“I do not know”. “I don’t remember that.” “I have no idea.” That was the answer that came back when a 30-year-old Bergen resident met in Hordaland District Court on Monday. He is charged with grievous bodily harm resulting in death. It happened after Ronny Nygård (43) was found dead in a car park at Åsane terminal in June 2019. In the years that have followed, the case has changed status many times. It has been described by the police as an accident, a murder case and now a rape case. Bergensaren, who has children and cohabitants, is also accused of leaving Nygård in a helpless state, without calling for help. – I deny criminal liability, answered the shirt-clad man when the judge asked how he presented himself to the prosecution. FOUND HERE: The deceased was found in this parking lot by a passing woman on the morning of June 1, 2019. Photo: Marit Hommedal / NTB Witness statement triggered murder investigation According to the indictment, the defendant strangled or tightened a branch around Nygård’s neck and stuck a wooden stick into his mouth . He died on the spot as a result of suffocation, according to the indictment. A woman passing by found him on the morning of 1 June 2019. When she found Nygård, she removed some branches from a tree which, according to her, had been wrapped around his neck twice. She did this to check if there was a pulse. – When she told this in a formal interview with the police, a murder investigation was opened. It happened on 6 June, says State Attorney Rudolf Christoffersen. DEATH: Ronny Nygård was 43 years old. He worked as a sailor on the ferry “Ole Bull” on the connection Valestrandsfossen – Breistein. Photo: Private – My type of bad luck The now accused 30-year-old was first called in as a witness in the case, before he was charged with murder at Nygård on 21 August 2019. In court, state attorney Rudolf Christoffersen spoke about the first questioning on the charge of murder. When asked what the man thought about being arrested and charged with murder, he replied: “It’s unpleasant, but I expected it. That’s my kind of bad luck.” – It’s one thing to have bad luck, surely this is a lot more serious than having bad luck?, district court judge Kristin Farstad broke in. – Yes, sorry. I’m not very good at expressing myself. I was in shock when I was picked up by the police that day and was a bit out of it. It is somewhat typical of me that there is always something to happen. First released from prison In autumn 2019, he was released from remand prison, because the Court of Appeal could not rule out that it had happened by accident with Nygård. They then referred to several autopsy reports from forensic experts, where the conclusion about the cause of death has been changed several times. In the end, the prosecution did not find grounds to charge the man with murder, even though he had long been accused of it. The maximum penalty in the case is still 15 years in prison. In court, the 30-year-old defendant repeated much of the same that he has said in several hearings; he was very drunk the night before 1 June and remembers almost nothing of either the evening or the night. – I don’t remember who I was or who I was out with. I only have a few glimpses, still images, of the evening, the man told the court. PROSECUTOR: State Attorney Rudolf Christoffersen in Bergen District Court. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news – But I would never do something like this. If I see a helpless man, I call the ambulance. I have done that several times. The public prosecutor listed a number of indicia and evidence that have led to the indictment against the 30-year-old. He also presented pictures and videos. This is the most important evidence. The defendant was caught on surveillance camera from Åsane terminal, where he gets off the same night bus as the deceased at 02.58 on the night of 1 June. The defendant makes contact with the deceased before they go in the direction of the crime scene, which is the opposite direction from where both lived in Åsane. Kripos has retrieved the location log of the defendant’s mobile phone. It should show that he is near the place where Nygård was found at 03.09 and 03.14 before he moves away from the scene at 03.19. A taxi ride at 03.42, where the taxi picked up a person at Rollandskrysset and almost drove to the defendant’s home. The trip was paid for with the defendant’s bank card. On the jacket and trousers that the defendant is said to have been wearing that night, forensic experts found blood from the deceased. DNA from the defendant was found inside one of the deceased’s hands. During the day on 1 June, the defendant was on the websites of Bergens Tidende and Bergensavisen 17 times. It “differs from the usual news sources he uses, which is VG”, according to the state attorney. Nygård’s death was not mentioned in the media until 7 June, when the police sent out a press release to get tips on the case. BLOOD ON THE JACKET: Blood from the deceased was also found on the defendant’s jacket. Photo: The police – Why do you think DNA was found on you?, asked district court judge Kristin Farstad. – We have been in contact with each other. We will see that in the evidence. I don’t remember that I was in such close contact with him. From what I have seen on the surveillance footage, we were hanging around each other and there was a good atmosphere, replied the defendant. Defense attorney Einar Råen asked the court in his introduction to pay special attention to the DNA evidence and to ask how much blood was found. – I ask the court to pay attention to the amount of blood involved and how this can be linked to the deceased, Råen said. Hardly think man Both the judge and the prosecutor then tried with repeated questions to get the defendant to think more in the evening. Christoffersen also read excerpts from police interviews. There, the defendant recalls several details both about the bus ride home from the city and what he did after he got off at Åsane terminal. – What is the reason why you remember this, but nothing else from the evening?, asked the prosecutor. – I don’t know, answered the defendant. On the bus, he noticed a man who was “rap-mouthed and abusive” towards some young people on the bus. As to why he walked towards Rema 1000, a different direction than towards his home, when he got off the bus, the defendant explained in the hearing that he wanted to avoid a man who wanted him to go to the nachspiel. – Whether it was Nygård or not, I don’t know, said the defendant in court. – Do you think more details from the bus trip to Åsane terminal?, asked the prosecutor. – Not that I remember now. I have tried to live a normal life even though I have had this hanging over me for three years. Have tried not to focus so much on it, answered the defendant. Eight days have been set aside in the district court for the case.
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30-year-old denies criminal liability and remembers nothing – news Vestland
