leave. Later, she lay
in bed. The snow storm roared on outside,
01:03:36
as wild winds lashed the
building, making the walls creak.
01:03:42
Erla told the interviewing detective about a
nightmare she had that night. It began with
01:03:48
voices outside of her window. In hushed tones,
they discussed whether Erla was awake or not.
01:03:56
Erla was terrified. She got up to
check who it was and saw Saevar,
01:04:01
Kristjan, and someone she didn’t know.
01:04:05
It was then that she woke up. The
detectives interjected, reminding her that
01:04:12
Saevar was a petty thief and played on
her worry that he was unfaithful to her.
01:04:19
After telling the investigators
about her nightmare over and over,
01:04:23
the lead detective leant forward. Erla
later spoke on the documentary, “Out of
01:04:30
Thin Air.” According to Erla he said, “Something
terrible happened that night in that apartment.
01:04:38
You witnessed it and you cannot recall it because
of the trauma it caused you, so what we're going
01:04:45
to do now is get you back to your cell so you
can try and remember as much as you can and then
01:04:51
we’ll talk about it some more.” They advised Erla
they would resume questioning the next morning.
01:05:01
Erla lay awake in her cell trying
to remember what had happened.
01:05:06
She was saddened by Saevar’s betrayal
implicating her solely in the money scam
01:05:11
and she thought of the times he had
been unfaithful to her. Over the night,
01:05:17
Erla came to think that perhaps Saevar had been
involved in Gudmundur’s disappearance and death.
01:05:24
She searched her memory as to what had happened.
01:05:28
Her head was full of images and she came
to question whether her nightmare was real.
01:05:34
She thought harder.
01:05:37
Now Erla remembered being at the door to the
storage room and seeing the men with a bag.
01:05:43
It looked like it was in the shape of a body.
She told detectives this the following morning.
01:05:51
They encouraged her, telling
her how brave she was.
01:05:55
When she failed to remember something, the
investigators presented her with theories. Could
01:06:01
Gudmundur have been in a fight in the cottage?
Could Saevar have taken his body somewhere?
01:06:08
The more she thought about it, the more
Erla could see a picture in her mind.
01:06:14
She told detectives she had found a sheet in
the bin the next day but was too embarrassed to
01:06:20
admit that she had thrown it out after soiling
herself during the night. Instead, Erla became
01:06:28
evasive and told them that she didn’t know how
her sheet had come to be discarded in the trash.
01:06:35
Detectives mistook her evasiveness for guilt
and interrogated her for hours about it.
01:06:42
She admitted it may have contained
Gudmundur’s body. When she signed the
01:06:48
confession and was let out of prison, Erla
was relieved. She thought it was all over.
01:06:58
Days later, detectives phoned Erla to say that
Saevar had confessed to killing Gudmundur with
01:07:05
Kristjan and Tryggvi. He admitted to
cutting Gudmundur’s body into pieces,
01:07:11
placing it into a linen bag, and then
driving it away with Albert to dispose of it.
01:07:17
Erla was horrified but reassured. Now that
Saevar had confessed, her memories must have been
01:07:24
correct. Erla couldn’t believe that she didn’t
recall the dismemberment of Gudmundur’s body
01:07:31
but Saevar and Kristjan had confirmed she was
present so she knew she must have witnessed it.
01:07:39
Erla concluded that she
couldn’t trust her own memories.
01:07:45
Meanwhile, Saevar, Kristjan, and Trygvvi were in
solitary confinement at Simuduli Prison. Weeks
01:07:53
of hour long interrogations, many without
their lawyers present had worn them down.
01:07:59
They were drugged four times a day with various
sedatives and left to sit alone, reflecting on
01:08:05
what had happened. When Saevar heard that Erla
had implicated him in the murder of Gudmundur,
01:08:13
he lay on his thin mattress racking
his brain as to what had happened.
01:08:18
When he really concentrated he thought that
maybe Albert had driven the car to dispose
01:08:24
of Gudmundur’s body and perhaps Gudjon had
driven the car after the murder of Geirfinnur.
01:08:32
After constant interrogating, Saevar gave the
men up, desperate for the questioning to end.
01:08:40
The detectives placed a typed confession in front
of Saevar, Kristjan, Tryggvi, Albert, and Gudjon.
