The trial after the murder of Bård Lanes is completely on the rampage side. A marathon trial that began in mid-March will finish in the middle of next week. There have been several themes in the courtroom during these months; witnesses, video and audio recordings from the scene of the murder, a long-standing conflict between Bård Lanes and one of the defendants and GPS monitoring of Lanes. Also a firearm, which has not been found, and a silencer that was purchased are some of the ingredients. At the very beginning of the district court, both the public prosecutor and the defense for the accused of murder must summarize the case and give their opinion on how much punishment they should have. The four defendants had different roles in the murder, believes the public prosecutor, who is now clear on what kind of punishment they must receive: The shooter (27) must be sentenced to custody, with a prison sentence of 18 years with a minimum term of 12 years. The orderer (31) must be sentenced to prison for 18 years The driver on the night of the murder (33) must be sentenced to prison for 16 years. Contributor (23) must be sentenced to prison for 16 years. All four look calm, but slightly worried when they get the news. – A contract killing that is planned, summed up state attorney Andreas Christiansen. SEVERE PENALTIES: The prosecution believes four people planned to kill Bård Lanes and one of them did what they could to distance themselves from the murder. Photo: JOHN-ANDRE SAMUELSEN / news They want a custodial sentence for the 27-year-old because there is a risk of new serious offences. An expert report believes he has little interest, and ability, to change. He has several violent convictions behind him and spent much of his life in prison, since he was young. The 27-year-old, who was previously also convicted of desecration of a corpse in Ålesund, has admitted that he shot Lanes, as a favor to the 31-year-old. All four have said that they did not plan to kill Bård Lanes, but that they were “only” going to break his legs. Lanes was shot in the middle of a shopping area in Tønsberg one evening in April 2021. Believes they have zero credibility But the state attorney believes it is obvious that the goal was to kill. The public prosecutor believes the 31-year-old had a personal motive against Lanes, after a long-standing conflict with Lanes. The preparations they made together with monitoring his car, the weapon they brought on the night of the murder, communication between them on encrypted platforms, and bringing in the 27-year-old to do the job, are so extensive that it can’t just be about taking down Lanes . They believe that the weapon was used because the four knew that Lanes was far too strong and good to fight, and that they therefore had to shoot him. Threats, reports and visiting bans back and forth had characterized the relationship between Lanes and the 31-year-old and that the conflict finally came to an end. ACCUSED: The 31-year-old who the police believe planned the murder has been known in the criminal environment in Tønsberg. Photo: Magnus Skatvedt Iversen / news – Bård Lanes predicted his own death in January 2021, said state prosecutor Åsmund Yli. He asked the judge not to listen to what they have said in the courtroom. – We have four explanations. They are very different and do not coincide, Yli believes. Credibility is equal to zero and that they remember what they want to remember, he believes. The public prosecutor also believes that the 31-year-old tried to outwit the police by obtaining a fabricated alibi by doing two things. Some time before the murder, the 31-year-old sent a message of peace on social media to distance himself from the murder, and he went to Oslo to buy a kitchen to provide himself with a fabricated alibi. On Monday and Tuesday next week, the defenders of the four will have their proceedings in the district court.
ttn-69