A Nearly Normal Family Ending Explained: Who killed Chris?

Netflix's Swedish drama, A Nearly Normal Family, has gripped viewers who are loving this limited six-part series, but many of them have been confused by the unexpected ending.

A Nearly Normal Family was released on November 24th and has gripped viewers who loved this dark crime thriller which covers several harrowing and thought-provoking themes. However, after watching the trial and the last few minutes of the show, some have been bamboozled by the ending of the limited series and want to know, who killed Chris? Here's everything you need to know about this complex story.

Who killed Chris?

Stella Sandell was Chris's killer. Even though her name is cleared for the murder of Christoffer Olsen and her parents and lawyers managed to get her out of jail, the final moments of the show revealed she was the murderer.

In court, Amina, Stella's best friend testifies on her behalf.  In her statement, she says that Chris drugged and sexually abused her on the night of his death but that she left soon after the incident and heard about his death the next day. Amina also confirmed that Stella wasn't capable of murder and couldn't be responsible. 

The evidence suggested that Stella was in the area when Chris died but they had nothing to prove that it was Stella who stabbed Chris, so she was set free.

A flashback showed the viewers exactly what happened that night and that it was Stella who stabbed Chris because of his sexual violence towards Amina. The flashback shows Stella caught Chris raping Amina and then threatening her with a knife as he continued to attack her.

Stella then snuck up behind Chris and pepper sprayed him, Amina and Stella ran out of the apartment, breaking a vase as they escaped and seemed to be free, but it was revealed that Chris was chasing them out of the flat.

Stella and Amina were running away from Chris when he tripped and dropped the knife he was holding when he threatened Amina earlier. Stella then turned around, grabbed the knife from the floor and stabbed Chris in the stomach, she then took the knife out and plunged it right back into his torso multiple times in the street before running away with Amina who grabbed the knife on the floor which was a piece of key evidence. The pair then ran away from the crime scene.

Stella's attack on Chris is a callback to the first few moments of the show which saw a 15-year-old Stella become a victim of a similar type of sexual assault with a man named Robin while on a school trip. When Stella was attacked there was nothing she could do to bring her rapist to justice, but she could bring Chris to justice (or her version of it) for Amina. 

The ending of the show flashes back between the violent murder and Stella travelling abroad and lighting a candle in a church, suggesting she has made peace with this violent act.