in the Palme assassination, as it was too rusty. There were numerous witnesses to the murder, of whom more than 25 came forward to the police. The killer was described by witnesses as a man between 30 and 50 years of age, about 180 (5'11") to 185 (6'1") centimetres tall, and wearing a dark jacket or coat. Many described him as having walked with a limp or otherwise clumsily, but those testimonies were not given immediately after the murder, only after the arrest of Christer Pettersson. Initially, many witnesses described the killer's movements as smooth, efficient and powerful. No witness was in a position to observe the killer's appearance in any detail. A police sketch of the supposed killer was widely circulated in the media a week after the murder, leading to a massive influx of tips from the public, but it was later determined that the witness on whose statement it was based probably had not seen the actual assailant. No good description of the killer's appearance therefore exists. Witnesses agreed on the killer's escape route. Chronology of leading investigators and prosecutors Chiefs of Investigation Gösta Welander (sv) (the night of the murder) Hans Holmér (1986–1987) Ulf Karlsson (sv) (1987–1988) Hans Ölvebro (sv) (1988–1997) Stig Edqvist (1997–2012) Hans Melander (2012–2013 and 2016–2020) Dag Andersson (2013–2016) Chief Prosecutors K.G. Svensson (sv) (spring of 1986) Claes Zeime (sv) (1986–1987. Assisting prosecutors: Solveig Riberdahl, Anders Helin and Bo Josephson) Axel Morath (sv) (1987–1994. Assisting prosecutors: Solveig Riberdahl, Anders Helin and Jörgen Almblad) Solveig Riberdahl (sv) (1994–1996. Assisting prosecutors: Anders Helin and Jan Danielsson) Jan Danielsson (sv) (1996–2000. Assisting prosecutor: Kerstin Skarp) Agneta Blidberg (sv) (2000–2009. Assisting prosecutor: Kerstin Skarp) Kerstin Skarp (2009–2017) Krister Petersson (sv) (2017–2020) Murder theories Along with the length of the ensuing investigation, a number of alternative theories surrounding the murder surfaced. At the time, a murder under Swedish law was subject to prescription in 25 years. The law was later changed to prevent the Palme case from expiring, and thus the police investigation remained active for 34 years. In February 2020, Krister Petersson, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, stated that he expected to present a conclusive case and either bring charges or close the investigation within a matter of months. Christer Pettersson In December 1988, almost three years after Palme's death, Christer Pettersson, a criminal, drug user and alcoholic, who had previously been imprisoned for manslaughter,