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Buried in the Backyard season 6 episode 1 recounts how, in December 1993, Viktor Gunnarsson, a 40-year-old Swedish man, and Catherine Miller, a 77-year-old woman, were murdered in North Carolina. Their bodies, found days apart in different locations, stunned the community.
The episode featuring the case, titled The Swedish Connection, aired on July 12, 2025, at 8 pm ET on Oxygen as part of the true-crime series Buried in the Backyard. It details a double murder tied to a former police officer.
The documentary (Buried in the Backyard) explores Gunnarsson’s link to the 1986 Olof Palme assassination, Miller’s death, and the investigation’s breakthroughs. Buried in the Backyard includes interviews with detectives, Kay Weden (Miller’s daughter), and locals which reveal a chilling tale of jealousy and revenge.
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Buried in the Backyard: Timeline of Viktor Gunnarsson and Lynn Bensen’s murder case
December 1983: Viktor Gunnarsson vanished after meeting L.C. Underwood
On December 3, 1993, Viktor Gunnarsson, a 40‑year‑old Swedish immigrant, disappeared from Salisbury, North Carolina, after dining with L.C. Underwood, a former Salisbury police officer convicted in the case. Gunnarsson, briefly suspected in the 1986 Olof Palme assassination, had moved to the U.S. and was dating Kay Weden, Underwood’s ex-fiancée.
Underwood—known to investigators as obsessively jealous of Weden—invited Gunnarsson to discuss a job opportunity, as per Oxygen. Gunnarsson was last seen leaving with Underwood, who later claimed he dropped him off. Weden reported Gunnarsson missing, as per Oxygen.
Salisbury residents speculated about Gunnarsson’s Palme connection, but detectives focused on Underwood’s jealous behavior, including hostility toward Weden, as per the Salisbury Post. This suspicion led to an investigation that ultimately uncovered a double homicide.
January 1994: Catherine Miller was found shot in her home
On December 9, 1993, Catherine Miller, a 77-year-old retired schoolteacher and mother, was discovered dead inside her home in Salisbury, North Carolina. She had been shot twice in the head with a .38-caliber revolver, as per Oxygen.
Miller, last seen earlier that week, failed to show up for plans with her daughter, Kay Weden, prompting Weden to alert authorities, as per UPI. The crime scene suggested the killing was personal and deliberate. Miller’s death shocked Salisbury’s tight-knit community, where she was known as a respected and kind educator, as per the Salisbury Post.
Police quickly suspected L.C. Underwood, her daughter’s ex-fiancé, who had a documented history of harassment and threats, as per AP News. The discovery of Miller’s body and Gunnarsson’s shortly after linked the two murders and pointed to a personal vendetta.
January 1994: Gunnarsson’s body confirmed the double murder
On January 7, 1994, hunters found Viktor Gunnarsson’s body in a wooded area near Deep Gap, North Carolina. He had been shot twice in the head with a .22-caliber gun and was found nearly naked in the snow. His identity was confirmed using dental records, as reported by Oxygen.
His connection with Kay Weden linked his murder to that of her mother, Catherine Miller's. This suggested a single perpetrator, L.C. Underwood, a former Salisbury police officer and Weden’s ex-fiancé, as per the Salisbury Post.
Gunnarsson had once been suspected in the assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, which brought international attention to his murder, as per the Salisbury Post. However, local authorities focused on Underwood due to personal motives tied to jealousy and harassment, as per Oxygen. The Salisbury community was deeply shaken by the killings, which initially seemed random but were later exposed as calculated acts of revenge, as per the Salisbury Post.
March 1994: Gunshot Fired into Weden Home
In the preceding days after Miller's death, the Weden family faced a series of menacing threats. An unidentified person claimed that Weden’s son, Jason, owed thousands of dollars in drug debt. Red paint sprawled across the Wedens’ garage door, reading “F--- Jason,” accompanied by recorded phone threats and violent letters, as documented by Oxygen.
The investigation took a darker turn when, in March 1994, a gunshot was fired into the Weden home, further intensifying the family’s fear. This act followed the earlier threats involving red paint, letters, and phone calls targeting Jason Weden over an alleged drug debt.
Despite these incidents, investigators found no evidence linking Jason or Kay to the murders, as their alibis were solid, per A.S.A.C. Gale’s statements in Oxygen. The threats appeared to be part of a broader pattern of intimidation, with suspicions pointing toward Underwood as the orchestrator, given his history of hostility toward Kay.
January 1994: Underwood’s arrest came after years of investigation
On October 24, 1995, L.C. Underwood, a 46-year-old former Salisbury police officer, was arrested and charged with the kidnapping and murder of Viktor Gunnarsson, following a years-long investigation, per the Salisbury Post.
The case turned when investigators reexamined the trunk mat of Underwood’s vehicle and found strands of hair that matched Viktor Gunnarsson through mitochondrial DNA testing. They also recovered tire tracks at the site where the body was found that matched Underwood’s car—evidence strong enough to charge him in October 1995 with kidnapping and murder, per Oxygen.
Additionally, a friend of Underwood confessed to making threatening phone calls to Kay Weden, Gunnarsson’s girlfriend, under Underwood’s direction, attempting to divert suspicion, per Oxygen. Underwood’s jealousy and obsession with Kay Weden, his former fiancée, was identified as the motive.
While he was not charged in the murder of Weden’s mother, Catherine Miller, authorities and the court acknowledged that both deaths were likely connected, forming a narrative of revenge-driven violence, as per the Salisbury Post.
February 1997: Underwood’s conviction closed a decade-long case
In July 1997, L.C. Underwood was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Viktor Gunnarsson and first-degree kidnapping, receiving a life sentence plus 40 years, as reported by the Salisbury Post. The trial highlighted his jealous obsession with Kay Weden, Gunnarsson’s girlfriend, as per CityNews Vancouver.
Forensic evidence—such as hair matching Gunnarsson found in Underwood’s car and tire tracks from his vehicle at the Deep Gap site—was pivotal in securing the conviction. A witness also testified to placing threatening phone calls intended to mislead investigators, as reported by the Salisbury Post. Although Underwood was never charged with Catherine Miller’s murder, both deaths were believed to be connected and motivated by his personal vendetta, according to CityNews Vancouver.
Underwood served his sentence in North Carolina until his death in December 2018, as per the Salisbury Post. The community, still shaken by the crimes, found closure in the conviction. The case also underscored Viktor Gunnarsson’s earlier connection to the 1986 assassination investigation of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, which had drawn international attention.
Stay tuned for more news and updates, and watch the latest release of Buried in the Backyard on Oxygen.
