– This is not surprising. It shows that it was a serious mistake by the police and Kripos to go after the cousin, says Sjødin, who is currently on holiday. He has not yet been in contact with his cousin himself. The lawyer has always been clear that since the cousin has had no role other than being a witness in the latest trial, he has not been involved. He nevertheless naturally watched excitedly when the verdict against Vassbakk, who has now been charged, came at 10 o’clock today. Arvid Sjødin is on holiday abroad, but caught the verdict on the radio. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit – The police kept Vassbakk hidden from us. We did not learn about Grete Strømme’s notification to the police. The whole truth must come out, says Sjødin. The lawyer says that they now want to have a meeting with the Minister of Justice, but so far she has not had time. Follow the reading of the verdict: The murder of Birgitte Tengs – Latest news – news Early pointed to Vassbakk Sjødin defended the cousin in the Karmsund district court, and later collaborated with Sigurd Klomsæt who defended the cousin in the court of appeal together with Erik Nadheim. It was in the Court of Appeal that the cousin was criminally acquitted, but the compensation verdict hung over him until a few days before the last trial. Klomsæt and Sjødin hired private investigator Harald Olsen in the late 90s to, among other things, find out if there were other people than the cousin who could be behind the murder. Olsen pointed to several mode candidates in his report in 2000. Vassbakk was one of them. Klomsæt believes that Vassbakk has always been among the candidates they thought were most relevant. Lawyer Sigurd Klomsæt. Photo: Roald, Berit / Scanpix – At the top of our list of seven people who were more relevant as murderers than the cousin, was Vassbakk. He should obviously have been a candidate in 1998, says Klomsæt after the verdict. He is present in Haugaland and Sunnhordland district court and saw when Vassbakk collapsed after he read out the sentence of 17 years. – What is happening here now is very dramatic. But it is completely understandable if he had a different expectation, and he probably did based on what he has said. Then he discovered that the world fell to pieces, says Klomsæt. He reacts to the fact that Vassbakk now receives a harsher sentence than what his cousin received in the 90s. – The cousin was sentenced in the first instance to 14 years with NOK 100,000 in compensation. Now it is 17 years and 1.2 million. It is not Vassbakk’s responsibility that he was not prosecuted earlier. It’s the police. Temperature in court Although the cousin was completely washed clean, his story became a topic in court. Lawyer Sjødin has commented critically on this several times. It was the defenders of the new defendant who summoned the cousin to court. – But I don’t understand why they should spend resources on questioning him. Everyone knows what this case is about, he told news. The cousin nevertheless chose to remain silent, after being in the thinking box. In court, however, he remained seated and listened to defender Stian Trones Bråstein, who read from his earlier interrogation. The interrogations that led to an erroneous verdict in the Karmsund manor court. Eventually the cousin became angry. – There is something that has consistently led to the obfuscation of this case, which is absolutely damning. That’s what I’m hearing now too. It has to end, he said. – The questioning went longer than was necessary, said lawyer Brynjar Meling, who accompanied his cousin to court as Sjødin was busy with the Baneheia case. Now someone else has been convicted of the murder, for which the cousin was accused. It is expected that the verdict will be appealed. The appeal proceedings have already been scheduled in advance in the Gulating Court of Appeal later in 2023. Birgitte Tengs was found murdered on 6 May 1995. A 52-year-old man from Karmøy is now charged in the Tengs case, and the trial begins on Monday 07 November 2022.
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The cousin’s lawyers about the verdict against Johny Vassbakk – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
