A man (40) has been charged with murder and attempted murder after attacking head of department Marianne Amundsen (51) and case manager Ida Aulin (30) at Nav Årstad in September last year. Amundsen was killed, while Aulin survived three stab wounds. – The knife arrived very quickly. And his gaze was icy cold. The darkest thing I’ve seen. Then things happened very quickly, said Aulin in his strong explanation to the Hordaland District Court on Monday. Prosecutor May-Britt Erstad told the district court that the knife attack inside the interview room lasted less than half a minute. In 29 seconds, the 40-year-old accused had stabbed the two women 50 times. ACCUSED: Accused in the Nav case in Hordaland District Court on Monday. He is charged with murder and grievous bodily harm. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news – Had perhaps had a chance to get out The safety of the employees has been particularly in focus after the murder at the Nav office in Årstad in Bergen. At the weekend, Amundsen’s brother repeated that the survivors are considering a lawsuit against Nav as a result of the fact that security was not a good enough guarantee at the office on the day of the murder. And during the trial on Monday, it emerged that the conversation room at Nav Årstad had different furniture than it used to when the murder and attempted murder took place: Previously, the table was between the two doors and not up to the window at the other end of the room. This was a simple safety measure for the employees, because the user enters and exits the door on the left while the employees use the door on the right. – On this particular day, there was no purpose. It was of no help to us, explained Aulin when her assistant lawyer asked about the design of the room. – Have you thought about what these 29 seconds would be like, if the table was actually between the doors?, asked assistance lawyer May Britt Løvik. – It would be significantly more difficult for the user to attack. And then Marianne might have had a chance to get out. But she was trapped in the room, said the 30-year-old in despair in court. Municipal director in Bergen municipality, Tommy Johansen, sat in the courtroom and listened to his employees’ explanation. He disagrees in his criticism. On behalf of Nav, he replies in an e-mail: – As we see it now, the position of the table in the conversation room in question does not contravene Nav’s minimum standard for securing Nav offices. Johansen further writes that Nav expects that questions related to the conditions in the room in question will be further elucidated during the court case. WITNESS BOX: The offended woman explained herself from the witness box on Monday. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news Demand explanation from Nav Løvik asked the court to record the response from the woman who survived the attack. To news, the defense lawyer says that the court heard today that the Nav attack could have had a different outcome, if a single desk had been placed where it should actually be in the room. – Part of the reason why we bring this up is both to focus on the reality of the room where the murder took place, but also because we think Nav should apologize for the working conditions that day. They have never done that, says Løvik to news. – We have brought it up with the Nav management repeatedly, that this room on this day was not as it was meant to be. – Have you and the bereaved received an answer as to why the furniture was changed? – No, we have not received a clear answer to that. But I don’t feel that Nav did a new safety assessment of this room after it was refurnished. ASSISTANT LAWYER: May Britt Løvik is assisting attorney in the case. She thinks Nav should apologize for the working conditions this day. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news
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– Nav should apologize publicly – news Vestland
