The Magisk Sphere of Sigvard Thurneman

A glass sphere found in the Police Museum’s collections played an important role in a ruthless crime drama that unfolded in the 1930s in Sala.

Between 1930-36, five people were murdered on four different occasions around the town of  Sala. It was one of the most noted criminal cases of the 20th century and the mastermind behind the murders was Sigvard Nilsson-Thurneman and the members of his strange fellowship. They called themselves The Magic Circle (DMC). Among locals, the league came to be known as Salaligan. The murders happened several years apart and the police therefore saw no connection.

Sigvard Nilsson-Thurneman was interested in occultism and mysticism and in a strange mixture of esoteric thoughts and calculated robbery murders he created his circle of accomplices. During séance-like encounters, he hypnotized the members of the DMC to become emotional tools in this group of ruthless magical thieves.

A large glass ball, named the magic ball, was central to the rituals and was used during the sessions with the members. Herbs were burned in the ball, which the group inhaled during their sessions. Probably it was in part bollwort, which is strongly hallucinogenic and is believed to have been used for the ecstatic state of witches and other individuals seeking trance-like states. In 1936, Thurneman and his companions were arrested following a tip-off from a person who had been asked to participate in what would be the last robbery.

Thurneman was declared mentally ill and sentenced to care at Säter Hospital. He died in 1979 and had then been free for ten years. The other members of the DMC were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The photograph is a portrait of Sigvard Thurneman and the ball which is in the Police Museum’s collections is shown here by the museum educator Katja Wennerfors.

Salaligans magiska kula

En glaskula som idag finns i Polismuseets samlingar spelade en viktig roll i ett grymt kriminaldrama som utspelade sig på 1930-talet i Sala.

Under sex års tid, 1930-36, mördades fem personer vid fyra olika tillfällen i Salatrakten. Det var ett av 1900-talets mest uppmärksammade brottsfall och bakom morden låg Sigvard Nilsson-Thurneman och hans ligamedlemmar. De kallade sig Den Magiska Cirkeln, DMC. I folkmun kom ligan att kallas Salaligan. Morden skedde med flera års mellanrum och polisen såg därför inget samband.

Sigvard Nilsson-Thurneman var intresserad av ockultism och mysticism och i en märklig blandning av esoteriska tankar och beräknade rånmord skapade han sin krets av medbrottslingar. Under seansliknande möten hypnotiserade han medlemmarna i DMC för att bli känslokalla redskap i denna grupp av hänsynslösa magiska tjuvar.

En stor glaskula, den magiska kulan, var central och användes under seanserna med medlemmarna. I kulan eldades örter som gruppen andades in vid sina seanser. Sannolikt var det bland annat bolmört, som är starkt hallucinogent och historiskt tros ha använts för häxors och andra individers extatiska tillstånd. 1936 greps Thurneman och hans kompanjoner efter tips från en person som hade blivit tillfrågad om att medverka vid vad som skulle bli det sista rånmordet.

Thurneman förklarades mentalsjuk och dömdes till vård på Säters sjukhus. Han avled 1979 och hade då varit fri i tio års tid. De andra medlemmarna i DMC dömdes till livstids straffarbete.

Fotografiet är ett porträtt av Thurneman och kulan som finns i Polismuseets samlingar visas här av museipedagogen Katja Wennerfors.