Peter Karlsson (ice hockey)

Peter Karlsson
Born (1966-02-17)17 February 1966
Västerås, Sweden
Died 11 March 1995(1995-03-11) (aged 29)
Västerås, Sweden
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Västerås IK
Playing career 1984–1995

Lars Peter Karlsson (17 February 1966 – 11 March 1995) was a Swedish professional ice hockey player.

Playing career

Karlsson was born in Västerås Lundby, Västmanland. He began his ice hockey career with VIK Västerås HK in the First Division. After five seasons, he then had spells with Surahammars IF and IK Westmannia-Köping [sv] before returning to Västerås for his one and only Elitserien season. He returned to Division One for Avesta BK [sv] and Örebro IK.

Death

Peter Karlsson was murdered on the night of 11 March 1995 in Västerås by a 19-year-old man he encountered while walking. His attacker, a 19-year-old white power skinhead, claimed that the two men had begun walking in the same direction and at some point, Karlsson made sexual advances towards him. Karlsson was stabbed 64 times in the face, head, neck, chest and back with a knife. A responding police officer who had coached Karlsson in his youth was unable to identify him due to the extent of his injuries. It was later found that Karlsson's attacker possessed anti-LGBT propaganda in his home. After the murder, Karlsson's team played a protest match in support of him. The killer's sentence, which was eight years, outraged some in the Swedish gay community who thought that the murder occurred because of Karlsson's sexuality. Karlsson was not openly gay, but had discussed his homosexuality with attendees of a nightclub the night previously.[1][2]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84 IK VIK Hockey Div.1 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1984–85 IK VIK Hockey Div.1 9 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 0 0
1985–86 IK VIK Hockey Div.1 25 1 11 12 8 13 0 2 2 0
1986–87 IK VIK Hockey Div.1 10 0 2 2 8 — — — — —
1987–88 IK VIK Hockey Div.1 12 2 1 3 6 — — — — —
1988–89 Surahammars IF Div.1 31 7 6 13 14 — — — — —
1989–90 IK Westmannia Div.2 29 3 16 19 12 8 2 5 7 2
1990–91 IK Westmannia-Köping Div.1 32 0 11 11 28 — — — — —
1991–92 IK Westmannia-Köping Div.1 32 1 13 14 28 3 0 1 1 0
1992–93 Västerås IK SEL 15 0 1 1 8 — — — — —
1992–93 IK Westmannia-Köping Div.1 18 2 6 8 10 — — — — —
1993–94 Avesta BK Div.1 30 2 3 5 28 — — — — —
1994–95 Örebro IK Div.1 27 0 3 3 10 — — — — —
SEL totals 15 0 1 1 8 — — — — —

See also

References

  1. ^ Britton, Bruce, "Our Gay and Lesbian Heritage, Part 8", League @ NCR, archived from the original on 25 August 2007, retrieved 5 September 2013
  2. ^ Skogseth, Trygve (16 August 2021). "Peter Karlsson: The painful verdict on Swedish ice hockey player's 1995 killing". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 April 2024.