– I saw him scold his father several times. The father did not answer back. He had a bit of a short fuse, said the man. Today, a former friend of the man who is charged with the murder of Birgitte Tengs testified. He said that they were friends from the mid-80s until around 1997. Then the friendship ended, partly because he himself became busy with work and other commitments. He also told about many driving trips the two of them had together, and several of the details contradicted what the 52-year-old defendant himself said in his statement to the court four weeks ago. – I especially remember the first time we drove Gamle Sundveg, we drove there on a moped. It was bumpy and gravel. I have driven on it several times since then, also by car. I was not familiar with that road, but I asked, and he said it was like that because we were on Gamle Sundveg, he said. The 52-year-old defendant himself explained that he did not know Gamle Sundveg very well. The friend thought that was not true. It was at Gamle Sundveg that Birgitte Tengs was found murdered on 6 May 1995. The friend told of many drives. In the beginning with a moped, but eventually with a car. The friend drove most of the time before the defendant himself got a driving licence. Eventually he also drove. The trips to Gamle Sundveg must have mainly been by moped. The 52-year-old defendant is said to have driven such an Opel Ascona in the 90s. Photo: Illustration/Syed Ali Shahbaz Akhtar / news Did not tell about judgments The former friend could also say that he was not told about the judgments and criminal cases by the man who is now 52 years old. – He didn’t say much about himself. And in certain periods he disappeared for several days. I asked where he had been, he said he had been ill. But when several people had said that he was driving, I didn’t see it as true. I don’t know what he did in those days, I have no idea, said the friend. news has previously told about the criminal history of the 52-year-old. Among other things, he allegedly assaulted his psychologist in 1990. In 1996, he again came under the police’s spotlight for assault and exposure. The former friend believes that he did not know about this. – Much has come to light about the defendant that I did not know. He has lived two lives, there is much he has kept hidden from me. I didn’t know that he had been convicted several times and was in prison, I didn’t know that. Changed explanation from interrogation Towards the end of the explanation to the friend, defender Stian Kristensen brought up the questioning the friend had with the police in 2018. He pointed out that the explanation the friend now gave to the court was significantly changed from the questioning. Among other things, this applied to the explanation about driving on Gamle Sundveg. He said in court that he and the defendant had driven it many times on a moped. – But you have not said anything about this in questioning, asked defender Kristensen. – Yes. – But then you say that you may have driven it? – Yes, but they probably didn’t ask how many times I drove. I must have driven it 30 or 40 times, never alone, with one or two others. The friend said that he went to Gamle Sundveg after the interview with the police. Then he recognized the road and understood which road it had been. Kristensen also objected to the friend about the change in his explanation regarding the defendant’s temperament. Stian Kristensen asked the former friend of the accused 52-year-old why his explanation had been changed in court. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news – There was an episode, which I didn’t catch until long afterwards, that he had knocked someone down. It was in 1986, said the friend. – My question was what you had experienced in terms of temperament, Kristensen asked. – He was a little angry, as I said. Kristensen read out from the questioning: – Questioning: NN knew he had a violent temper, but never witnessed it himself. – I was quite nervous, so not everything came out in the interrogation. I’ve thought more about it in retrospect. Other former friends, hitchhikers and a former lover also explained about the accused man’s extensive driving in the 90s. 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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– He had a bit of a short fuse – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
