– I can’t go home, because then I will be beaten to death, Oliver Ravn Rønning is said to have said at the emergency room in Porsgrunn on the evening of 26 November. A few hours later he was dead on the living room floor at home. The prosecution is asking for 16 years in custody for the 19-year-old who is accused of the brutal murder. – There is a qualified and real risk of recurrence that she will commit new and serious violent offenses again, states attorney Helene Holtvedt believes. This is the case: Photo: Stig Bolme / news On the night of 27 November, Oliver Ravn Rønning (22) was beaten to death with a bat by his girlfriend in an apartment at Hovenga in Porsgrunn. Only a few days earlier the couple had rented and moved into the apartment. The murder victim was born female, but saw herself as male and later changed her name. The accused spouse is legally a man but wishes to be referred to as a woman. A now 19-year-old woman has been charged with the murder. She was 18 years old when the incident took place. Rønning’s mother witnessed parts of her son’s murder as she waited outside the couple’s apartment. The two visited the emergency room in Porsgrunn the evening before the murder occurred, in connection with an episode of violence between the two. The defendant then called the police, but they did not intervene. The deceased’s survivors believe the murder could have been prevented if they had come to the scene. The special unit is now investigating whether the police could have acted differently. The trial started on Monday 17 June. The prosecution has announced that they will ask for a custodial sentence, while defender Heidi Ysen is asking for a full acquittal. You can read more about developments in the investigation here. Newly married when the murder occurred, Rønning, who came from Arendal, was beaten to death by his spouse (19) in the couple’s apartment at Hovenga in Porsgrunn on the night of 27 November last year. The deceased’s mother witnessed the incident from outside. The couple married in Larvik just days before the murder. The deceased was a trans man. The accused 19-year-old is a trans woman. The defendant denies criminal guilt, and claims that the murder took place in an emergency. The prosecution strongly disagrees. Police inspector Odd Skei Kostveit and state attorney Helene Holtvedt make up the prosecution in the case following the murder of Oliver Ravn Rønning (22). Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news In his proceedings on Wednesday, the state attorney describes a relationship filled with violence, threats and more or less total control on the defendant’s part. – The defendant has acted with intent and intent, believes state attorney Helene Holtvedt, who is the prosecutor in the case. – There are targeted and repeated powerful blows that testify that she intended to kill Oliver, she believes. Several cases of violence In addition to the murder itself, the 19-year-old is also charged with two episodes of violence against the deceased in October. Both times the defendant is said to have repeatedly pounded Rønning’s head on the floor, and strangled the murder victim. In the first case, on twelfth October, the deceased was unable to get away from the couple’s apartment in Kragerø until the day after the violent incidents. The deceased told this himself in questioning. Oliver Ravn Rønning (22) must have been afraid of the defendant, prosecutor Helene Holtvedt believes. Photo: NTB The prosecution believes this helps to prove that the deceased lived in a regime of abuse with violence and isolation. – Oliver was terrified, says Holtvedt. As regards the murder itself, the prosecution also refers to the experts’ conclusion that the defendant has a dyssocial personality disorder, and that it was never Oliver who was the controlling party in the relationship. – There is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, says Holtvedt. The murder took place in this apartment at Hovenga in Porsgrunn. Photo: Richard Aune The defendant has explained that she was terrified of the deceased on the night the murder took place. In the prosecution’s view, it is a fabricated explanation adapted to the evidence in the case, Holtvedt believes. The prosecution also showed the murder weapon in court on Wednesday. A blue 34 inch aluminum bat, marked “Sunsport”. The ball tree is said to have been bought at XXL in the center of Porsgrunn for just under NOK 500, shortly after the two got married on 22 November. This was just days before the murder happened. She also displayed a knife that was found at the scene. Demands compensation Assistance lawyer Hanne Wold Johansen, who represents the parents of the deceased, demands that the 19-year-old loses the right to inherit from his spouse. Hanne Wold Johansen, assistant lawyer. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Sumsvoll / news She also asks that the defendant be sentenced to pay compensation to the parents, and that it should be higher than in normal murder cases. She refers, among other things, to the fact that her mother witnessed the murder. Asking for acquittal Heidi Ysen, who defends the defendant, is asking for a full acquittal. If her client should nevertheless be found guilty, she believes there is no basis for detention. In this case, she is asking for a fixed-term prison sentence, which she believes should be around twelve years. – I believe that it does not belong in our legal practice to sentence a 19-year-old to detention. Published 26.06.2024, at 15.38
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Proceedings on the last day in court – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