01:08:47
All they had to do was sign it and the
interrogations and solitary confinement
01:08:53
would be over. Drugged and confused,
they all signed on the dotted line.
01:09:01
In an early prison diary entry, Gudjon wrote:
01:09:06
“The detective wants me to get used
to the thought of being a murderer.
01:09:10
If they think I am going to confess to Saevar
and Erla’s stories, then they are wrong.”
01:09:18
After a few weeks of solitary confinement
and in a vulnerable state, Gudjon wrote the
01:09:24
following entry: “You get tired and you don’t
know if you are dreaming or remembering things.
01:09:32
The same questions over and over. I get completely
confused. It came like clips of a movie into your
01:09:40
mind. In the end you feel like you have been
there. Like that this has really happened.”
01:09:50
Erla, Albert, Gudjon, Tryggvi, Kristjan,
01:09:54
and Saevar were all eventually released from
prison after serving their required sentences.
01:10:01
On August 9 1981, in what she later called
the happiest day of her life, Erla was met
01:10:08
on release by her and Saevar’s five-year-old
daughter holding a bouquet of flowers.
01:10:14
On release, Gudjon moved to
Copenhagen to study theology.
01:10:20
When he returned to Iceland he married
and became a priest. His notoriety had him
01:10:27
sometimes snubbed by members of the Icelandic
community but over time he became accepted.
01:10:34
Kristjan found work in manual labour
but returned to prison for five years
01:10:40
after physically assaulting his wife. Albert found
work as a carpenter, married and had children,
01:10:47
completing charity work in his spare time.
Tryggvi also found work as a decorator.
01:10:56
Of all six, Saevar struggled
the most with life after prison.
01:11:02
Released in 1984, Saevar married and had two sons.
He struggled to find work and everywhere he went
01:11:10
people whispered and pointed to him as he walked
past. He could go nowhere without being heckled.
01:11:18
Saevar also suffered from nightmares
reliving his time in Prison.
01:11:23
In 1993, Saevar and his family moved to
Colorado in the USA for a fresh start.
01:11:31
But Saevar could not stop thinking about
clearing his name and the need to be found
01:11:36
innocent by his Icelandic community consumed
him. They returned to Iceland a year later.
01:11:45
Prior to being incarcerated,
Saevar did not drink alcohol
01:11:49
but on release he used it as a coping mechanism.
It wasn’t long before Saevar became an alcoholic.
01:11:58
He often met with Erla and they would talk about
what had gone wrong that led them to make the
01:12:03
accusations and confessions. However, Saevar
was resentful of Erla for implicating him in
01:12:10
the murders and there was a rift in their
relationship that could not be repaired.
01:12:18
Saevar hired a lawyer who poured over the case
resources looking for evidence that Saevar was
01:12:24
innocent. He was shocked by the police notes
in the case and how heavily they had relied
01:12:30
on confessions from the six when there were no
bodies or evidence to link them to the crimes.
01:12:37
On February 21 1997, Saevar appealed to the
supreme court to have the case reopened.
01:12:45
The judges ruled that there was not
enough evidence to reopen the case,
01:12:49
however they conceded that Saevar
was badly mistreated in prison.
01:12:55
He appealed another two times to have his
name cleared over the following years with no
01:13:00
success. The process was taking its toll heavily
on Saevar, who drank to excess, became bankrupt,
01:13:09
separated from his wife and ended up on the
streets. He had a following of people who believed
01:13:16
in his innocence and many of the Icelandic
community had changed their minds about him.
01:13:24
Saevar Ciesielski died in
July 2011 at the age of 56.
01:13:31
His funeral was packed with all
walks of life to pay their respects,
01:13:36
from high ranking politicians, to
Saevar’s family, to his homeless friends.
01:13:42
Following his death, Erla Bolladottir
returned to the public eye.
01:13:48
Still largely outcast by Icelandic society
who thought of her as a conniving liar,
01:13:54
Erla had moved to Hawaii with her daughter for
a few years to escape. The difference between
01:14:00
life on a tropical island and the one she knew
in Iceland was too great and she returned home.
01:14:08
Following a particularly distressing
incident where a member of the public
01:14:12
came up and spat in her face, Erla
pleaded for the case to be reopened,
01:14:18
but, with a lack of new evidence
there was little that could be done.
01:14:25
In May 2009, Kristin Trygvadottir
held the hand of her dying father.
