Arrest of Former Waitress, Promotion Model Charlotte Karin Lindstrom

**kellyhound** · #1 06-14-2009, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Charlotte Karin Lindström (born August 9 1984 in Sollentuna, Sweden) is a former waitress, promotion model and current prisoner who was arrested on May 26, 2007 at 10.40am in Sydney, Australia on suspicion of trying to hire a hitman to kill 2 men who were about to testify against her boyfriend Steven Spaliviero in court.

Since her arrest, Charlotte has pleaded guilty to the crimes she was under suspicion for.

Her boyfriend's mother, Dolores Spaliviero, offered to pay a $200,000 bail to set Lindström free.

Her friend and boss, Justin Hemmes provided an undertaking that if Lindström was set free on bail, he would let her continue her work at the Hemmesphere nightclub until trial.

The application for bail was later denied and Charlotte was remanded in custody.
Hemmes was also called as a character witness to tell the court about Lindströms personality.

Charlotte was initially sentenced to 4 years jail, to be eligible for early parole on May 25, 2009.
The sentence was appealed by the Crown and was heard again on July 4, 2008 with a decision from the appeal judges later that month.

On 23 July 2008, The appeal judges increased her minimum sentence from 2 years to 3 years after Sydney prosecutors argued that the sentence was "manifestly inadequate".

Her maximum sentence was increased from 3 years and 10 months to 4 years and 9 months. She will be now be eligible for parole in May, 2010.
Lindström will appeal the sentence.

After her release, Lindström will have the choice to join a witness protection program as she has received death threats.

Lindström also became historic as she was awarded the shortest sentence in the history of Australia for the kind of crime she had committed.

Charlotte is serving her jailtime at an undisclosed male prison in Australia, and has told about the daily verbal abuse from male prisoners.

With the judge Steven Rotman commenting "Were this (solitary) regime imposed for reasons other than her own safety, it would amount possibly to a form of torture.

Lindströms friend and classmate at Rudbecks Gymnasium,(graduated in 2003) today a world famous model Caroline Winberg has commented on the case saying "She was blinded by love".

Lindströms case has received extensive coverage from television and newspapers.

In May, 2009 Sweden decided to grant Lindström her wish to be transferred to a Swedish prison.

However Australian authorities have not decided that they want to grant Lindström's request to be sent back to Sweden.

The request was later denied and Lindström has to stay in Australia to testify in an upcoming trial.

Case:
Lindström arrived in Sydney in 2004 and worked as a part-time model and waitress in the exclusive nightclub Hemmesphere in Sydney.

She rented an apartment, where she met her boyfriend Spaliviero.

He owned the apartment complex, and worked as a property developer.

They soon started a relationship living in a apartment in Darling Harbour.
Lindström has told investigators that she soon realised that he was both a wealthy businessman and a drug dealer.

In early 2007, investigators started to look into Spaliviero's business and soon found two witnesses who said they had information about the man's drug dealing business.

Murder plot:
Spaliviero (who already was in jail) phoned Lindström telling her to meet a hitman and give him money for the crime.

Spaliviero is still in custody awaiting sentencing for the murder plot and his drug dealing business which could land him a life sentence.

Spaliviero has already served a sentence in a U.S jail for fraud.

She contacted what she thought was a hitman but who really was a undercover policeman.

The policeman on the case says that Lindström wanted to have two men murdered, and that she would pay $100,000 for each murder.

They were about to testify against her boyfriend. At their last meeting Lindström handed over an envelope containing cash for the hit and information about the 2 men.

On May 26, Lindström was arrested in central Sydney, and bail was denied.

On September 18, Lindström pleaded guilty to the charges and will now have to wait sentence until March of 2008.

On December 21, she pleaded guilty again but in another court in Sydney.

Lindström had to appear in a bullet-proof vest at her court hearings because of the death threats against her.

On August 11, 2008 Lindström started testifying against her ex-boyfriend in his court case, also reading to the court a love letter she wrote to him in February, 2007 some months before her own arrest.