Clark Olofsson

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Clark Olofsson, new name Daniel Demuynck, (born 1947) is a Swedish criminal best known for his involvement in the Norrmalmstorg robbery, a hostage situation that was the basis of the term Stockholm syndrome.

[edit] Early life

Olofsson grew up in an alcoholic household in Trollhättan, Sweden. When he was 8 years old, he and his two other siblings were temporarily placed in a foster home. When his mother recovered from her personal problems and got a job as a sales clerk, she was given her children back once more. They lived in a flat at Hisingen in Gothenburg.

[edit] Criminal record

Clark Olofsson has spent more than half his life behind bars. Here follows a summary of his criminal career:

In 1963, 16 years old, he was institutionalized by the criminal justice system for minor crimes in a Reform School.
In 1966 he became notorious for his involvement in the murder of Police Constable Ragnar Sandahl. His partner in crime Gunnar Nordgren was arrested under dramatic circumstances. Olofsson was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for among other things attempted murder.
During the Norrmalmstorg robbery in August 1973, Olofsson was taken to the bank by the police at the demand of the robber Janne Olsson. Clark Olofsson was later convicted as an accessory in the kidnapping of the bank clerks. His conviction was later overturned.
During flight from Norrköping Prison in 1975, he stole almost 1 million SKR from Handelsbanken in Gothenburg. At the time of the robbery it was the biggest in Swedish criminal history. Most of the money was never found and Olofsson claims he hid it where motorway E6 runs today. For this robbery, another 8 years were added to his sentence.
In 1979 Olofsson started studying at the School of Journalism in Stockholm.
In 1980, while on leave from prison, he got into a brawl with some fishermen on Midsummer Night's Eve and got a 2-year sentence for bodily harm.
In spite of another sentence, he managed to finish his education at the School of Journalism in 1983.
He was released the same year and moved to Belgium with his Belgian wife.
In 1984 he was apprehended attempting to smuggle 25 kg of Amphetamine into Sweden. He pleaded not guilty but was senteced to 10 years imprisonment.
Released from prison in October 1991, things were quiet around him for a number of years with the exception of a bar-room brawl.
In June 1996, he was arrested outside a bank in Oslo by the Norwegian police, suspected of planning a robbery. He was released the next day.
1999, Clark Olofsson was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in Denmark for drug trafficking. He was released in 2005.

[edit] Source

(Swedish) Interview with Olofsson in Aftonbladet, 21 May, 2000. Accessed 28 June, 2007. This is the source for the entire article except the last sentence, about his release, an uncontroversial fact which could have come from anywhere.