Johny Vassbakk is sentenced to 17 years in prison for the murder of Birgitte Tengs in May 1995. In addition, he must pay NOK 600,000 in compensation to each of his parents. The verdict is unanimous. The 52-year-old from Karmøy has always maintained his innocence. When the verdict was read out, Vassbakk collapsed in the courtroom and the court had to take a break. 17-year-old Birgitte Tengs was found raped and brutally murdered on Gamle Sundvegen on Saturday morning 6 May 1995. Not far from where she lived with her parents. She had been to a prayer house party in Avaldsnes the night before, before hitchhiking to the center of Kopervik. A popular place to meet friends at weekends. Here she was last seen at the end of Hovedgata, the city’s pedestrian street. Witnesses believe they saw her getting into a car. No one has seen her walking home from the center of Kopervik. The next morning she was found murdered by a farmer. Got more tips about Vassbakk in 1995 The police got more tips about the 52-year-old who has now been convicted. Already days after the murder, the man’s former psychologist, Jorunn Øpsen, tipped off that he had visited her at home and strangled her with a cord.In addition, several police officers have tipped off about the man. And in 1996 he was on a police list of 13 people in a car who did not have a sufficient alibi for the period around the time of the murder. Nevertheless, he escaped the police spotlight for 26 years. He himself explained in court that he had never met Birgitte Tengs, but that it could have happened without his knowledge. He kept the possibility open that she could have hitchhiked with him, or that he had been in contact with one of her friends. 52-year-old Johny Vassbakk is sentenced for the murder of Birgitte Tengs in 1995. Photo: Privat DNA found on her tights The DNA evidence has been the prosecution’s most important evidence. A y-chromosome was found in a blood stain on Tengs’ tights, which they believe belongs to Vassbakk. – We believe it is proven beyond any doubt that the defendant committed a sexual assault and killed Birgitte Tengs in 1995, said prosecutor Thale Thomseth in his proceedings just before Christmas. And asked for 17 years in prison for the murder. THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE: Nina Grande, Thale Thomseth and police inspector Unni Byberg Malmin asked for 17 years in prison for the murder of Birgitte Tengs. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news Read out secret letter The defenders believe the DNA evidence may have been exposed to contamination and pollution, and among other things read out an anonymous letter in the district court from a person who claimed to have been involved in the police district when Tengs was killed . Stian Kristensen has been one of two defenders for Johny Vassbakk. Here before the sentencing on Monday. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Susort Johannessen / news The letter writer drew a picture of evidence that was kept in an unlocked room where employees could come and go. For three periods, DNA analyzes have been carried out in the Birgitte Tengs case. The clipping on the pantyhose, which eventually yielded a DNA match, was examined twice in the 90s, but the analysis methods were not good enough. In addition, it has been shown that the clipping was left untouched in the freezer for over 20 years. In 2017, the police started a new investigation as the first case in Kripos’ group for cold cases. The Institute of Forensic Medicine at Oslo University Hospital then found a weak match on the male Y-chromosome in the clipping, and the sample was sent on to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Austria, which is considered a world leader in the field. In 2019, the institute confirmed that the y-chromosome most likely originates from Vassbakk. The police then started an extensive secret investigation. Vassbakk was arrested in Sørlandet on 1 September 2021. Convicted wrong man In the investigation of the Birgitte Tengs case, a number of wrong assessments have been pointed out. At the start of the investigation, the discovery of hair in Birgitte Teng’s hand led the police to look for a perpetrator with long hair. Investigations later showed that the hairs belonged to Teng. In February 1997, Birgitte’s cousin was arrested. For 17 days, he was interrogated for over 200 hours without a defense attorney present. Interrogation expert Asbjørn Rachlew gave an account of what he calls very manipulative interrogation of the cousin, when he testified in December last year. The cousin was convicted and later acquitted of the murder. But at the same time sentenced to pay compensation to Birgitte Tengs’ parents. In November last year, three days before the case against Johny Vassbakk started in the district court, the compensation judgment against the cousin was canceled and the cousin was completely cleared. The cousin himself testified in the trial, which lasted six weeks and two days just before Christmas last year. Birgitte Tengs was found murdered on 6 May 1995. A 52-year-old man from Karmøy is now charged in the Tengs case, and the trial begins on Monday 7 November 2022.
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Johny Vassbakk (52) convicted of the murder of Birgitte Tengs in 1995 – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