01:14:32
Suffering from oesophageal cancer,
Trygvvi Leifsson had led a full life
01:14:37
after his prison sentence. He had become a
decorator, been married, and had three children.
01:14:44
Kristin was close to her gentle and fun loving
dad who always had time for her. She remembered
01:14:51
being called the daughter of a murderer by
one of her school teachers as a small child.
01:14:56
But looking at her father now,
she knew it wasn’t the truth.
01:15:02
As she sat next to his hospital bed
she had something to confess to him.
01:15:08
Kristin told her father that when she
was a teenager she had found some of
01:15:13
his diaries concealed in a box in the
basement. Trygvvi knew of the diaries,
01:15:19
he had filled books and books documenting his
arrest and interrogation in Sidumuli Prison.
01:15:26
A priest he had befriended in the prison smuggled
them out and kept them until Tryggvi was free.
01:15:34
Tryggvi thought he had burned all of the diaries
long ago. Kristin explained to him that she had
01:15:40
taken a few and hidden them under her mattress,
only daring to read them when she knew she was
01:15:46
alone. He smiled, happy that she had read a part
of his life he had kept so private from everyone.
01:15:54
She asked Tryggvi what he wanted
her to do with the diaries.
01:15:59
He told her to keep them, adding
she would know what to do with them
01:16:03
when the time was right. A few days
later, Tryggvi Leifsson passed away.
01:16:13
Two years later in 2011, Kristin showed the
diaries to journalist Helga Arnardottir who was
01:16:20
researching the case. Heart racing, she watched
on as Helga leafed through the diaries. When she
01:16:28
had finished, Helga told Kristin she had something
special. With Kristin’s permission, she contacted
01:16:37
Gisli Gudjonsson, a forensic psychologist
and leading expert in false confessions.
01:16:44
Two days later, Helga and Kristin knocked
on the door of Gisli’s home in South London.
01:16:52
Gisli studied the diaries cover to cover. The
entries documented Tryggvi’s imprisonment in
01:16:58
solitary confinement, his daily druggings with
sedatives, and how he questioned his sanity.
01:17:05
A common theme that arose was Tryggvi’s belief
01:17:08
that if he confessed, his time in
solitary confinement would be over.
01:17:14
Tryggvi thought he would have the chance to
withdraw his confession, explain the truth
01:17:19
at the trial, and he would be found a free man.
After studying the case further, Gisli could not
01:17:28
believe the hours of interrogation the six accused
had gone through without their lawyers present.
01:17:35
He formed the opinion that five of the accused
had what he termed memory distrust syndrome,
01:17:41
in which an individual does not trust
their own memory and so comes to rely
01:17:46
upon outside sources for information, rather
than using their own ability to recall facts.
01:17:54
In the documentary, “Out of Thin
Air,” Gisli Gudjonsson said:
01:18:00
“This is the only case I know of where so many
individuals have had their memories distorted to
01:18:06
this extent.. They were just trying to appease
the police, they were trying to be cooperative
01:18:13
because they knew if they were not cooperative,
they would be given more solitary confinement.”
01:18:20
Kristjan Vidarsson looked forward to the times he
would be sent to scour the desolate landscape to
01:18:26
try and remember where the bodies of Gudmundur
and Geirfinnur Einarsson had been buried.
01:18:32
The brief moment of freedom, despite grim,
was a welcomed change to his time in prison.
01:18:40
One time he was taken out of his cell was
on January 23 1977. In a photo recovered
01:18:47
from the police files, Kristjan can be seen in
the lava fields wearing a melancholy expression
01:18:54
with his left arm wrapped around a policeman's
neck in a chokehold. The policeman was pretending
01:19:01
to be Geirfinnur, with Kristjan reenacting how how
he had incapacitated him. Forensic psychologist
01:19:09
Gisli Gidjonsson noted the danger of reenactments
in an individual with memory distrust syndrome.
01:19:16
Such acts might reinforce to the individual
that the event actually occurred in that way.
01:19:25
Armed with this information, journalist Helga
Anardottir compiled a special news report that ran
01:19:31
on national television. Later that week, the
Ministry for Justice announced a review of the
01:19:37
case, to look into the methods used in the
investigation and how the confessions were
01:19:43
obtained. It was quickly established that
critical errors had been made in the course
01:19:49
of the investigation, even though many of the
police files relevant to the case were missing.
