– He is very outgoing and was very, very violent towards me. The woman in her 30s has now gotten away from Porsgrunn and her past. Over ten years ago, she was a lover and cohabitant with the man who is now charged with the murder of a woman after a fire in Porsgrunn last September. He himself denies criminal guilt for the fatal fire. – When I met him, everything was very exciting. But it took barely a week before the violence started, she says to news. Spray bottle and fire The now accused man in his 30s has been sentenced for part of the violence he subjected his ex-girlfriend to. In the same court round in 2013, he was convicted of violence against another person, and several other matters. He pleaded not guilty to this, according to the judgement. – It was a very painful part of my life. When he was put in prison, I finally got out, says the ex-boyfriend. He was also convicted of violence against the same ex-boyfriend in 2011. news has asked the man’s defender, Espen Refstie, if he or his client has any comment on the ex-boyfriend now coming forward. – I don’t want to comment on that, he replies. Nor does police inspector Odd Skei Kostveit want to comment on whether the police are aware that the accused allegedly threatened to set fire to the ex-boyfriend. The police have sealed several windows at a home in Porsgrunn in connection with the murder investigation. Photo: Hans Philip Hofgaard / news She thinks it hurts to think that the man is now charged with arson. She claims he tried to set her on fire when they were together. – He tried to set the room and me on fire with a spray bottle and fire. I got out but he tried to burn me. This episode is discussed in the district court judgment from 2013: “The victim howled and started kicking and hitting. From being at the edge of the bed, she ended up in the corner by the wall. The victim suffered no injuries from this episode, but was terrified.” The man denied the incident in court, an explanation the court ignored. – Destroyed and manipulated The woman finds it difficult to talk about the four years with the man now accused of murder. – It hurts me so much that this should happen to others. – Why do you stay in such a relationship? – I do not know. One is destroyed and manipulated. In the end, you think that you are not worth more, you dare not do anything but stay. On Wednesday, he was remanded in custody with a letter, visit and media ban for four weeks. He denies criminal guilt for murder. Witness dead – investigating connection Several people are said to have been present in the house when the woman caught fire last autumn. One of them is said to be the man who was found dead in Porsgrunn this summer, a death the police refer to as suspicious. Police prosecutor Odd Skei Kostveit confirms to news that they are investigating a possible connection between the two cases. – We are seeing if there is a connection between these two cases, says police inspector Odd Skei Kostveit in the South-East police district to news. He says that they now see no other connection than that the man who died this summer has the status of a witness in the case, which is now being investigated as murder. He also says that the man who is charged with murder has the status of a witness in connection with the death this summer. – Then the investigation can further clarify whether there is any other clarification between these two cases. Tip news’s crime group: Do you have information about this case or other crime cases? Contact news’s crime group. You can tip us off by e-mail or through news’s encrypted notification service. Here you can tip us anonymously. We also treat all tips confidentially, in line with the Vær varsom poster’s rules on source protection.
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– He tried to burn me – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
