The high-profile lawyer was shot dead in his own home. In his testimony, Bertheussen says that Tor Kjærvik’s son called and wanted to visit on 12 April last year. – Tor asked if we should cook something or order something. It had been a long time since we had seen him, says the roommate. – Roars from the living room that are just completely animalistic When the 37-year-old arrived, she got a bad feeling. She says that she both reacted to the movements and that he seemed annoyed that she did not wear a mask indoors. – There is something about the look that makes me feel some emotions, says the roommate in court. The roommate quickly enters the very dramatic seconds where she and Kjærvik are fighting for their lives. On the PC screen in the witness box, she has a floor plan of the house. FLOOR DRAWING: Crime scene technicians at work in Tor Kjærvik’s apartment the night after the murder. On the left is a floor plan of the house. Photo: LOKMAN GHORBANI / news She says that she is in the kitchen, while Kjærvik is with his son in the living room. She doesn’t hear what they’re talking about until there’s a roar. – Inside the home he had a verbal exchange with his father, says state attorney Sturla Henriksbø after the court was set on Tuesday. PROSECUTOR: Public prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø is prosecuting the case in the district court. Photo: Ole Berg Rusten / NTB The roommate tells in detail how desperate the situation was. – There are some roars coming from the living room that are just completely animalistic. “No! No!”, I hear Tor scream. I have never heard anything so horrible. At first I thought if it was NN (name of murder accused) who was doing something, says the roommate. She then sees her son sitting with the gun pointed at his father. – He prayed for his life, says the roommate. She has explained in questioning that she begged the 37-year-old to put down the gun and that they said they would do everything for him. She also thought she was going to die herself, she tells the court. WILL WITNESS: Merethe Bertheussen and solicitor Ellen Andenæs. In the background, State Attorney Sturla Henriksbø. – It is not just Tor who will die, we will both die. I thought it was important to tell the police who did it, who removed us, she says. She finally hears no more screams and runs for the door as the shots fall. – Huff, this is difficult, says the roommate as she explains herself. Two calls The court played both an emergency call from Kjærvik’s partner, and a call to the police from Kjærvik’s son who tells what he has done. “I just did something illegal. I have shot and killed my father,” says the 37-year-old on the phone. He calmly goes on to say that he threw the weapon away and explains the motive. “Long conflict that could not be resolved,” he says. He says that he is sitting in the car on Røa in Oslo and repeats that he has put the weapon down. “Take cover. Tor is dead” According to the indictment, after the murder, he fired eight shots with the Glock pistol at his father’s roommate, who managed to escape from the house. The roommate’s eight-minute emergency call is played in court. As she flees, we can hear her desperately calling for help. “Take cover. Tor is killed, Tor is killed. He’s gunning for me.” A neighbor eventually arrives, and it may be him the roommate calls out to. “It’s going well, Tor. The ambulance is on its way” The roommate asks the ambulance to come as soon as possible. At the same time, she tries to stay alive in Kjærvik. A crime technician from the Oslo police district at the scene where Tor Kjærvik lived and was killed, on Røa in Oslo. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB “It’s going well, Tor. The ambulance is on its way,” says the roommate. “I have to give him first aid. You must come,” says Merethe Bertheussen. Eventually a neighbor arrives and helps the emergency services with a description of the location, perpetrator and first aid. The roommate is very affected by hearing the emergency call in court. She cries and at times sits with her head buried in her hands. The son acknowledges The son is dressed in a black shirt and blazer. He answers in the affirmative that he admits to having killed his father. He also admits to the attempted murder of his roommate. KILLED: Tor Kjærvik was 70 years old. Photo: Tore Meek / NTB The son claims he had a conflict with his father. The case is in courtroom 103 in the Romerike and Glåmdal District Court. The trial has been moved to Lillestrøm for jurisdictional reasons. The Oslo District Court believes that many judges could be incompetent to hear the case because Kjærvik has worked as a defense attorney at the Oslo District Court for many years. The respected and well-known defense lawyer, who was among others the defender in the Orderud case, was killed with two shots in the evening of 12 April last year. The roommate started his certificate at 10.30am. – It is very stressful for her. She is the first to testify when the trial starts, says assistant lawyer Ellen Holager Andenæs. – No doubt that he is psychotic today As the 37-year-old admits to the murder, the big question is whether he was sane or not when he committed the murder. The court will decide on that in the next two weeks. – I don’t think it will be an easy assessment before you. It has to do with the fact that the defendant has also had other mental problems that are not insanity. You must now unravel and find out what happened inside his head, says State Attorney Henriksbø. The defense lawyer has the following comment on the defendant’s sanity: – In any case, he acted very rationally in connection with and after the crime, says Andenæs on behalf of his client. John Christian Elden defends the accused of murder. DEFENDER: John Christian Elden defends the man accused of murder. Photo: Ole Berg Rusten / NTB – When issuing the indictment, the Attorney General has assumed that the defendant is insane, so it is not a question that we dispute. We accept that conclusion, and then we do not have a criminal case, but an insanity case before us. – What has he explained about motive? – It is linked to the disease situation and you can understand it from that perspective. He talks about these being familial relationships. Elden says the case and what has happened is a great burden for the client. – There is no doubt that today he is psychotic and has been forced into hospital. And it is clear that he is affected by it, says Elden.
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