Braseth was a sheriff’s officer in Skudenes when he was called out for overtime on Saturday 6 May 1995. He was at the scene and saw the murdered Birgitte Tengs before the body was covered by a plastic sheet. – It was an ugly sight that met me. The killer’s rage must have been enormous, he explained in court on Tuesday morning. Joe Halvard Braseth says he reacted to the lack of organization of the crime scene in the initial phase. Birgitte Tengs was found in the terrain not far from the gravel road. There was a lot of blood on the road, which suggests that the murder had begun there. Photo: news – There was too much traffic in and out of police officers. In my opinion, this could have been limited, Braseth said. – Did you yourself need to get so close to Birgitte, asked Stian Bråstein, one of Johny Vassbakk’s defenders? – No, there was really no reason for me to go in there, but I did it anyway. There were perhaps as many as eight police officers there at the same time as me, he explained. The defense’s main strategy Johny Vassbakk’s defenders believe that unclear conditions at the crime scene on the first morning and morning after the murder, as Joe Halvard Braseth describes, can weaken the significance of Vassbakk’s DNA being found on Birgitte’s tights. In the district court judgement, they were not heard for these objections. There, Vassbakk was convicted after the court had carried out a thorough review of all theoretical possibilities for contamination of trace material. Forensic technician Kristin Løland in the Sør-West police district made a detailed review of the findings at the scene in court. Photo: Gisle Jørgensen / Gisle Jørgensen Police Superintendent Kristin Løland in the Sør-West police district has been involved in the case as a forensic technician since autumn 2021. In court, she acknowledged that the use of protective equipment was not as prominent at a crime scene in 1995 as it is today. She has concluded this after seeing the crime scene photos in the Birgitte case. Motionless Vassbakk When Løland went through the horrific images from the murder scene in court, the defendant Johny Vassbakk sat completely motionless and looked down in front of him in the direction of the judge’s table. The examination showed how covered in blood Birgitte was when she was found. This stone was found close to Birgitte’s head at the crime scene. It was then heavily stained with blood. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news The images clearly documented how the perpetrator has beaten Birgitte repeatedly with tremendous force. Løland had with him in court a 22 kg, bloody rock that was found next to Birgitte’s head at the scene. – There was a large pool of blood at the top of the hill on the dirt road, and then there was a 44-metre tow track into the place where Birgitte was found, explained Kristin Løland. Her conclusion was that there was probably a fight between the perpetrator and Birgitte, and that she was raped or attempted to be raped. The forensic technician did not rule out that the act of murder was initiated in a place other than the place of discovery, for example in a car. Beyond Tuesday, Løland will explain himself in more detail about the items secured from Birgitte Teng’s clothes. 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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– Too many police officers at the scene – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
