This information came to light when Bakken testified in the Gulating Court of Appeal on Wednesday. He led the forensic work in the Birgitte Tengs case in 1995. Birgitte Tengs was found murdered near the point marked with a number 3 on the overview picture of the entire area and the surrounding terrain. The pile of loose material that Bakken talked about is on the other side of Gamle Sundvegen, and it is marked with a red circle in the picture. Bakken’s assessment was a response to prosecutor Nina Grande’s question about how he interprets the special tow track on Gamle Sundvegen. The killer has first dragged Birgitte towards the right edge of the picture, before he has found the gate on the left. Photo: The police As we can see in this picture, the perpetrator first dragged Birgitte down the hill and over to the right side of the road, in the same direction as the pile of loose material. The person then pulled Birgitte across the road and into the gate on the left. – Changed his mind Bakken thinks the perpetrator has given up trying to get Birgitte over the fence on the right. – It is very difficult to lift a lifeless person over a fence. Then the person in question changed his mind, and instead found the gate on the other side of the dirt road, Bakken said in court. He emphasizes that the assessment of the burial of Birgitte in the loose mass is a theory. – We have never been able to check this with a perpetrator. Tore Per Bakken, former forensic technician at the Kripos. Photo: Gisle Jørgensen / news Defendant Johny Vassbakk has also been charged with the murder of Tina Jørgensen in Stavanger in 2000, but he has not been prosecuted for this. The murder had many similarities with the Birgitte murder. Both were assaulted on the way home and subjected to massive violence to the head. But a big difference is that Tina was hidden in a basin, while Birgitte was left openly in the terrain. If Bakken’s theory is correct, the perpetrator’s original intention was also to hide Birgitte. – This is completely new information for me, are defender Stian Kristensen’s first reactions after hearing Bakken’s theories about burial. – But I have to check this more closely before I can be completely categorical, says Kristensen. – Many police mistakes were made An important topic in the appeal case in the Gulating Court of Appeal is the possibility that the defendant Johny Vassbakk’s DNA found on Birgitte’s pantyhose may have been transmitted through others, and primarily police officers. Therefore, the handling of the crime scene and the murdered Birgitte is the subject of much discussion in court. Tore Per Bakken admitted in court that much of the police work was not as it should have been at the crime scene at Gamle Sundvegen in Karmøy on Saturday 6 May 1995. Birgitte was found in the terrain close to the gravel road at 09.30. – It would have been ideal to let a much larger area make up the inner barrier. I have respect for what was done, but this probably had to do with experience. It is not certain that local police had that much experience with this type of murder, Bakken said. Used stones from the area In court, Bakken told that he missed the first flight from Oslo and that he only arrived at the crime scene at 6pm in the evening. In the meantime, he was in contact with the local forensic technician Morten Alsaker by telephone. – I gave notice that the scene should be covered with construction plastic on a roll, factory-produced, and then the risk of contamination is minimal. This was done, but unfortunately stones from the terrain were used to hold the plastic in place. Bakken believes this was unfortunate because it is not known for sure where the murder started. I think the murder was started somewhere else – Many twigs were found in Birgitte’s hair which we have not been able to find near the tow tracks. This may indicate that the crime was initiated in another location. We would have liked to have examined a number of stones from a larger area, but that opportunity was gone when we saw that stones had been moved, Bakken said. Bakken told the court that he and Alsaker spent two hours at the scene before Birgitte was taken away. – The handling of her at the site of the discovery was done completely by the book so that the risk of contamination would be minimal, claimed Tore Per Bakken in court. The Birgitte case Johny Vassbakk is accused of having killed Birgitte Tengs on Karmøy on the night of 6 May 1995. In the Haugaland and Sunnhordland District Court, Vassbakk was sentenced to 17 years in prison on 6 February. He has always denied criminal guilt. Currently, the appeal process is ongoing in the Gulating Court of Appeal in Stavanger. The case will end as planned with proceedings on 19 and 20 October.
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– May have considered burying Birgitte after the murder – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
