Catrine de Costa

Catrine da Costa, born Bäckström, was a Swedish woman who was brutally murdered in June 1984. She was born in Luleå, a city in Northern Sweden. The family moved to Stockholm where Catrine Bäckström attended school. She was aiming to become a hairdresser, but never finished the training because of drug abuse. In 1979 she visited Coimbra, Portugal and met Jose da Costa. When Catherine Bäckström returned to Sweden Jose da Costa followed. Shortly after arriving in Sweden he was arrested by the police for a minor drug charge, and sentenced to a two year in prison term. In the summer of 1981 Catrine Bäckström gave birth to a boy and reunited with Jose da Costa in Coimbra, Portugal. The couple had problems with drugs, married, and decided that Catrine da Costa and her son should return to Sweden and get treatment. They never met again. Catrine da Costa was last seen on Malmskillnadsgatan in Stockholm on June 10, 1984. One week later, on June 18th, the dismembered parts of her body where found in plastic bags, spread out far apart. How Catrine da Costa died has not been established, since vital organs and her head has not been found.