Stockholm - A Swedish prosecutor Monday called for a life sentence to be upheld against a German woman previously convicted for beating to death two young children in Sweden.

Christine Schuerrer was convicted in October of killing a three- year-old boy and one-year-old girl and injuring their mother in an attack on March 17, 2008.

Schuerrer, 32, was convicted without forensic evidence such as DNA or fingerprints linking her to the crime scene in Arboga, central Sweden.

"A life sentence is the only option," prosecutor Frieda Gummesson said in her closing statement, underlining that "exceptional" violence was used against the children and their mother.

Gummesson conceded that while only circumstancial evidence linked Schuerrer to the crime scene, she had been identified by the mother of the toddlers.

Schuerrer had also been spotted by some witnesses near the house in Arboga and had "ample time" to get rid of her clothes and the weapon used in the attack, the prosecutor added.

The mother's attorney described Schuerrer as a "stalker."

The appeal trial in Vasteras, 100 kilometres west of Stockholm, opened in December.

The district court in October concurred with the motive of jealousy presented by the prosecution as fuelling Schuerrer's wish to harm the ex-boyfriend and his new partner.

Defence lawyer Per-Ingvar Ekblad was due to hold his closing statement Monday afternoon. (dpa)