01:19:56
Guards at Sidumuli Prison came forward
with horror stories regarding what the
01:20:01
six accused had been subjected to. One of the
accused was hated by prison guards and officers
01:20:08
in particular. Nicknamed “The Rat” by those in
charge of his welfare, it was Saevar Ciesieleski.
01:20:19
Often considered the ringleader of the group
that murdered Gudmundur and Geirfinnur,
01:20:24
Saevar was subjected to brutal methods in order to
obtain a confession. Along with being drugged with
01:20:32
sedatives Mogadon, Diazepam, and Chlorpromazine,
Saevar was subjected to sleep deprivation.
01:20:40
An overhead light buzzed in his prison cell 24
hours a day, 7 days a week. While the rest of
01:20:47
the cells had a period of lights out to mimic
night, Saevar’s remained on. He once tried to
01:20:54
cover it with a woollen hat but it was removed
instantly. When Saevar did drift off to sleep,
01:21:02
guards would bang on his cell
with steel chairs to rouse him.
01:21:07
If he refused to answer questions, he was
strangled by his shirt collar until he passed out.
01:21:15
One day in July 1976, Saevar, who had
a profound fear of water, was taken to
01:21:22
the bathrooms of the prison. As water ran from
one of the taps, filling a sink, Saevar had his
01:21:30
head held under water by guards who laughed to
one another that they were drowning “The Rat.”
01:21:36
Completely broken and in a vulnerable state,
Saevar confessed to the murders. Detectives
01:21:44
took Saevar to the sites where he claimed to
have buried the bodies. His inability to find
01:21:50
them was seen as him deliberately obstructing
the investigation, rather than him not knowing.
01:21:57
While other inmates were allowed books, pens,
tobacco, and newspapers, Saevar was denied.
01:22:05
The guards reasoned that he should
instead sit and think about his actions.
01:22:11
He was also denied visits from family.
01:22:17
The other five accused also suffered from
isolation and lack of human interaction,
01:22:22
which had a profound effect on their mental
wellbeing. Kristjan wrote in his diary in prison:
01:22:30
“There was nothing but waiting,
waiting for the next interrogation,
01:22:34
wondering what I would say. In the cell I could
do nothing but think. I grew into the walls.
01:22:43
I could not feel my body. I was just [a] head.”
01:22:49
Two times while awaiting trial,
Kristjan tried to take his own life.
01:22:56
Trygvvi recounted a similar feeling in his
diary, stating: “I’ve got so many drugs,
01:23:03
so much medication that I can’t remember my name.
01:23:07
I wake up and I can’t remember if my mother
passed away or if I was dreaming it.”
01:23:16
The thoughts of reuniting with her baby were the
only thing getting Erla through her isolation.
01:23:23
She told the documentary, “Out of Thin
Air,”: “I wasn’t allowed to go outside,
01:23:30
I was in complete isolation. Very soon you shrink
down into this helpless baby and you’re in this
01:23:37
abstract world. I thought to myself did I really
even have a baby? Or is that my imagination also?
01:23:46
Cause I swear that I feel like I do but no
picture’s coming. You can’t trust your own mind.”
01:23:57
In the book, “The Reykjavik Confessions,”
Erla detailed one night where she was raped
01:24:03
by a policeman in her cell. The policeman put
his hand over her mouth to stop her calling out
01:24:10
while he lay on top of her on her prison
bed. When he finished and prepared to leave,
01:24:16
he told her that he was taking great risks by
being a friend to her and she should be grateful.
01:24:24
By the time Erla found the courage
to speak up about the event,
01:24:28
the statute of limitations had expired and
it was too late for her to press charges.
01:24:35
Erla was also subjected to what was called a
“memory injection” by police detectives under
01:24:41
the instruction of Detective Karl Schutz to
try and jog her memory of what had happened
01:24:47
in the events of Geirfinnur’s death. Under
the effects of the drug, Erla admitted that
01:24:54
she had made up what had happened from what she
had read in newspapers and twisted the facts
01:25:00
to create a story that was entirely false. The
detectives believed that she had been receiving
01:25:07
inside information from Saevar who was telling
her what to say and refused to believe her.
