The Court of Appeal agrees with the District Court that, apart from the confession, there are no mitigating circumstances regarding the actions of the convicted person on the day of the murder. They therefore agree with Trøndelag District Court that the correct punishment is imprisonment for 16 years. The man pleaded guilty to gross abuse in a close relationship, for allowing his two children to witness that he stabbed their mother and then that she bled to death. But both the district court and the court of appeal think it is aggravating that the man let the children witness the knife murder of their mother. In the Court of Appeal’s view, it is clear that the murder was committed under particularly aggravating circumstances, and the appeal was therefore rejected. The judgment from the Court of Appeal is unanimous. They also write that letting the children witness the murder of their mother is a seriously traumatic event, especially when it is done by the father. – I was very angry inside. There was a bad atmosphere between the defendant and his wife when they got up on 26 August 2023. The day that still had murder. The convicted 27-year-old told the district court. The wife (24) and the two young children were with her family a lot during this time. They also lived in Stjørdal. When he came home in the evening, his wife was standing with her sister and mother outside the house where they lived. There was an exchange of words in which the woman’s sister said that it was difficult to talk to someone who was stupid, without mentioning the defendant by name. – I was very angry inside me, said the defendant in court. The murder took place while the couple’s two children were present in the same room. Photo: the police Together with his wife and their two children they went up to the flat. Already on the way up the stairs, the wife started recording on her mobile phone. Thus, the sound of the murder was documented by the deceased without the defendant knowing about it until several months later. The defendant pleaded guilty in March this year, when he found out about the mobile phone recording. – Dad came with a knife The defendant did nothing to help his wife after she was stabbed. It cannot be ruled out that her life could have been saved if she had received first aid immediately, the court believes. The defendant said in the district court that he was tempted to protect the children by taking them out of the flat at once. He therefore denied criminal liability for gross mistreatment by allowing the children to be present. The court has no doubt that the children saw what happened to their mother. One of the children also talked about this after the murder, according to several witnesses in the trial. The daughter, who is under compulsory school age, explained herself in an arranged hearing three days after the murder. Parts of the video interrogation were played during the trial in the district court. An interpreter translates what the child says into Norwegian. Policewoman has special training in child welfare. She starts by saying that she and the child will talk about mum and what happened that day. – Dad is in prison, says the child and add: – He will come soon. A little later she says: – Dad came with a knife, and then mum had a lot of blood, so the police were called. The girl says that her father found the knife in a cupboard. She also says several times that she knows that her mother is dead. The wife wanted out of the marriage. Shortly after the murder, the defendant drove to the police station in Stjørdal. There he called the police. The conversation was recorded in court. Here we hear the defendant say that he is standing outside the police station and that he has his two children with him. – I have killed my wife, says the defendant. In the district court, several witnesses from, among other places, the municipality said that the deceased wanted out of the marriage. The refugee contact should help the woman find another place to live for herself and the children. But the wife did not want the man to know about this, because she was afraid of what might happen. The defendant denied in court both adultery and that he knew his wife was 12 weeks pregnant. Three days before the murder, the wife asked the husband to drive her to Levanger for a pregnancy check-up. He thought she could take the train instead. The couple came to Norway about five years ago. Both are foreign nationals from a country in Africa. They had a residence permit. The woman was stabbed with this chef’s knife which was lying on the kitchen. Photo: Police Published 14.08.2024, at 09.40 Updated 14.08.2024, at 10.03
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Sentenced for allowing the children to witness the knife murder of their mother – the Court of Appeal rejects the appeal – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
