US jails Swedish prof's stiletto killer
TT/The Local/pvs - [email protected]
Published: 13 Apr, 2014 CET.
Updated: Sun 13 Apr 2014 08:22 CET
A 45-year-old woman has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a 59-year-old Swedish-born professor who was found dead in his home in Houston, Texas in June 2013, after having been stabbed repeatedly with a stiletto heel.
The woman claimed that she had been acting in self-defence. "I never wanted to kill him," she said. The victim, Alf Stefan Andersson, had worked as a professor of women's reproductive health at the University of Houston since 2009. When he was found bloody and beaten in his apartment in the city, his body, both the face and neck, bore traces of having been stabbed with the sharp end of a 13 centimetre high heel at least 25 times. His girlfriend, 44-year-old Ana Lilia Trujillo, was arrested shortly afterwards and promptly admitted to the attack, claiming self defence and arguing that she was the victim of an abusive relationship. She told the court that on the evening of the murder he wrestled her to the ground and her lawyers claimed that she had been chased. "It was never my intention to hurt him. I loved him. I wanted to get away. I never wanted to kill him," she said, according to the BBC . The jury however went on the prosecutor's line of reasoning and concluded that the crime had been committed. They furthermore concluded that the killing had not occurred on the spur of the moment, which could have meant the prison sentence being reduced from 45 to 20 years. Jurors concluded that the some 25 stab wounds that the man had sustained could not be considered self-defence, pointing out furthermore that the woman had not sustained any injuries. News of Andersson's death left officials at the University of Houston reeling. "The University of Houston community is saddened to learn of the tragic death of Professor Stefan Andersson. Our hearts go out to his colleagues, family and friends during this difficult time," the university said in a statement at the time.
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The woman claimed that she had been acting in self-defence.
"I never wanted to kill him," she said.
The victim, Alf Stefan Andersson, had worked as a professor of women's reproductive health at the University of Houston since 2009.
When he was found bloody and beaten in his apartment in the city, his body, both the face and neck, bore traces of having been stabbed with the sharp end of a 13 centimetre high heel at least 25 times.
His girlfriend, 44-year-old Ana Lilia Trujillo, was arrested shortly afterwards and promptly admitted to the attack, claiming self defence and arguing that she was the victim of an abusive relationship. She told the court that on the evening of the murder he wrestled her to the ground and her lawyers claimed that she had been chased.
"It was never my intention to hurt him. I loved him. I wanted to get away. I never wanted to kill him," she said, according to the BBC .
The jury however went on the prosecutor's line of reasoning and concluded that the crime had been committed. They furthermore concluded that the killing had not occurred on the spur of the moment, which could have meant the prison sentence being reduced from 45 to 20 years.
Jurors concluded that the some 25 stab wounds that the man had sustained could not be considered self-defence, pointing out furthermore that the woman had not sustained any injuries.
News of Andersson's death left officials at the University of Houston reeling.
"The University of Houston community is saddened to learn of the tragic death of Professor Stefan Andersson. Our hearts go out to his colleagues, family and friends during this difficult time," the university said in a statement at the time.
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