Jan Helge Andersen is sentenced for the murder of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country

Jan Helge Andersen is sentenced to two years in prison for the murder of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. This is revealed in the judgment from Sør-Rogaland district court. He is also sentenced to pay compensation of NOK 650,000 to each of Paulsen’s parents, a total of NOK 1.3 million. Court drawing by Jan Helge Andersen in Sør-Rogaland district court this spring. Photo: Hege Vatnaland Andersen remained calm and looked at the judge the whole time when the verdict was read out. – The court is sure that Jan Helge Andersen was alone at the scene with the girls, and has no doubt that it was he who killed Lena after he had exposed both girls to sexual abuse, judge Tor Christian Carlsen quotes from the judgement. The Baneheia case Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8) and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) were killed after they had been and bathed in the Baneheia in Kristiansand on 19 May 2000. Jan Helge Andersen was sentenced in the Agder Court of Appeal in 2002 to 19 years in prison for having killed Stine Sofie. Viggo Kristiansen was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of Lena, as well as complicity in the murder of Stine Sofie. In February 2021, the readmission commission decided to reopen the sentence against Viggo Kristiansen, and in December 2022 he was acquitted. The DNA evidence against him from the original verdict proved to be inconclusive, and analyzes of telecommunications traffic concluded that he had not been in Baneheia when the murders took place. In the new trial in Sandnes, Jan Helge Andersen stood accused of also having killed Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. The verdict will come on Tuesday 2 July. – Weakens reliability – There is nothing to prevent the murders in Baneheia from happening as Jan Helge Andersen has explained in court, the judgment says. The judgment considers in detail what Andersen has previously explained about his own and Viggo Kristiansen’s explanations in Baneheia. Kristiansen is acquitted of both murders. – In the court’s view, there are still several factors that weaken reliability (to Andersen, journal note). His explanation has changed several times on several key points, quotes Judge Carlsen. The verdict considers that Andersen has changed his explanation about which of the girls he assaulted. He maintains that it was Sørstrønen he killed, but has subsequently expressed uncertainty about which of the girls he assaulted. DNA from Andersen has been found on Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. – That in the various interrogations in the autumn of 2000 it should be difficult for him to remember and know who he assaulted is difficult to understand. The same applies to his explanation in court in 2024. A sexual assault similar to what he has explained about is a special and sensational incident. Especially when two rapes and two murders happen at about the same time, the judgment says. news reported from large parts of the latest trial here: Legal aid: – Surprisingly legal aid for the parents, Audun Beckstrøm, tells news that they will now go through the verdict with the parents of Stine Sofie Sørstrønen and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen. – It is a bit surprising that the court believes that Jan Helge Andersen has done this alone, considering the evidence presented in court, but we will now spend time going through the judgment with the parents. Photo: Tom Balgaard Beckstrøm tells news that they are satisfied with the compensation Andersen must pay the parents. – Will it now be possible for the parents to put this behind them? – Now that the court believes Andersen has done this alone, there will be an opportunity for him to appeal. Now we have to see if he takes advantage of that opportunity. New verdict after 24 years 24 years and a little over a month after the murders in Baneheia in Kristiansand, there will be another verdict in the case complex. Jan Helge Andersen has stood trial for the rape and murder of Lena Sløgedal Paulsen (10) in Sør-Rogaland district court this spring. Previously, he had only been convicted of rape and murder by Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (8). He denies criminal guilt for murdering Paulsen. Stine Sofie Sørstrønen (left) and Lena Sløgedal Paulsen photographed during a boat trip in 1998. Photo: PRIVAT / NTB scanpix Aid lawyer Audun Beckstrøm told the girls’ parents ahead of the verdict that he saw three possible outcomes: that Andersen was convicted of murder Paulsen, that he was acquitted, or that he was convicted of complicity in the murder. The new trial came as a consequence of Viggo Kristiansen being acquitted of the two murders. The murder of Paulsen remained unsolved. A new investigation was opened against Jan Helge Andersen, and in June 2023 he was indicted for the murder. Published 02.07.2024, at 12.01 Updated 02.07.2024, at 12.23



ttn-69