Convicted double murderer Lily Abdelshahed (formerly Paulus), transferred to a women's prison after changing her legal gender, has a history of gender dysphoria dating back to childhood. As previously reported, the move has ignited fierce debate among politicians and sparked outrage from a trans influencer, with calls for prison law reforms based on biological sex.
In April 2024, Lily Abdelshahed suffocated her two young children—a boy and a girl—with helium in Södertälje after letting them choose breakfast, then attempted suicide. The children's mother discovered them dead and Abdelshahed injured.
Court documents from the December 2024 life sentence reveal Abdelshahed's long-standing gender dysphoria. A year prior, Abdelshahed confided in her wife: 'It's not your fault and it wasn't my intention to lie to you, but I feel like a woman.' The wife told investigators: 'He was born in the wrong body. He was born in the wrong country... Because he is trans and society doesn't accept it.' Abdelshahed briefly lived openly as a woman at work but reverted to male presentation after fabricating an assault story.
The district court acknowledged the dysphoria but deemed the murders instrumental, not driven by psychosis. Post-sentencing at Tidaholmsanstalten, Abdelshahed changed her legal gender and name, prompting transfer to a women's facility per current prison law, which uses legal gender for placement.
As covered in prior reporting, the decision has drawn sharp criticism. Moderate MP and prison law investigator Fredrik Kärrholm argues biological males should never enter women's prisons to prevent risks like sexual assaults. Christian Democrats' Ebba Busch and Sweden Democrats' Jimmie Åkesson have decried the facilitation of gender changes under the 2024 law. The Prison and Probation Service states it conducts risk assessments but follows the law, noting this is not the first such transfer. The government is reviewing prison placement rules.
