Who Killed Amanda in ‘The Åre Murders’?

The Åre Murders is a chilly Swedish police procedural new to Netflix in February 2025. The five-part crime series concerns Hanna Ahlander (Carla Sehn), a disgraced Stockholm detective under investigation for workplace indiscretion. During her absence, Hanna travels to Åre, a tourist ski vacation spot where a young girl suddenly goes missing. Pressed back into action to find the girl and a potential murderer, the show has plenty of knots to untangle.

Two key characters in the film are mysteriously murdered, including Amanda Halverson (Freddie Mosten-Jacob) and Johan Andersson (Viktor Åkerblom). However, the loose connection between the victims points to two different murderers and motives, which may confuse viewers regarding the twisty finale. Regardless, Amanda’s human trafficking subplot has blurry circumstances that require closer attention to understand who killed her and why.

Amanda’s Disappearance in ‘The Åre Murders’

Based on Viveca Sten’s Nordic noir crime novels Hidden in the Snow and Hidden in the Shadows, The Åre Murders combines a personal redemption story with a gripping murder mystery. The new detective show follows Hanna Ahlander, a police detective from Stockholm who has been suspended from work for allegedly harassing colleagues. Vowing to clear her mind and leave her workplace troubles behind, Hanna stays at her sister’s home in Åre, a mountainous tourist town.

Once Hanna arrives in Åre, she discovers that Amanda, a 17-year-old young girl, has gone missing without a trace. Unable to let the case go, Hanna begins investigating with the lead officer, Daniel Lindskog (Kardo Razzazi). The first three episodes focus on Amanda and her murder, while the last two episodes shift gears and spotlight the seemingly unrelated murder of Johan.

Before disappearing, Amanda is last seen leaving her friend Ebba’s (Frida Argento) home. As she pedals home on her bicycle, Amanda speaks with someone on the phone before reaching the main road. The person is discovered to be Zuhra (Diana Gardner), a local housecleaner with access to Amanda’s home. While Ebba and Zuhra become suspects, Hanna zeroes in on Amanda’s ex-beau Viktor (Linton Calmroth) to find answers to her whereabouts.

The Suspects in ‘The Åre Murders’

After finding Amanda’s bicycle on the road, Hanna speaks with a local woman familiar with Viktor, Amanda’s ex. Viktor clears suspicion with an airtight alibi, prompting Hanna and Daniel to continue their search. Soon after, Amanda’s corpse is located at a ski resort and her death is ruled as strangulation. Two more suspects are questioned following the discovery of Amanda’s body, including Lasse Sandahl (Fredrik Söderholm) and Mira Berg (Shiham Shurafa).

Lasse was Ebba’s former school teacher, with whom she became romantically involved. Amanda discovered the photos Ebba sent to Lasse and threatened to expose him to the authorities if he didn’t stop seeing Ebba. Lasse’s vehicle was spotted near the site of Amanda’s corpse, raising suspicions of guilt. Lasse confronts Ebba and threatens to expose the compromising photos of them if she doesn’t continue seeing him. Fortunately, the police intervene in time and Lasse is arrested.

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Mira Berg is a local woman who had an affair with Amanda’s father, Harald (Henrik Norlén). When Mira’s husband Fredrik (Olle Sarri) finds Harald’s phone in Mira’s car, he takes it as a sign of guilt for murdering Amanda. However, Fredrik also has a strong alibi and is eliminated as a suspect.

Hanna’s investigation turns to Zuhra, Amanda’s housecleaner. Zuhra admits she came to Sweden as part of the Missing People organization, a charitable front for a criminal sex trafficking ring. Upon visiting the home of Missing People’s owner, Hanna meets CEO Bosse Lundh (Robin Stegmar), who she discovers to be Amanda’s murderer.

Why Did Bosse Kill Amanda?

Two key clues help Hanna prove Bosse as Amanda’s murderer. Hanna spots the same brand insignia for Missing People on an envelope in Amanda’s room. She also links several local theft reports to Zuhra, who admits to stealing items from the houses she cleans, Amanda’s included.

Although Amanda discovered that Zuhar was taking her items and selling them to give money to her family, Amanda was not upset. Instead, she began selling items herself and sending the money to Zuhra’s family directly. On the night she disappeared, Amanda and Zuhra spoke on the phone about leaving the shady organization.

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Once Zuhra comes clean, Bosse storms in toting a firearm, planning to kill Zuhar for selling clients’ items. The gun goes off and strikes Zuhra, prompting Bosse to flee in his car. However, his escape attempt is dashed by the police, who catch and arrest him for Amanda’s murder. Bosse confesses to Amanda’s murder and is sent to jail at the end of the 2025 Netflix original.

Tying the crime together is Zuhra’s passport. On the night she vanished, Amanda visited Bosse’s home to confront him about his sex trafficking operation and retrieve Zuhra’s passport so she could flee Sweden. On that fateful night, Bosse picked up Amanda and kindly offered her a ride home. However, Bosse put the bicycle in the trunk and took an alternate route from Amanda’s house. Bosse attempts to convince Amanda that sex trafficking is helping Zuhra and her family, but Amanda sees through his lies and tries to flee the car. Afterward, Bosse strangles Amanda to death.

The Åre Murders is available to stream on Netflix.