Metta Fock

Metta (or Mätta) Charlotta Fock, née Ridderbjelke (10 June 1765 - 7 November 1810 Fägredsmon, Västergötland), was a Swedish noble and sentenced murderer.

She was the daughter of quartermaster noble Axel Erik Ridderbjelke and Helena Margareta Gripenmark, and married in an arranged marriage in 1783 to the noble sergeant Henrik Johan Fock. The couple lived on the small estate Lilla Gisslaved and had two sons and two daughters. Due to the restricted mental capacity of her spouse, their economy was drained by his bad affairs, and Metta Fock therefore had her husband placed under the guardianship of her brother.

In 1802, her eldest son, her youngest daughter and her spouse died one after another. She was arrested and put on trial accused of the murder of her spouse and two children by arsenic. Her motive was presented as her wish to marry her lover, game keeper Johan Fägercrantz. She denied the charges and was kept a prisoner at Carlsten awaiting her confession from 1806 until 1809. She was the only female prisoner ever to be kept at Carlsten, which normally only housed male prisoners.

In 1809, she confessed to her guilt and was sentenced to being executed by decapitation followed by burning: prior to this, her hand was to be cut off. The execution took place on 7 November 1810 at Fägredsmon in Västergötland. Johan Fägercrantz was sentenced to 28 days on water and bread for fornication.

On 10 December 1805, during her time in prison, Metta Fock made a message of appeal by embroidery on 27 bits of linen cloth which she had sewn together, as she was not granted the right to pen and paper. In it, she stated her innocence and complained about the treatment she had been given. The appeal came to be in the possession of Sophie Adlersparre, who donated it to Nordiska museet in her will, where it is still kept.

Metta Fock in fiction

The case was described in the book Trefalt mord? by Yngve Lyttkens (1996), in which her guilt is put in doubt. A song is dedicated to her by Stefan Andersson in the album Skeppsråttan (2009). She is the main subject of the novel Mercurium by Ann Rosman (2012), in which she is portrayed as innocent.

References

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