01:25:18
On March 23 2013, the committee into the
case of what has been termed “The Reykjavik
01:25:25
Confessions,” presented their findings. The key
finding was that the confessions in all likelihood
01:25:33
were fabricated. The committee recommended
that the state prosecutor reopen the case.
01:25:41
Five and a half years later, Erla Bolladottir
and the families of Saevar Ciesielski
01:25:47
and Tryggvi Leifsson sat amongst
the crowded courtroom in Reykjavik.
01:25:52
Collectively they held their
breath as the verdict was read.
01:25:58
44-years after the disappearances of Gudmundur
and Geirfinnur Einarsson - Saevar Ciesielski,
01:26:05
Kristjan Vidarsson, Tryggvi Leifsson,
Gudjon Skarphedinsson, and Albert Skaftason
01:26:12
were found not guilty in the murders and disposal
of the two men. In an unusual turn of events,
01:26:20
both the prosecution and the defense demanded
they be acquitted. It was a bittersweet moment
01:26:27
for the families of Saevar and Tryggvi knowing
that they weren’t alive to see justice done.
01:26:35
Erla Bolladóttir did not have her name cleared in
relation to the perjury of the Klubburinn Four.
01:26:43
Some argued that she should be acquitted
given that the whole case was built on
01:26:48
falsified confessions. She held her
head high and returned to her job as a
01:26:54
language teacher - helping those who recently
migrated to Iceland to learn the language.
01:27:02
46-years after their disappearances, the
case of Gudmundur and Geirfinnur Einarsson
01:27:08
is as well known today amongst Icelanders
as it was then. Despite the passage of time,
01:27:15
new leads occasionally trickle into police.
01:27:20
In 2015, Stefan Almarrson was questioned
by police after testimony from Stefan’s
01:27:26
ex-girlfriend shed new light on Gudmundur’s
disappearance. Stefan was already known in
01:27:33
the case - in the early days of the
investigation he was questioned and
01:27:38
told police he thought that Saevar and Kristjan
were responsible for Gudmundur’s disappearance.
01:27:45
For the sake of clarity, we will refer
to Stefan’s ex-girlfriend as Helga.
01:27:52
Helga came forward to say that she was a passenger
in Stefan’s vehicle the night Gudmundur went
01:27:58
missing. According to Helga, the car struck
Gudmundur while he was walking down the road.
01:28:05
She, along with, Stefan and his friend, Thordur
Eyporsson, helped Gudmundur into the car.
01:28:13
He thanked them for picking him up.
Helga was then dropped off home.
01:28:19
As she left the vehicle, Gudmundur was
visibly suffering from the collision.
01:28:25
Blood was coming out of his ear and nose.
That was the last time Helga saw him.
01:28:33
Both Stefan and Thordur denied
these allegations wholeheartedly.
01:28:38
With no forensic evidence to prove the
accusations, the investigation was dropped.
01:28:47
According to the Iceland Review, in 2016
a man contacted the police to say he
01:28:53
had been holding onto information
since Geirfinnur’s disappearance.
01:28:58
For the sake of clarity, we will refer to
this witness as Jon. Jon claimed that the
01:29:05
day after Geirfinnur went missing, he
and girlfriend were at Vestmannaeyjar.
01:29:11
The small island was 190 kilometers east of
Keflavik, where Geirfinnur’s car was found.
01:29:19
The couple witnessed three men
dressed in civilian clothing
01:29:23
arrive on a small boat and make their way
to a fish processing plant on the island.
01:29:29
The man in the middle of the three seemed
weak and appeared to be losing consciousness.
01:29:35
As Jon and his partner walked past, the man
in the middle allegedly said: “Remember me.”
01:29:44
Shortly after, the men boarded another boat.
Jon watched as the three men went out to sea.
01:29:52
He saw the boat return to the shore
again, but only two men came back.
01:29:59
Two days later, his girlfriend
received an anonymous call
01:30:03
stating that she and her boyfriend would
be killed if they spoke of what they saw.
01:30:11
As those come forward offering theories as to
what did happen to Gudmundur and Geirfinnur,
01:30:17
so do those working to bolster the
innocence of those accused of their murders.
01:30:23
At the time of Gudmundur’s disappearance, the
phone at Erla’s apartment was disconnected due
01:30:29
to an unpaid phone bill. This was confirmed
by the Iecalandic Telephone Company
01:30:35
and meant that Saevar couldn’t have used it
to phone Albert to pick up Gudmundur’s body.
