Today begins the legal proceedings which will ensure that Viggo Kristiansen, who served over 20 years in prison for murder and rape in Baneheia, finally comes clean. Just after nine o’clock on Tuesday morning, district judge Tonje Vang started the unusual court proceedings in the Borgarting Court of Appeal. Vang and a selection of fellow judges have been tasked with doing something unique in a legal context: acquitting a man who has already served 21 years in prison. Viggo Kristiansen is not present in court himself, but is scheduled to participate when the acquittal is read out on Thursday. State Attorney Johan Øverberg gave his opening speech on Tuesday. Usually, a prosecutor will present evidence that speaks for the defendant’s guilt, but Øverberg did the opposite. Point by point, Øverberg picked apart the previous sentences against Viggo Kristiansen. Øverberg pointed to three points in particular: The assessment of the statements of Kristiansen and Jan Helge Andersen The assessment of the DNA findings in the case The assessment of teledata in the case State Attorney Johan Øverberg in the Borgarting Court of Appeal on Tuesday. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB This happens in court: * The court is set at 9 o’clock. * After the initial formalities, state prosecutors Andreas Schei and Johan Øverberg will explain the prosecution’s view of Viggo Kristiansen’s case and the evidence – both that which was used to convict him wrongly and those that have come to light after the case was reopened last year. * Assistant lawyers Håkon Brækhus and Audun Beckstrøm will give their comments on the prosecutor’s presentation. It is Brækhus who will speak for them both. Brækhus has not wanted to say anything in advance about what he wants to tell the court. * The defenders, lawyers Arvid Sjødin and Bjørn André Gulstad, have announced that they will briefly express their support for the prosecution’s assessments and conclusion. * There will also be proceedings from the prosecution and the defense regarding the assessment of punishment for certain matters for which Kristiansen has been legally convicted. It is currently uncertain where in the process this will come up. Source: NTB – Moments speak against carpooling One of the most important pieces of evidence in the case has been Jan Helge Andersen’s testimony. Andersen told the police that Kristiansen was an instigator, that Kristiansen assaulted both girls in Baneheia, and that he threatened to kill Andersen. Kristiansen has always denied having participated in the crimes. Øverberg says in court that in the time after his arrest it did not appear that Kristiansen had met Jan Helge Andersen at Svarttjønn, a small body of water which is a gateway to Baneheia. This was considered striking by the police and the prosecution. After the Oslo police district has gone through the case again, the assessment is not the same now. – Similarities in their previous explanation were considered to be compatible or alibi-building. This is not how the prosecution considers it today. There are also things that speak against carpooling, says Øverberg. The public prosecutor also points out that the credibility of Andersen must be reassessed in the light of other, new elements in the case. 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. DNA speaks against two perpetrators Øverberg says DNA discovery was a breakthrough in the investigation after Baneheia. He points out that a strand of hair belonging to Andersen was found at the scene. Later analyzes were interpreted to mean that there had been two perpetrators at the scene. – It was important supporting evidence for an assumption that Kristiansen had taken part in the actions, and that Andersen’s explanation was correct. In retrospect, doubts were cast about that conclusion and DNA from two perpetrators, says Øverberg. He says later experts have pointed to measurement errors or the possibility of contamination, i.e. that the sample has been “contaminated”, when it comes to the findings that indicate two perpetrators. – Overall, it was the case that all experts who came to the scene had objections to the use of the findings from Spain as evidence that Kristiansen was involved. In connection with the new investigation, new analyzes have been made of the DNA that was in the case. These have yielded hits on Jan Helge Andersen, but not on Viggo Kristiansen. – According to the prosecution’s assessment, overall, DNA does not support an assumption of two perpetrators, says Øverberg. Øverberg says, on the contrary, that DNA evidence points to one perpetrator, not two. Øverberg also points out that Andersen has never acknowledged sexual abuse, other than some contact with one of the girls. – But now evidence of abuse originating from him has been found on both girls. His explanation must be reviewed again, says Øverberg. He also points out that DNA methods are far more sensitive now than they were in the early 2000s. Jan Helge Andersen’s defender Svein Holden has previously told news that it is his assessment that the evidence in the case does not provide a basis for establishing beyond any reasonable doubt that Jan Helge Andersen is guilty of the murder of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. Andersen has previously confessed to the murder of Stine Sofie Sørstrønen. Evaluating teledata differently Øverberg also pointed to another point in the case, namely the analysis of teledata. Simply explained, the analyzes show that Kristiansen’s mobile phone had SMS traffic in the time around the alleged crime period. The phone then rang on a base station that does not match the area where the two girls were killed, but in the area where Kristiansen lived. – This supports Viggo Kristiansen’s explanation. He was not in the area, but at home. Øverberg says the prosecution must consider the teledata evidence in Kristiansen’s favour. – The court chose to ignore the telephonic evidence, in favor of Andersen’s explanation. Now the telecommuting certificate takes on greater importance, says Øverberg. Sees the end of the case On the way into court, Kristiansen’s long-time defender, Arvid Sjødin, said that Kristiansen can now see an end to the case. – It will be a psychological end for him. It is important for him to get a full stop where this ends. He is looking forward to that, and the family is looking forward to that, says Sjødin to NTB. Sjødin believes Kristiansen may be exposed to the worst judicial murder in Norwegian history. – This is a case that has been going on for far too many years, and far too many mistakes have been made. You can’t rank it like that, but if you look at this case, it is a very serious murder of justice, says Sjødin. Kristiansen’s defenders have announced that they may demand more than 30 million in compensation. Arvid Sjødin (left) and Bjørn Andre Gulstad (blue sign) are the defenders of Viggo Kristiansen Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB Historic court day The short trial at the Borgarting Court of Appeal on Tuesday is historic in Norwegian legal history. What is referred to as one of the biggest judicial murders in recent Norwegian history must be overturned. The outcome is far from a foregone conclusion. Both the prosecutor and the defense are going to put forward a claim that Viggo Kristiansen must be acquitted of infanticide and rape in Baneheia 22 years ago. The background is that the Attorney General ruled in October that Kristiansen cannot be prosecuted for the conditions for which he was convicted in Baneheia. The decision in the case will come already on Thursday. Team judge Tonje Vang will then rule that Kristiansen must be acquitted of the conditions in Baneheia. The only point of uncertainty in the case concerns two other matters for which Kristiansen has been convicted. One is an assault in the mid-1990s, which Kristiansen has acknowledged. Any sentencing here will in any case have no practical significance, as the sentence is considered to have long since been served. Kristiansen served 21 years in prison, until he was released last summer. Despite the fact that Kristiansen is now acquitted, there are several unanswered questions in the case. The parents of the girls who were killed in Baneheia have expressed that they would like a full new trial, as no one has now been convicted of the murder of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen.
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Historical legal proceedings in the Baneheia case – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
