– I am a social and outgoing guy with many friends, but I notice that I am more skeptical and withdrawn when I meet new people, says Oliver Erland. He is still affected by the incident that happened on the night of 4 February this year in Songdalen in Kristiansand. Then he was stabbed and robbed by two teenage boys after driving them home. Two of the stab wounds were fatal, according to the verdict from the Agder district court. The case made big headlines across the country. Oliver was only supposed to drive the two unknown boys, who were then 16 and 17 years old, home from the local Shell station. They had asked for a ride and Oliver had said that they could pay NOK 100 each for the ride. – They said it was fine and seemed completely normal. I didn’t realize there were dangerous people. Was afraid of dying It ended with the young driver who just wanted to be kind being robbed, subjected to serious violence and stabbed. Oliver says that the incident appears a bit “blurry” to him. – There are unpleasant memories that I try not to think about too much. It is so gross that I have to try to get it out of my life, he says. In the trial in Agder district court three weeks ago, Oliver told about the horror he experienced that night. – I was afraid of dying all the time. I have never experienced violence like that. It was like in a movie, he said. Oliver ran across this road and into the field on the right after being stabbed several times. He collapsed on the ground and was found there by a friend. Photo: Anna Rut Tørressen / news The scar never goes away news meets the 19-year-old at home. In May, he was back at work as an apprentice electrician, but is still partly on sick leave. On his stomach he has a very vertical scar that shows what he has been through. After the incident, he spent 16 days in hospital in Oslo. What was it like to wake up there after the incident? – Scary! Two days earlier I was living a normal life with friends and I wake up with lots of tubes and electrodes connected to my body. It was like a nightmare. The court ruled that it was only “coincidence and prompt medical treatment” that allowed Oliver to survive. Oliver was in a coma for two days after the incident. According to the verdict, he lost 2.2 liters of blood immediately after the stabbing. The 19-year-old says that he did not realize where he was when he woke up from the coma. – I thought I was in a huge hall with lots of people lying screaming, he says. The teenagers were sentenced to prison for four and a half years (the 18-year-old) and two and a half years (the 16-year-old) respectively. For both, one and a half years of the sentence was suspended. They were also sentenced to pay NOK 200,000 in compensation to Oliver. Talking to the crisis team The young boy is not the same as he was before the incident. When friends introduce him to new people, he feels insecure. – It’s awkward, but it’s not something I can do anything about. Now I think there are people everywhere you shouldn’t meet. He says that he has nevertheless begun to calm down a little more after the trial. He is more back at work and is social with friends. – I’m not back to normal, but things are starting to recover. Oliver works as an apprentice electrician and has recently been helping his mother refurbish the kitchen. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news He can still go to meetings with the crisis team when needed and is followed up by a physiotherapist. Because of a stent in a blood vessel, he will most likely also have to take blood-thinning medication for a long time, perhaps for the rest of his life. This summer, he can’t sunbathe on his upper body or ride a motorbike, as he usually does. Luck and bad luck at the same time, Oliver is in any case happy that it went as well as it did after all. – It is very strange to think that there are so many coincidences that made me alive today. He then points out that the ambulance arrived quickly and that a friend followed in his own car and was therefore nearby when he was life-threateningly injured. Coincidentally, two health workers on night duty also drove by right after the incident and came to the rescue. – I had both maximum bad luck and maximum luck at the same time. Now I’m just very grateful that I’m still here, says Oliver Erland. Oliver now wants to focus on taking his life back to the way it was. He wants to look forward and not dwell on the traumatic event. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news The 18-year-old does not appeal the verdict On Monday evening, it became known that the sentence will not be appealed by the oldest of the perpetrators. The 18-year-old, who has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for a stabbing at Hortemo on the night of 4 February this year, is not appealing the sentence. His defender Fisnik Bak tells news. – He accepts the punishment he has received and wants to move on in life, writes the defender in a text message. The 16-year-old, who was sentenced in the district court to two and a half years in prison, is appealing the sentence. According to the district court, he was found guilty of grievous bodily harm with serious consequences following a stabbing at Hortemo on the night of 4 February this year. – We will appeal against the sentencing, and will also appeal against the assessment of the evidence on the question of guilt. Defender Endre Skiri from law firm Hasle tells news. His client has admitted aggravated robbery and grievous bodily harm. – In light of that, we believe that an unconditional prison sentence is the wrong punishment. It should rather be a youth sentence, says defense attorney Skiri, and points to the client’s young age.
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Oliver Erland on life after the attempted murder – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