01:30:42
Furthermore, the yellow Toyota that Albert
Skaftason said belonged to his father that
01:30:48
was used to dump the body of Gudmundur
was not owned by his father at the time
01:30:53
of Gudmundur’s disappearance. Albert said he
watched from his rearview mirror as Saevar,
01:31:00
Kristjan, and Trygvvi put the body
in the boot of the car. At the time,
01:31:06
Albert’s father drove a tiny Volkswagen
Beetle. The boot was at the front of the car.
01:31:15
From the book, “Out of Thin Air,” in
2016 journalist Jon Danielsson looked
01:31:21
in to Saevar’s alibi at the time of
Geirfinnur’s disappearance. Saevar
01:31:27
had given this information to the judges at the
trial, however it was not investigated further.
01:31:35
Saevar alleged he had gone to his mother’s house
to watch television. Saevar remembered the show.
01:31:43
It was a news report about a company in
France guilty of tampering with red wine.
01:31:49
Jon Danielsson looked through the archives
for the television guide for that night.
01:31:55
There was a news report from
France titled, “Winegate,”
01:31:59
which finished at 11PM, when Saevar was
allegedly with Geirfinnur at the Keflavik docks.
01:32:09
Prior to his arrest, Gudjon
kept newspaper clippings and
01:32:14
notes about the Geirfinnur case
in a small book in his study.
01:32:20
When it was found in a search by police, he
explained that after being questioned in May 1976
01:32:27
as an acquaintance of Saevar’s he decided to
take notes and keep up to date with the case.
01:32:34
Detective Karl Schutz thought it was so he could
construct the perfect alibi if he were ever
01:32:40
arrested, a theory that fell through as Gudjon
could give no alibi for the night in question.
01:32:48
In his first diary entry in prison
dated November 18 1976, Gudjon wrote:
01:32:57
“I know nothing about this case… Sometimes
I feel guilty, that I’m guilty of something
01:33:03
but I can’t remember what happened… This is
taking away all of my strength. I must be ill.”
01:33:13
Two days later he wrote, “New
humiliation, disgrace and shame.
01:33:19
I, who lived in the belief in the two years
previously that I knew nothing about the matter
01:33:25
and now I have been involved in it…
Am I insane or have I been there?
01:33:32
I say yes to that. Much of what I have
done in recent years was insanity.”
01:33:40
Erla continues to try and explain what led to
her confessing to a crime she didn’t commit.
01:33:47
In the book, “The Reykjavik Confessions,”
she says: “The detectives would explain
01:33:53
that we needed to get the confession done or
I was risking that I would lose my child and
01:33:59
they didn’t want to see that happen. Somewhere, I
always knew it didn’t happen. So I really needed
01:34:07
to believe that it had happened and they kept
throwing me something to help me believe it.”
01:34:16
On January 29 2020, the state treasury dispensed
a total of 815 million Icelandic krona,
01:34:25
the equivalent of nearly 8.2 million Australian
dollars to Kristjan, Albert, Gudjon, and the
01:34:32
families of Saevar and Tryggvi as compensation
for their wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
01:34:40
In the course of the investigation, Saevar
Ciesielski spent 615 days in solitary confinement.
01:34:48
During that time he was interrogated 180 times
for a total of 340 hours until he confessed to
01:34:56
the crimes to end his solitary confinement.
Erla Bolladottir spent 241 days in solitary
01:35:04
confinement and was interrogated 105 times
until she confessed to her involvement.
01:35:12
She is still campaigning to have
her perjury conviction overturned.
01:35:18
Tryggvi Leifsson spent the most time in solitary
confinement at a total of 655 days, the longest
01:35:26
recorded period of solitary confinement
endured by someone outside of Guantanamo Bay.
01:35:33
His diaries, later taken by his daughter Kristin
01:35:37
were titled: “This is a diary that an innocent
man is keeping in here regarding a big case
01:35:44
that he is wrongly accused for but the truth
will always come out even if it is late.”
01:35:53
An entry dated April 25 1977 read: “So now,
I have been here continuously for sixteen
01:36:03
months and eleven days in custody, including
fourteen months in isolation, totally alone. I
01:36:11
shall hold fast. I don’t have to be afraid as I’m
innocent and justice always prevails in the end.”