Swedish woman sentenced over human bone collection

A Swedish woman who kept human skulls and bones in her apartment was sentenced Monday to probation and ordered to undergo psychiatric care after being convicted of "disturbing the peace of the dead." The prosecution had argued that the 37 year-old woman, who has a history of unemployment and substance abuse, used the bones "for various sexual activities", but charges of necrophilia were dismissed by the Gothenburg district court. "Moving parts of the skeleton is a crime, since she was unauthorised to do so, just as it is a crime to assemble a skeleton and keep it lying on the floor, (and) to keep skeletal parts in plastic bags and use them for trade," the court said. The woman had knowingly handled the bones "in an undignified manner," it added. She was also convicted of illegal possession of firearms, the only charge she pleaded guilty to. "I'm interested in forensics and I'm passionate about osteology. I have photographs of dead people," she told daily newspaper Goeteborgs-Posten on Monday. "I'm not saying I'm the world's nicest or best person. I'm an odd bird," she said, denying allegations that she had used the bones for sexual gratification. The woman was arrested in September and was released at the end of the trial on November 23. The prosecution has yet to decide whether it will appeal the ruling