What Happened To Notorious Criminal Clark Olofsson?

Charismatic and good-looking, Clark Olofsson is a gangster who has captured the public's imagination for decades, both in his home country of Sweden and all over the world. Olofsson's story is told in "Clark," a Netflix series with actor Bill Skarsgård in the titular role, per The Playlist. What's notable about the legacy of this notorious criminal is that he played a tertiary role in an infamous 1973 bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, according to History. 

During that heist, the robbers took hostages and, among their demands was an unusual one: that Clark Olofsson, who had been serving time for armed robbery, be released from prison. Surprisingly, authorities agreed. Those hostages then developed what is now called Stockholm syndrome — for both the primary perpetrator of the crime, and the infamous Olofsson, once he arrived at the scene. 

Stockholm syndrome is characterized by feelings of sympathy, support, and affection that victims can sometimes feel for their abusers, as WebMD reports. For these reasons and more, the Clark Olofsson story fascinates us even today. Olofsson's life of crime began at a very young age, spending time in and out of correctional institutions all throughout his teenage years, per Film School Rejects. By the age of 18, Olofsson made headlines when he broke into the home of then Prime Minister Swedish Tage Erlander. Despite the fact this incident was mostly a nuisance, Olofsson was soon involved in more serious infractions, including the assault of two Swedish police officers, a crime that led to his first prison sentence.

After serving his first prison sentence, Clark Olofsson's crimes quickly escalated. In the mid-`60s, the stylish criminal and an accomplice robbed a bicycle shop. After the crime, an officer was shot and killed by Olofsson's collaborator, and a nationwide manhunt ensued, via History. While serving eight years in prison for that crime, Olofsson (pictured above later in life) met Jan-Erik Olsson, who would later rob a bank while he was on leave from prison. That's when Olsson demanded that Olofsson be released from custody so that the felon could join him. From there, Stockholm Syndrome was born.

Incredibly, not only those who were kidnapped developed feelings for Olofsson and Olsson. As the saga progressed, it was followed closely all over Sweden, with public sentiment firmly on the side of the criminals. Olsson was eventually captured, as History reports. Olofsson was acquitted, however, as he was only involved at Olsson's request. From that point forward, Olofsson remained unreformed, serving sentences and escaping prison on several occasions for crimes like robbery, drunk driving, drug smuggling, and assault. In 2018, he was finally released from prison, and since then has kept a clean record. Olofsson has been married once, has six children, and is currently engaged to his fiancée, per the Swedish media outlets Expressen and Aftonbladet.