On Monday, the Göta Court of Appeal announces that it is changing the district court's ruling.

Esmeralda's mother is sentenced to eight years in prison for murder.

The Court of Appeal also decides that the mother shall be detained and remain in custody until the prison sentence is served.

Dead under the bed

It was in January last year that three-year-old Esmeralda was found dead in a swaddle under the bed of her biological parents.

Barely a year before her death, she had returned to her biological parents - before that she was placed in a family home in Vadstena.

Great attention

The case attracted a lot of attention last year.

In February 2020, the father died in custody as a result of his abuse and the mother was sentenced this summer to one year and nine months in prison for aggravated causing another person's death, a verdict that was appealed by both defense and prosecutors. 

The case has also had other consequences: In the autumn, the social welfare board in Norrköping received scathing criticism from the Inspectorate for Health and Care Services, Ivo, for how the board handled the girl's case and this spring a number of bills were presented under the name "Lex Little Heart".

The text is updated.