Mystery remains 20 years after Swedish nanny murdered in Boston

BOSTON — Twenty years ago Thursday, the top half of a 19-year-old au pair's body was found in a trash bag.

The bottom half of Karina Holmer's body was never found.

"I'm as puzzled as I was 20 years ago," said Sgt. Thomas O'Leary, who was first on the scene.

On June 23, 1996, on a Sunday morning, a homeless man was looking for cans to redeem in the Fenway and Back Bay area. He ripped open a trash bag he found in a dumpster and saw a woman's arm.

He ran and found police, who responded.

The body belonged to 19-year-old Holmer, an au pair from Sweden, who was working for a family in Dover.

Her body was mutilated - it was cut in half in such a way that only one bone, Holmer's spine, had to be cut through.

She was last seen Friday into Saturday night at Club Zanzibar, a night spot in the Theatre District at that was popular with au pairs.

Twenty years later and there are still no arrests.

There have been plenty of potential suspects, but the case remains unsolved. It's been called Boston's most famous cold case. Now the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit is reviewing the file.

"I hope they can go through what we have for a file and at least give us some sense of who might still be somebody we should be looking into," said Police Police Sgt. William Doogan.

Boston Police remain hopeful it can still be solved. Anyone with information should contact Boston Police at 1-800-949-TIPS.

Cox Media Group