It is already clear that Viggo Kristiansen will be acquitted of the murders in Baneheia when the case starts in the Borgarting Court of Appeal. The parties agree that there is no evidence that Viggo Kristiansen (43) had anything to do with the murders in Baneheia. – I want to ask the Borgarting Court of Appeal to acquit Viggo Kristiansen, said Attorney General Jørn Sigurd Maurud in October. He had no doubts about the decision, and regretted the injustice that had been committed towards Kristiansen. This is the Baneheia case * Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8) and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) were raped and killed in Baneheia in Kristiansand on 19 May 2000. They were found two days later. * Viggo Kristiansen and Jan Helge Andersen were sentenced to 21 years in custody (minimum term of 10 years) and 19 years in prison, respectively. * Kristiansen was convicted of rape and murder of both girls. Andersen was convicted of rape and murder of Sørstrønen and complicity in the rape of Paulsen. He singled out Viggo Kristiansen as the main man behind the murders. * Andersen confessed – Kristiansen has always claimed that he is innocent * The commission for the resumption of criminal cases had the case on its table for the seventh time in the summer of 2017. * In February 2021, the commission decided that Viggo Kristiansen will have a new trial of the criminal case. * On Friday 21 October, Attorney General Jørn Maurud decided that he will go to the Court of Appeal with a message that Viggo Kristiansen should be acquitted of the murders and assaults for which he was convicted. Critical assistance lawyer Håkon Brækhus is an assistance lawyer for the parents of Stine Sofie Sørstrønen and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. He points out that Viggo Kristiansen and the defenders previously expressed that they wanted a full trial so that Kristiansen would get a proper cleanup. – My clients have also wanted a full new trial to get all sides of the case clarified. So they really think it’s a bit of a shame that the case is in practice settled in an office in Oslo, says Brækhus. REPRESENTING THE SURVIVORS: Assistance lawyers Audun Beckstrøm (left) and Håkon Brækhus. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB – Does that mean they still think it was Viggo Kristiansen who committed this murder? – I will not get into what it or others believe and think about the evidence, but it is about how the evidence is interpreted. And then it seems that it would be more satisfactory if it could happen in an open process than if it were decided by the prosecution alone, Brækhus replies. Kristiansen’s defender Bjørn André Gulstad says he fully understands the parents’ opinion, but will not comment on the views beyond that. Decision on Thursday There will be a short trial in the Borgarting Court of Appeal, where both Kristiansen’s defense and the prosecution request that Kristiansen be acquitted. The decision will come already on Thursday. Brækhus says the parents still have many questions in the matter. He points out that after the acquittal of Kristiansen, no one has been convicted of the murder of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. – It is clear that it is a great misfortune for the parents that they do not get a clear answer as to who killed her, he says. Andersen charged In July, it became known that Jan Helge Andersen is now charged with the murder of Paulsen. Andersen’s defender, Svein Holden, has said that he expects the case to be dropped. THE ACCUSED: Jan Helge Andersen in the car, with defender Svein Holden outside, in connection with an interrogation in the new Baneheia case. Photo: Runar Henriksen Jørstad The answer to where the investigation ends will not come until next year. Something the survivors are puzzled by. – For them, this is one issue. It seems terribly strange that you decide the case for one before you decide it for the other. If you believe that there is more investigation left in the Baneheia complex, in our opinion you should have completed the investigation before deciding the case for someone, he says. Sentencing Viggo Kristiansen will receive a sentence for repeated assaults with an underage girl from May 1994 to December 1996. He will also be sentenced for breach of peace against an adult. He has acknowledged this, and the sentence has long since been served. – It is something that he throughout his sentence and still takes in that was very wrong. He has shown remorse, tried to create a change and succeeded in doing so. He deeply regrets what happened, says defender Bjørn André Gulstad. He says the decision will have an impact on Kristiansen’s legacy. – But specifically in the case of compensation, it has a bearing on what is to be deducted from the 21 years he has served as an innocent convict, says Gulstad. Neither the parents of the murdered girls nor Viggo Kristiansen will be present in court on Tuesday. Viggo Kristiansen will appear when the verdict is handed down on Thursday, confirms the defender.
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Baneheia survivors had wanted a new trial – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
