– What I remember best is his look when he tried to strangle me. Øpsen, who took the witness stand in Haugaland and Sunnhordland District Court, was the psychologist for the 52-year-old defendant. The incident she described in court today, the man was sentenced for in 1991. When the man went to Øpsen for treatment, they talked about sexually transgressive behaviour. A few months after patient contact ceased, the man surprisingly came home to the psychologist late one evening in September. – Suddenly he is standing in my bedroom. I didn’t recognize him at first. So he was stressed and agitated. I thought he had done something serious since he was so stressed, said Øpsen. She said that she was not immediately afraid, but considered escaping from her own home. She chose to stay. After getting a glass of water, and asking if he could borrow the toilet, the man disappeared for quite some time. When the psychologist went to look for him, she found him in the bedroom. He was wearing some women’s clothing, but was partially naked. After that, the situation escalated. – Then he came after me. Before I could think I felt the cord around my neck. I tried to chase after him. He was completely rigid in his gaze and I couldn’t make contact with him. I don’t remember if I met him. I thought now is my time. Then it turned black. When I came to, I heard his footsteps and that he was walking, Øpsen said. Tip off the police after the murder. The psychologist said that she does not believe that the man came to her house to kill her, but that he wanted to have sexual contact. In order not to provoke him, she said that it was out of the question because they had had a therapist/patient relationship. She didn’t want to reject him as a person. – I think that a rejection of him as a person would make him even more upset. She thinks that maybe it was the rejection that still made him react the way he did. After the cord broke, he is said to have run into the bedroom and got dressed to say he was sorry. This made an impression on the psychologist. – I think he was genuinely sorry that it got out of control. But at the same time, the psychologist thought back on the incident. When she read about the murder of Birgitte Tengs, she tipped off the police about the man, already in May 1995. Psychologist Jorunn Øpsen was one of the prosecution’s witnesses, here at Thale Thomseth, today. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news – I thought that this is a man who is capable of doing a lot with emotion, says the psychologist. She was cleared by her management that she could submit this tip. One of the co-judges asked: – You gave a tip in May 1995. What was the follow-up? – Nothing. I didn’t hear anything until I was called and questioned in 2017, Øpsen replied. Woman attacked with bicycle pump Before Øpsen gave his explanation, a woman the man allegedly attacked in 1986 was in the witness box. She said that the man, who was a teenager at the time, cycled past her, before he stopped and came towards her. With a bicycle pump he beat had several times. – I got a jacket over my head. I don’t know if it was too subdued. I howled, the woman said. Then he stopped. Apologized and said he had taken the wrong lady. It was a girl of the same age that he is said to have been looking for. – Did you look like you were 14 years old, asked the prosecutor. – No, answered the woman. Two years later, the man allegedly broke in and stole a skirt and shoes from the woman. – It was shocking, the woman said. Many years later, the two met again face to face. He was supposed to deliver a container to the woman. – It was perhaps 15 years ago. Then he said sorry. The 52-year-old apologized for the conditions described in this article when he explained himself earlier in the trial. His defenders had nothing to comment on the explanations given by the two women. The 52-year-old was asked several questions about the events, and said that Øpsen had been a good psychologist, but that he had interpreted, what he perceived as signals from her, completely wrong. The accused 52-year-old was asked several questions about the incident that Øpsen told about today. Illustration: Hege Vatnaland – I know I’ve done something stupid, and I don’t know if I’m proud of it. I have lived my whole life being overlooked. It has been a great strain. I apologize for the stress on the victim, said the man in court then. 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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– If the cord hadn’t broken, he would have killed me – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
