At trial, the man claimed that he had no intention to kill and denied murder, but the district court has now ruled that he was guilty of murder.
A forensic psychiatric report has shown that he did not suffer from a serious mental disorder, even though he has had mental problems since childhood. The prosecutors demanded a life sentence, but the Hälsingland District Court sentenced him to 18 years in prison.
The court notes that the man's actions were probably influenced by "his psychological peculiarities", and that it has not been proven that he acted with direct intention or awareness that the attack would inevitably lead to Helena Löfgren's death.
"The district court therefore finds that the punishment for the crimes should be limited in time," the ruling states.
Knife attack
It was on the morning of September 20 that the man alerted SOS that he was having suicidal thoughts and asked them to send an ambulance to his home in Harmånger in the municipality of Nordanstig.
At the trial, the man said he wanted help, but could not answer why he changed his mind and instead wanted to harm others. When Helena Löfgren and her colleague knocked on the door, he was ready with a knife and went to attack.
"I didn't have time to understand much. It was only then that I sort of attacked with the knife," he said in court.
He claimed to only remember one stab, but according to the investigation, Helena Löfgren received at least three stabs, one of which was fatal. The colleague who was present during the incident testified during the trial about the attack.
We open the door and say hello. He doesn't say anything, but takes a step forward and when he does he also has a knife in his hand, in his right hand. When we see the knife coming forward we both start screaming.
They fled down the stairwell and out into the yard, but Helena Löfgren collapsed shortly afterwards and later died from her injuries.
Previous attacks
It later emerged that the man had attacked an ambulance nurse with a baseball bat at the same address three days earlier. He escaped without serious injuries and reported the matter to his manager. However, Helena Löfgren and her colleague were unaware of this.
After the baseball attack, the man was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. While there, he told a nurse that he had thoughts of killing other people, but he was discharged shortly thereafter and was able to return home the day before the murder.
Regarding the baseball attack, the 26-year-old is convicted of violence against an official.
The employer is being investigated by another prosecutor for work environment crimes resulting in the death of another person.
