Prison guard Karen Gebreab, 24, was brutally assaulted by inmate Erik Ljungström as he was being escorted from his cell in the Flemingsberg remand centre on the morning of October 3rd.

Ljungström pummeled the 159 centimetre (5 ft. 3 in.) Gebreab with his fists and a baton he had wrestled away from another guard.

Prosecutor Mark Hankkio had argued that the murder warranted a lifetime prison sentence due to the brutality, cruelty and bestiality displayed by Ljungström.

He also referenced the duration of the assault and the suffering Gebreab must have experienced throughout the fatal beating.

Prior to the trial, Hankkio called the killing “an execution, plain and simple”.

According to the Södertalje District Court, Ljungström’s attack was of such a vicious and reckless nature that there was no other option other than a life in prison.

Ljungström’s nevertheless wanted a fixed prison sentence, although he refused to say during questioning by police or during his trial why he attacked Gebreab.

His motive, if there is one, remains unknown.

Ljungströ, was convicted on all nine counts included in his indictment, some of which stemmed from a previous assault on a prison guard in August.

The other charges included a previous murder attempt, arson, and other minor offences.

Ljungström will also have to pay 75,000 kronor ($10,800) in compensation to Gebreab’s mother, while her siblings are to receive 88,835 kronor and 50,000 kronor respectively.

The other guard, who tried to aid Gebreab and who had her baton taken from her, is to receive 67,600 kronor.

An internal investigation carried out by Sweden’s Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) has uncovered a number of failings in connection with the incident.