The bullwhip that Sidegard used to beat his children
Swedish death metal band Necrophobic released the first single from their forthcoming album, Womb of Lilithu, yesterday. But when the album comes out on October 29th (October 25th in the rest of the world), don’t expect vocalist Tobias Sidegard to be touring in support of it. That’s because the frontman is currently in prison, having been sentenced to 18 months for abusing his wife and children.
In Swedish court documents and police reports obtained by Metal Insider, Sidegard’s wife Linda was interviewed by police describing incidents in which she was beaten by him multiple times and forced into oral sex with him. He also was charged with abuse for beating his daughters Tindra and Nova with a homemade bullwhip. There are other allegations against Sidegard in the court documents. Tindra claimed that when she was younger, her father would lock her and her mother in their room during the day while he slept.
For his part, Tobias claimed that he was on amphetamines when he hit his children with the bullwhip, claiming that he was only joking, and that he would never harm his children. The reports paint a different picture for his wife, with a cell phone photo of her with a swollen eye among the evidence presented to the court. He was also accused of stepping on her feet with full force, causing fractures, pain and swelling. In interviews with his previous wife, Anna, she said that in ten years of marriage, he was verbally abusive and was domineering, but he never hit her. After being confronted with the allegations of him beating his children, he threatened suicide.
Cell phone picture of Linda Sidegard’s swollen eye
Sidegard was found guilty in June, and sentenced to one year and six months in prison, convicted of “severe abuse to a female partner” and “abuse.” His bullwhip was also confiscated. There’s no word on how this will effect promotion for Womb Of Lilithu, which is still scheduled to come out on October 25th. Season of Mist’s French office hadn’t responded at the time of this publishing. We’ll continue to update you as this develops.
[thanks to Paul for the translation]
[UPDATE]
Tobias Sidegard has responded to our article, sending an email claiming that he’s been innocently accused, is a free man, and will get his final judgment in two weeks. The information we reported on is public record, which can be found on this forum. Sidegard is free for now, and pending the outcome of the trial, might remain free. Since it’s Sidegard’s word vs. the court’s, time will tell.
