Ex-officer convicted in 1993 slaying of Swedish man dies

A former North Carolina police officer convicted in the 1993 killing of a Swedish man once suspected of assassinating a prime minister has died.

King Police Chief Paula May tells the Winston-Salem Journal 67-year-old Lamont Claxton “L.C.” Underwood died Dec. 23 in a hospital while serving a life sentence for kidnapping and murder in the death of Viktor Gunnarsson.

The Watauga County homicide attracted international attention because Gunnarsson had been a suspect in the 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. He was never formally charged.

Gunnarsson started a relationship with Underwood’s ex-girlfriend Kay Weden after moving to the U.S. Prosecutors said the then-Salisbury police officer killed Gunnarsson out of jealousy.

Weden’s mother, 77-year-old Catherine Miller, was found shot to death days after Gunnarsson disappeared. Prosecutors opted not to try Underwood in her death.

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme.

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Information from: Winston-Salem Journal, http://www.journalnow.com