Gothenburg tram killer gets 16 years

A 23 year-old man has been sentenced to 16 years in jail for the brutal rape and murder of a Swedish woman near a Gothenburg tram stop.

Ephrem Yohannes was sentenced on Friday for the killing of Elin Krantz, after a psychiatric evaluation concluded that he was not suffering for any mental afflictions at the time of the attack.

Yohannes, who was riding the same tram as Ms Krantz in the Hisingen neighbourhood near Gothenburg in September last year, will also been deported from Sweden after serving his sentence. In addition, he has been ordered to pay SEK 600,000 (USD 96,000) in compensation to the bereaved family.

The prosecution described the incident as an attack of “extreme ruthlessness”. Yohannes, however, who has been in custody since October, has always insisted he is innocence, claiming he came across two men who were trying to rape Ms Krantz and tried to help before he was eventually chased away.

Speaking to the TT news agency, prosecutor Stina Lundqvist said, “I’m satisfied with the conviction and that he’s going to be deported. But I think the penalty could have been a bit higher.”

She added that she has not yet decided whether or not they will appeal the ruling. “But I’m leaning toward doing it and in that case I’m going to argue for a tougher sentence. I think he should have got a life sentence,” Lundqvist said.

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