Life sentence for Swedish man who murdered victim disguised as food courier

A Swedish man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2023 murder of a 37-year-old man in central Copenhagen, after posing as a food delivery courier to carry out the killing, reports Danish broadcaster DR.

The then-18-year-old, now 21-year-old Soran Sheykhisarcheshmed, shot the victim five times near Vesterport Station on 19 October 2023. Disguised in a Just Eat jacket, Wolt delivery bag, and cap, he concealed the murder weapon in the insulated food bag. The victim, lured to the location via a Snapchat profile, was struck once in the back and twice in the head, dying instantly.

Copenhagen City Court unanimously ruled the crime warranted Denmark’s harshest penalty—life imprisonment—citing aggravating factors: the use of a firearm and the public execution on a busy street. The sentence follows a precedent set by the Supreme Court in the 2022 murder of radio host Nedim Yasar.

Sheykhisarcheshmed, who travelled from Malmö the day of the killing, had arrived in Denmark by train. His defence lawyer argued the murder lacked premeditation, proposing a 16-year term, but prosecutors secured the maximum penalty.

Two half-brothers, initially co-accused of planning the murder, were acquitted before Easter. While DNA from one was found on the electric scooter used in the crime and the Wolt bag, and fingerprints from the other were detected on a discarded plastic bag and the scooter, the evidence was deemed insufficient. A 7–5 jury split—requiring a majority among both lay judges and jurors—prevented conviction.

One of the acquitted men, 23-year-old Azeem Mirza Asam, was separately sentenced to seven years for selling a revolver and possessing 2.4 kilograms of cocaine, alongside €33,000 in cash hidden in his freezer.