STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 23 (UPI) -- A Stockholm jury Tuesday sentenced Mijailo Mijailovic to life for the murder of Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, rejecting a bid for manslaughter.
Mijailovic, 25, had denied murder, insisting he carried out the attack because of "voices in his head," which was disputed by psychiatrists, the BBC reported.
Lindh died of her injuries in a hospital Sept. 11, one day after the attack in a department store.
"He used a life-threatening weapon. He held the knife with both hands when he delivered the blows ... the force was powerful," the court said in a statement. "The location and the size of the stab wounds indicates that the intention was to kill."
His defense team had sought a manslaughter verdict and psychiatric care for him, but the jury ruled he must be held at least 10 years before his sentence can be reviewed.
