– Meaningless that something like this could happen in Otta – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country

– It becomes terribly special when you get it as close as this, says ottvær Øyvind Jordet to news. He sits at Ødegaarden Bakeri in the heart of Otta city centre. The bakery is a meeting point for the approximately 2,500 inhabitants of the town by Rondane in Sel municipality. On Monday, Otta was shaken by a double murder. A married couple in their 80s were found stabbed to death in their own home. The murders took place in a housing association outside the center of Otta. Both the accused and the married couple lived here. Kripos has assisted the local police. Police cordons at the site were lifted last night. Photo: Mathias Revheim-Rafaelsen The police arrested and charged a man in his 40s after he called the police himself and reported the incident. He is a neighbor of the murdered, and there should be no other relationship between them. His defender Anders Bjørnsen said on Wednesday that the accused probably had a long history of mental health. Work is underway to appoint experts to carry out a forensic psychiatric examination of the man. He was questioned on Wednesday, but did not want to make a decision on the question of whether he pleads guilty, says police prosecutor Julie Dalsveen in a press release. – Now it was our turn Jordet greets most people who pass by while news talks to him. He describes Ødegaarden bakery almost as a second home. news has spoken to several people who say that the married couple often met here. Jordet last saw them a week ago. And he was happy to have a chat with the couple if they met at Ødegaarden. – I know very well who they are. Quiet, calm and nice people. That makes it extra special, this one. You get scared, and think, “well, now it was our turn”, says Jordet. Øyvind Jordet often sits like this at Ødegaarden Bakeri in the center of Otta. Photo: Mathias Revheim-Rafaelsen / news – They were often seen down in the city centre. You are here to meet people, enjoy a coffee and possibly a piece of cake. Met the woman hours before the murder – I am shocked. It is so senseless that something like this could happen in Otta. Grete Stellander Aasen meets news at the place where she last met the woman in her 80s just hours before she was killed. Grete Stellander Aasen and her dog Lou met the woman just hours before she and her husband were killed in their own home in Otta. Photo: Mathias Revheim-Rafaelsen / news – They are a very quiet and calm married couple, very kind and good both of them. There was no harm in them at all. Every day between 11 and 12, Aasen goes for a walk with the dog Lou. She often met the deceased woman, who was out on the same errand. – We often met in the street and in the shop. She was very good at going for walks and such. And she was so fond of this dog that I walk with every day, says Aasen. Reasons for the cause Jordet cannot remember that Otta has experienced anything similar before. – You are left wondering what is the cause of this. I have some thoughts, but you never know for sure. He struggles to imagine that the married couple might have ended up in some kind of conflict. – If they had been more assertive, it might have been understood that a conflict could arise. I cannot understand this, says Jordet. Grete Stellander Aasen often met the murdered woman on her daily walks with her dog Lou. Photo: Mathias Revheim-Rafaelsen / news Nor can Aasen find any reason why the couple should be killed. – I think it is absolutely terrible and cruel, she says. The grieving family – I spoke to my clients a little earlier today. It is the children of the deceased, and they have received the message of murder with shock and great sadness, says aid lawyer Øystein Skurdal to news. He represents two adult children, a son and a daughter, of the murdered couple in the 80s in Otta. – We hope the investigation can provide answers to the many questions that arise after what has happened, says Skurdal.



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